Good thing I still haven’t completely unpacked from my EuroTrip because I found out a few days ago that I’ll be taking my first ever business trip – to Taipei, Taiwan.

WHAT?!

Yeah…that was my reaction. Of all the things I’ve done this year, this one is definitely the most random, unexpected and cool. Though it is a business trip, I do have a few days at the end to explore Taipei with two of my co-workers which should be a lot of fun.

I’m glad I have the EuroTrip under my belt to make the prospect of traveling itself less scary, but I don’t think any amount of traveling through Europe will have prepared me for the culture shock I expect to experience.

It’s going to be quite the shock on many levels, actually. Not only am I going to Asia for the first time, but I also get to stay in a HOTEL. And I don’t have to carry a gigantic backpack! And I get my OWN ROOM! After the hostel life, this is definitely going to feel like living in the lap of luxury!

I take off tonight (technically tomorrow, but very, very early in the morning) on an 11+ hour journey across the Pacific and arrive in Taipei on Monday morning, just in time for work. This will also be my longest flight ever, but after 21 hours on a train from Sicily to Venice I think I’ll be able to manage. Business class with food and movies doesn’t hurt either.

Needless to say I’m pretty excited about this trip. Getting to go somewhere I would have never really chosen to go on my own, traveling without worrying about my backpack being stolen or whether my hostel will have rats in the ceiling (yes, it’s happened), and getting to experience a whole new part of the world? Awesome. Oh, and the work part of it should be really interesting and fun too.

I really don’t know what to expect from Taipei itself. I’ve done my usual Flickr browsing to get a sense of the area, but I’m going to wing it. I have 2 things on my to-do list: 1) do the job I’m going there to do and 2) go to the night market.

I think I can fit that all into a week.

I’ll keep you posted! Next stop: Taipei!