WE'RE HERE!!

Well, we made it. I have to say 14 hours is a loooong flight.

REVIEW of EVA and LAX
We are so glad we upgraded to Evergreen Deluxe on EVA as we found it very comfortable. We were able to sleep pretty easily and comfortably. The plane was very clean with plenty of bathrooms. The plane was pretty quiet and it was a smooth flight. We also generally felt that the surrounding passengers who were almost all Chinese were fastidiusly clean, neat and courteous to those around them. Very pleasant people.

EVA provided meals that were fairly hearty. We were STARVING. --One thing we learned about the International Terminal at LAX; they don't have food down by the gates. We bypassed some nice looking restaurants at the terminal thinking there would be places near the gate after security like there are in most other airports.

Anyway, EVA served food that appealed to both Western and Eastern tastes and we thought it was good. They served dinner with wine, a "midnight" snack of beef and noodles and then a late breakfast. They do not serve a lot of drinks, even the ones served with meals are not quite adequate. Also they did not seem to have any coke. We each brought a huge water bottle and definitely needed it as the air was very dry. So bring water on the plane. Also we wished we had eye drops.

EVA has tvs with several channels to entertain passengers and they also have a channel that continually updates the altitude, time, outside temperature, time remaining in trip , and track. You can watch a little plane fly across a map.

NAVIGATING CHIANG KAI SHEK AIRPORT

There are plenty of signs in English to get you around pretty easily. It did not take us long to find each stop. We changed our currency at the airport as we understood it would have the best rate, but our hotel has a better exchange rate for US dollars. We got to the airport early enough in the morning that there was no one working at the Tourist Information Booth so therefore, no one to direct us on taking the bus to the hotel. So we ended up taking our first cab ride in Taipei. NO SEATBELTS and some crazy driving, but we survived. If I could have done it over I would have booked the hotel shuttle. I don't know why I didn't. The cab was 1400 NT

THE GRAND

We arrived at around 8 am, but our room was not going to be ready until 10. We were exhausted and feeling like we just wanted to shower and nap a little. We had a nice time looking at the Hotel. It is SO cool to see in person. Our room has two double beds so we were able to get away with one room for the three of us. We are on a balcony that has a beautiful view. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

ENGLISH SPEAKERS IN TAIPEI?

Not many. There are some staff people at the hotel that speak English. However, the concierge just called to confirm the tour we booked and said, "Could you bring kung pao later?" I said sure, but I don't know what that means! So definitely be prepared to speak the universal language of pointing, nodding and taking a leap of faith that you have managed to communicate with one another.

Tonight we will be doing a guided tour since we are tired. We will see a temple, a night market, Taipei 101 and eat dinner. Then we will back at the hotel to prepare everything for our trip to Jonah house tomorrow.

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes. I am posting photos soon!