Murphy's Law in Taipei

Ever have one of those days where everything goes wrong? I had one of those days last year, where nothing went according to plan...

It starts with arriving at the airport for my flight from Incheon, Korea to Taipei, Taiwan. As I neared my gate, a tall familiar African-American head stood out among the short Asian heads in the waiting area.

It was a friend of mine from church. He and a friend were also on my flight to Taipei. This was great luck because they both spoke decent Chinese while I have a whole 2 words in my Mandarin vocabulary. So, after going through customs and gathering my handy-dandy backpacking rucksack, I join up with them and relied on their language skills to get me from the airport, on the correct bus, through the metro, and on to our desired stop.

Again, luck was on my side (all is lucky now, but just wait) and we both were staying in hostels not far from MTR stop Guting. At the subway exit, I part from my friends and wander off towards the direction I believed my hostel to be in. I follow my directions from the hostel website and soon become very lost.

So, I am standing in 90 degree humid heat, with a heavy rucksack, looking confused, and oh, so white on the street at 10pm. Luckily, a cute and nice Taiwanese boy on a bike sees my visible distress and stops to help me, but isn't successful. Surprisingly, a western couple happened to be walking down the street. They take pity on me and ask if they could be of help since they live in the area. Thank goodness, the lady knew which hostel I needed and walked me to it.

The hostel had messaged me saying their staff would be gone at the hour I was to arrive, but would leave a key for me on the downstairs gate. So,I found my name on a note and a key to open the rusty old metal gate. I trudged up the stairs and tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. I re-read the note that came with my key and it said I had to punch in a code.

Simple, I thought. Here is where my luck disappears. I try again and again to put the code in, but it doesn't work. I figure, at 10:30pm at night, someone should be at the hostel and could open the door for me. Wrong assumption. No one was there despite my loud rapping on the door.

So, now its dark, late, and I have no where to stay in a foreign city. No need to panic, I tell myself, I just need to call the hostel's phone number. So, I wonder down the street a few blocks and jump the first foreigner I see. It happens to be an 18 year old student from Mexico City with limited English. I ambush her with my sad tale and ask to borrow her phone. She allows me to use it, but no one answers the call. She and I walk back to my hostel, which coincidentally, is right across from her apartment.

So, I drop off my bag at this new acquaintance's room, run to the nearby market, and grab some dinner. Once my hunger is sated, I go back to the hostel to attempt the door again. Now it is after 11pm and SOMEONE has to be back, right? No. The Mexican girl and I try the code a few more times, but with no varied results.

Again, what am I to do? Still don't have a place to sleep in this foreign city. The girl offers that I could sleep on her floor, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take advantage of her kindness. So, I thought hard and came to a solution. I used her laptop and looked up the name of the hostel the boys from my flight were staying at. I called the hostel, and was able to booked a room. Armed with directions and my rucksack, I went out in search of it at midnight. Thankfully, this hostel was easier to find that my original one. I easily checked in and had a nice and safe place to rest my head for the next 6 nights.

Well, that was the rough beginning of my trip. Mix in three days of being in the center of a typhoon and an earthquake to make one memorable vacation.

***Tip- The name of the hostel is Eight Elephants. If you ever go to Taipei, I highly suggest staying here. The American who lives in the wall (literally) adds some comic relief, and place has an almost home-stay feel to it.