open mind, empty stomach

Rather than arrive in Bangkok at 1:30 am local time, I opted for a 14 hour layover in Taipei.  My flight from Narita landed at 5pm and I decided to take the bus from the airport to Taipei city to take advantage of the layover.  The first thing I noticed was scooters; lots and lots of scooters.  In fact, there may be more scooters than people in Taipei.  After an hour and 15 minute bus ride in rush hour traffic we arrived at the bus terminal in the center of the city.  I went into the train station next door to the terminal and connected to wifi.  It had been a very long few weeks for me, with the last few days being especially hectic.  I was not in the mood to pull an all nighter and go straight to the airport.  I found a hostel that was a 2 minute walk away and got a room there.  My original plan was to check out the famous xlb place, Din Tai Fung and then head over to the Shilin Night Market.  I ended up doing neither and went to the Ning Xia Night Market, which was in walking distance from my hostel.  The market was big and crowded.  The best part was that I was the only non-Taiwanese person there.  I had a couple noodle dishes and walked around for a bit.  There was a really long line for some small, deep fried cake things, but I didn’t have the desire to wait.  I returned to the hostel and woke up at 4 am to catch the bus to the airport.  It was an extremely short stay in Taipei, but it was pleasant.  

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