Greetings from Taipei...

Taipei is hysterical! That's the good news. It is like Singapore on substance. There is a wild , frenzied energy that fuels Taiwan, with a young population, and a President called 'Ma'. Poor guy. He isn't in a terribly happy spot as newspaper surveys describe him as 'an over-packaged product'. He begins his second term later this month.

Last night, after a sumptuous Chinese dinner at a restaurant on the 85th floor of the iconic 101 building, I was taken to a nightclub called Myst ( classy but dead), and then to a frenetic place called Perfume, which was, fortunately, far more colourful , with lovely, beautifully groomed escort girls whose sole duty was to make sure guests consumed gallons of Cognac, and made total idiots of themselves at the Karaoke hub. The delicate young girl I spoke to insisted her name was 'Perfume' as well. Right! I stayed for an hour... would have stayed longer, but figured it wasn't fair, given the high spirits of the the men in the group .... us ladies were seriously ruining their night out and cramping their style.

Back at the very high tech W Hotel, the WET Bar was still rocking. But I had to wake up at some ghastly hour to take the bullet train to Sun Moon Lake and the lovely Lalu Hotel... which is where I am right now. I did make the time to visit the gigantic Museum in Taipei, which houses the biggest and most impressive collection of Chinese Art in the world. The Ming vases, especially the ones with the India-inspired pink lotus motifs took my breath away! Then it was time for a little retail therapy at the 101 Mall. What struck me about Taiwan were the smiles! And the courtesy. People are kind and helpful at all times. And they look genuinely relaxed and happy with life. Must be the fish diet! Though tonight, I have ordered Wagyu beef.... yummmmy.