Just Another Weekend

Now THAT was a weekend full of adventures. Here's a recap of the events:

Friday evening we had a big storm while I was teaching. On my walk home from the MRT it started to die down. Then I was about two blocks from the apartment and I noticed all the lights were out. Awesome, it was a blackout. So I just hung out around 7-11 and had a tall boy while I waited for the power to come back on. And a new teacher, Alex, arrived that night. Welcome to Taipei, there is no electricity!

After class on Saturday, my coworker Ben invited me out with his friends. Ben, Alex, and I met up with his friends Andy and Adam for some drinks at Roxy Jr. Very chill bar with pool and fooseball. We had the best seats in the house as we occupied a couple of comfy sofas.

After a few cocktails there, we met up with a bunch of Ben's ladyfriends (foreigners and locals alike) and went to my first KTV (a karaoke bar) called PartyWorld. There was a main room where there was karaoke but we soon got a private room for our group. It looked just like a hotel walking down the hallway. The rooms had a bunch of couches, TV, and a karaoke machine. And, of course, yours truly serenaded the ladies a few times. They were quite impressed I'm sure.

Finally, Alex and I stumbled home at 5am. Yeah, a bit crazy.

Then on Sunday, we met up with Ben and Andy and took a trip to Beitou. Beitou is a bit north of Taipei, about 20 minutes on the MRT from the city center, and is known for its hot springs. So after a long night of partying and enjoying the Taipei nightlife, we relaxed in various pools at the public baths for awhile. Good times indeed.

Afterwards, we went for my first hot pot dinner. At hot pot, you cook various meats, seafood, and veggies in a hot pot at the table. We had three flavors: tomato, a curry, and my favorite, spicy Malaysian. Very tasty meal.

So Alex and I returned home and were watching tv before calling it a night. That was, of course, until mother nature decided to bookend the big storm from Friday night with an earthquake on Sunday night. And just as we headed towards a doorway, it was over. Not to fear, it wasn't that big and the city seems unaffected from what I've seen. Nothing like the one I experienced in Peru but eventful nonetheless.

Ah yes, just another weekend in Taiwan...