Taiwan. A lot has changed since I was here 13 years ago. A few things to note: Taipei's much cleaner than I thought it was over a decade ago. The streets are cleaner and they don't smell as much. Apartments/condos, regardless of how clean they are, will often smell like public washrooms at night... especially near the washrooms, even if they're clean and expensive. Something to do with the plumbing, I guess. Food and merchandise isn't as cheap as I thought they'd be. You'll still pay $3 - $4 CDN for a cheap meal, but usual around $5 - $6, which is about on par with eating Chinese food in Canada. People aren't big on service in restaurants. No tipping is nice. No tax is nice. I am a buffet to the resident mosquitos in the area. Damn them. People drive crazily. People zip around on their scooters like they got an invincibility card and need to pass GO in a hurry to collect. The MRT is very convenient and operates much like the MTR in Hong Kong. Need a 7-Eleven? Walk in any direction from where you are, and you'll hit one within three blocks. The night before I left, I was talking to some friends about girls who sell "Bing Lang" (the Chinese equivalent of tabacco) and how they dress skimpily. I witnessed their stores today. It was cool. Basically, it was a store front that looked as large as a display window, full front window, with one or two pretty (and young) girls dressed a little scantily. I think the neon light out front said "小女紅" or something like that. My aunt says that's the first bit of Taiwanese culture I've seen. I was excited, but couldn't pull out my camera to take a picture in time. Anyway, I guess I can say that I feel fairly comfortable in this new environment... mind you, I'm still only a visitor.