After an 8 hour flight from Seattle to Taipei I had no idea where I was going to stay for the next three days. The customs/immigration form required an address where I'd be living for me to be allowed in the country I immediately thought, Airbnb. I'd rather stay among the people and experience hospitality at the street level rather than at a chain hotel. I signed on and searched. This was last minute and I actually had no idea where I was, I asked each host, How far are you from the airport? I sent six or seven messages. It was over an hour before I got answers. Mei's, was one. She gave me an idea of the distance from the airport and commented on what a spectacular Airbnb host I would be getting. That and the fact that she was indeed a Superhost sold me! I booked with Mei and filled out the customs form. I went downstairs and picked up my bag -the very last one on the floor by the carousel! I hailed a cab, showed the address on my phone to the driver and we headed off to Mei's. In about 30 minutes, in the midst of the city I arrived. Mei was already at the the door to greet me. I hustled my bags through the doorway and we went up on the elevator.
She showed up how to operate her security door so that I wouldn't set off the alarm accidentally. Mei lead me in and showed me around and it was obviously a chick pad. It was had all the feminine touches of post college woman and it was well decorated. We talked for a bit then she had a meeting to attend. We agreed to go to a local to a local spot for dinner later on. I took a nap. Such a gracious hostess let me sleep longer. She thought that I needed the rest. We finally got under way and she pointed out some interesting sights as we walked and had interesting conversation on the way. We found the spot and she helped me order. We had some kind of noodle soup and I also ordered some sushi. We had a nice dinner conversation. Apparently I use chopsticks like like a child, lol, but I can handle them. Because we had gotten there late, the place started to close before we had completed our meal. They boxed the leftovers for us and we left with our yummies. We weren't far from her apartment so Mei suggested that we drop off the food and then continue our excursion. When we made it back we took the elevator up and I got another lesson on how to operate the security door. I stowed the sushi in the fridge and we sat for what we had intended to be a few minutes but once we relaxed and the meal settled in, that was the end of our ambition to do a night walking tour.
We, instead sat and talked into the wee hours about so many things. It was wonderful! We said our good-nights and headed our rooms. Mei had meetings and errands in the morning and I was left to my own devices. It was raining even harder when I woke up. I had thought to head out and see more of the city but didn't want to get soaked to the bone so I ended up staying in all day reading surfing the web and chatting talking with my girlfriend, who Mei met by video later in the day. That was a hilarious time! Mei returned later that afternoon and several of her friends ended up there as well. We all had a good time laughing together. You might have thought that we had known each other for a while. Mei and I had talked about Taipei 101 and I wanted to experience it. We left early that evening to check it out. This was a treat! After an almost two hour wait we got to eat at the Michelin starred restaurant on the main floor of the building. It was wonderful- no leftovers this time. In spite of the weather, I got good pictures of the building and some of the artwork around the outside, that night.
My time in Taipei was winding up and I had a flight to Thailand the next day. We walked back through the warm night rain conversing all the way, and got soaked, of course. We sloshed through the front door of Mei's building and up the elevator to her apartment, careful not to make too much noise and disturb the other tenets. It was a very good night and I wanted to clean up and get ready for bed so that I could make sure that I was repacked and ready for my plane the next day.
This is probably not a typical Airbnb review. For me it wasn't about the space, which was adequate for my needs. It's about the incredible person who was my hostess for my short stay in Taiwan. Mei isn't only a Superhost she is also a super human being. Because of her, I can't imagine a better stay in Taipei! I was a stranger from another country who selected her spot at the last minute. Yet, I felt as if I was staying with a close friend. I wasn't expecting a five star accommodation but I got ten star hospitality! It was a serendipity that Mei had taken some time off from work and was able to show me around while I was there. That is priceless. If you ever get an opportunity to be her guest, you may not get her time as I did but you will meet a genuine human being and also make a great friend. If I could go back and change anything about ending up in Taiwan unexpectedly and meeting Mei, I wouldn't.