Just like home & here

Taipei was a tad disappointing. It feels just like Singapore and Japan. It feels so familiar that there wasn't much feeling of excitement or wonder as I went around the city. The MRT, night market and underground shopping malls feel so much like home. And Taipei looks like a replica of Tokyo as it copies the Japanese pop culture so blatently! Japanese tourists, Japanese sign boards, Japanese restaurants, Japanese stores (even Family Mart - a convenience store) and Japanese products were everywhere in their original form! Although I was a little taken aback when I went into McDonald's and had to read the menu in traditional Chinese! I don't know what I was thinking but I just didn't expect it not to be in English. It was the same when I first walked into McDonald's in Japan & thought "Oh no....all katakana!!".

The weather was HORRIBLE. I don't think I've ever experienced such bad humidity...though my friend said I must have forgotten how hot & humid Singapore can get too. But I don't regret going since I did enjoy the shopping and some of the food. Taiwanese sales assistants have such sweet tongues that it's hard to reject them! Overall, it was still quite a decent vacation. But now I'm having second thoughts about going to Hong Kong, Shanghai or Seoul (places that I was keen to visit) as Asian cities are mostly all the same anyway.