back from asia

we got in around 4pm on christmas day. my parents went to a dinner party at night, while i convalesced at home, trying my hardest not to fall asleep before the sun set. fixing jetlag is a bitch, especially at the terminal end of a trip. i guess it coincides very nicely with the inevitable disappointment one feels when funtime is over - and even those times when funtime really wasn't that fun. i give this most recent taiwan/hong kong trip a 7/10. i think this is a high rating, considering the sole purpose was to see my grandma(s).

our 3-day sojourn to hong kong was planned last-minute, but proved to be my favorite part... thus, it will go first. each year i go back to asia, it becomes more apparent that hong kong > taiwan. everything - from the weather, people, communicability, and transportation - is superior. i have fallen in love with hong kong's MTR (though taiwan's MRT equivalent is not bad, either) and could see myself residing in lantau island's discovery bay. hong kong is scenic and relatively clean, the people speak english, and stuff is cheap. it doesn't hurt that the modern influences of the western world are prevalent in much of its culture, giving me a tiny taste of home. the most gratifying comfort is the fact that there are no squatty potties!

taiwan was rainy, dirty, and smelly. at least, the places i frequented were. taipei is decent for the most part, with many high-end shopping malls and percolating with the elements of world-class big city life, but it is definitely not an accurate representation of the rest of the country. kaohsiung stinks (literally and figuratively), in contrast with the convenient (and cool) 1.5 hour bullet train ride taking us there. it is a 4.5-hr car ride, otherwise. high-end shopping in taiwan is more expensive than in america, even with goods being duty-free, and thus my plan to do some major splurging failed. nevertheless, i did manage to find some cheap clothing and accessories in taiwan's many nightmarkets. i mean this in a totally hetero way, of course, but one of taiwan's redeeming qualities is probably the cuteness of its girls. the young female population is very trendy, skinny, and pretty. so much so, that before i even got off the plane from taiwan, i briefly contemplated making a trip to the muehlenbeck center that same day. if being the fattest and least stylish girl under 30 in taiwan is not motivation enough (or grounds for a complex), i don't know what is. in line with fob fashion, i also want to buy flat boots to pair with my opaque tights, a chain-link patent leather purse, and perm my hair in soft curls. taiwan's other redeeming quality is its food! while i'm not that big a fan of authentic chinese cuisine, i LOVE taiwanese food! while it is technically from northern china, i always look forward to stuffing my face with green onion pie and pearl milk teas.

all in all, it was a decent trip. i don't really expect much from my trips to asia anymore, since i have been to both hong kong and taiwan 12+ times. but, it's good to see my rather small extended family and experience chinese culture in a native setting. it's different, being surrounded by yellow people 100% of the time. ahh well, till next year!