60 digits to dial oversea, *slow* meal service and mentioning sushi too often

Hello from Taipei!  Its been a hectic few days so far.  The most time consuming part of my conference call routines involve trying to save money for AMD.  By using a calling card.  Sixty digits later, I finally can connect to North America. Soon I'll be dreaming about my passcodes... my work phone bill better thank me! To add to my grief, wireless internet (wifi) is no where to be found (I bet most of the world's IT equipment is built in Taiwan, ironically).

The Taiwan people are very friendly and quite educated (my cab driver spoke 5 languages including English, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese and Cantonese).  More friendly and relaxed than Hong Kong. 

Most people own cars so in that respect, its more like Toronto.  Also they drive on the right side like Canada, and the car models more like home (Camry is a big one). Taipei traffic on Nanjing Rd East is brutal, especially as they're constructing the new subway... which seems to be a never ending project in the years I've been coming here.

Finally, like other places in Asia, Taiwan restaurants and stores are over-staffed. There are so many wait staff lingering around... but trust me, it does not mean the food service is fast. In factI ate at the Shanghai restaurant in my hotel. I chose a set meal and it took FOREVER!!  My battery died in my iphone and my blackberry by the time dessert rolled around. The food was decent, a little sweet and not too memorable.

Sadly for work, my hours are not good living in Asia. I need to set my personal boundaries very soon. My evening conference calls starting around 8 or 9pm through midnight are getting brutal.  And in the morning I am awake at 6am or latest 7am for call. So I didn't go for dinner last night with colleagues or clients. But didn't save anytime by eating at my hotel either.

I realised that I mention sushi in my blogs too often. I will continue to do so until I eat it again.