The final week in Shanghai was a bit of a blur. We had a lot of loose ends to wrap up workwise and a talent show to prepare for. Everything seemed to go off without a hitch and aside from serious sleep deprivation I was pretty happy. We spent our final night having drinks at Cotton and ended the evening in a KTV- perfect. Of course when I woke up for my 5 am departure from the hotel still inebriated, it felt a little less perfect. I went through my various shades of green and eventually managed to keep down a coffee and muffin which improved the situation some. A friendly face on skype and a last minute hug goodbye from Ola really helped get me through, too.

I flew from Shanghai to Hong Kong and then switched planes to continue to Kaohsiung. Aside from the long delay and the sweat-lodge-esque environment that Hong Kong Airlines created for its passengers, everything went fine; it was a long morning. Becky and her brother were waiting for me at the airport and took me back to their place. My time in Taiwan was predominantly characterized by eating (I know you're all shocked by that) hanging out with my family, catching up on my sleep and spending an inordinate amount of time online. The fact that it never stopped pouring (they even closed schools and roads for two days it was so bad) made it easier to accept doing nothing…and more importantly, it was exactly what I needed.

We went for teppaniaki a few times, munched on dan bin for breakfast, and hung out at the market eating the street food when there was a break in the weather. On crappy daysI got to enjoy the new shopping mall which everyone seems quite proud of. We went for cupping to ease the tension, and I ended up looking like a giant octopus had suctioned itself to my back. And my two year old nephew taught me the Chinese word for "car"- repeatedly.

Since I had live in Taiwan, a Japanese-style speed train was built, and I took it for the first time. It was incredibly impressive how accessible it made everything on the island.

I spent the night in a hotel in Taoyuan last night and am now in Osaka. I'm finally in a city I've never been to, so it's time to get into travel mode! I'm very excited to have people here who I can meet up with, but for today, I think I'm going to just wander the city and enjoy some much needed and long overdue alone time.

Not to worry, I'm sure there will be some food involved, too.