Back In Taipei

I woke up this morning with the sun struggling through the curtains - which look like they have hung undisturbed since 1950. I roll over on the hard-as-a board bed, my back aching and the circles under my eyes redefining the word black. I breathe in with difficulty and wonder how long it has been since the filter in the air conditioner has been changed – a definite health hazard! I am reminded of US $2.00 a night back-packer hotels in Vietnam and Thailand. At least, at much more than 10 times that, Taipei boasts a private bathroom with running hot water.

Maybe this would be better if I really were backpacking through South East Asia (up at 10:00am for brunch in an open air café on the streets: banana pancakes and Vietnamese coffee). Instead, the alarm on my cell phone goes off at 6:00 am. I rifle through a closet stuffed, not with shorts and sarongs, but with office clothes. Then I make a half-hearted attempt to cover up the under-eye bags without knocking over a rickety bathroom shelf crammed with perfume, make-up, etc (If only I could go back in time and un-purchase these things to use the $$ on a 5 star hotel… or better yet, the Far Eastern Plaza Hotel).

At 6:35, I step out onto the street to be hit with the warm wet smog that melts my make-up and makes my clothes stick to me. I teeter over the broken pavement in my heels (this is an old area of town) thinking of the contrast of a month ago… running barefoot along a beach in Barbados. Time for daydreaming is over. I swipe my card and clock in, pour a cup of office coffee and settle into my cubicle on Chong Ching South Road. Another day back in Taipei has begun.