Some work, some sightseeing
Woke up to what was supposed to be a sunny day and found it was pouring. So much for the local weather forecast. Took a taxi out to Karma’s (ICS’s distributor) office. The taxi driver got close but couldn’t get the last two blocks. Norman had to come running out thru the rain to guide the taxi to his office. Once there, Jerry set up a demo of ICS’s new Ethernet to GPIB Controller. While Jerry was busy with Norman and his engineers, Kathy and Sophia packed some of our souvenirs and excess clothes for shipment back to ICS.
After a late lunch at the hotel, we went over to Taipei 101, which is currently the world’s tallest building. The building is a chinese art deco designed to resemble a bamboo shoot. The lower 7 floors house the most upscale mall that Kathy has ever seen - you name the designer and they had a store there - Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gautier, Escada, Prada, Celine, Bulgari, etc,etc, etc. - like Rodeo Drive wrapped inside a five story marble mall. It was starting to clear when we went up to the observation deck on the 89th floor. Jerry could barely bring himself to get close to the glass windows. We were way above the clouds which were blowing away over the lower buildings and hills around the city. Great views but no sun so the pictures are basically shades of gray.
After a light dinner we took a walk through the night market area. The food stalls were in full swing but the little shops were also open. Stores here stay open to 9, 10 or 11 PM. You never saw so many shoes or clothes. Kathy found a bead and gem store and felt she had found some bargains. Jerry feels they found a pigeon.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006