This climate is good for me! My hair is growing longer and shinier, and my nails are too. My skin is fresh and freckly and my eyes are white and clear. How fantastic!

I could get used to this...

One and a half days after I set off (inc. time changes) and I'm ready for sleep.

I think I've experience the whole range of emotions since 2.30pm on Thursday... before that in fact. I said bye to Mum Thursday morning as she was working, though we had to make it a quick goodbye or else we'd still be hugging now!

Then, after a frantic yet bizarrely slo-mo morning of getting extra passport pics done and filling in 'Pay your National Insurance from overseas' forms, Suzy and Dad took me to the airport and hung around with me for a couple of hours. That goodbye session was equally depressing...

Spent the flight to Heathrown trying to hide sobs from the businessman next to me (he was in Product Development by the way, and seemingly very frustrated by "how many of these damn projects just can't crawl past the concept stage").

Heathrow was mad, I've not been there before. A city full of people, bags & boarding tags. Rang every landline on my mobile phone (free after 7pm you see) to pass the time. Finally boarded the jumbo and found myself sat next to a middle-aged Taiwanese woman who took an instant dislike to me (it was the foot on her chair thing when I let someone past to sit down methinx). She made her frustration felt for the next 12 hours through some innovative use of her razor-sharp left elbow. Very kind, very creative.

Felt like time had stood still several times on that flight. Copious amounts of chicken and noodles consumed. Off plane and on again at Bangkok. Found myself queuing next to some British muso types (going to Taiwan to do workshops and concerts). Classical types, you know the sort - out of date clothing, floppy hair, wire framed glasses. However, I was too jetlagged and uninspired to get into the conversation so I made do with extracting a one-word deadpan grunt from an Aussie backpacker who looked at me in a "you're Care in the Community aren't you?" kind of way for gibbering on about having lost my boarding card.

On touching down in Taipei (capital city of Taiwan), it turned out that Superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold had been on the flight. In fact, my new boss Alan actually quizzed him in the airport lobby thinking he was me (the photo I'd sent was hardly complimentary). Anyway, Alan found me and knew his mistake when he saw my sweating form dragging my huge bags about 50 yards behind the Chipmunk of Trance.

Cue 3-hour drive to HuWei in central Taiwan. ANything interesting to report? Erm, Cappucino in cans, drunk with straws, a sign on the freeway for a place (or person maybe) called Little Ding Dong. I kid you not...

Another page worth of drivvle about HuWei town and my first meet and greet at Jordan's Language School soon. For now though, I have a very hard mattress in my new room and it's calling, calling me...