鳥羽花香... 高梁... 柯羅莎...

Just had dinner with some new-found friends at a Hakka restaurant called 鳥羽花香. We ate in a small private room with walls that glowed with constellation patterns when the lights were turned off. Sweet! The lady boss was extremely friendly, and obligingly led us in a round of karaoke. It was a great evening :)

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Update as of 5 Oct, 2355 hrs

Was made to down several shots of 高梁 during lunch, which made me vomit quite a bit, leaving me feeling ill and groggy for most of the afternoon. Thank God it's Friday, so at least I get the next day to rest. But oh dear, I can't really rest because I'm supposed to move out of the hotel tomorrow into my new apartment, but Typhoon Krosa (柯羅莎) is scheduled to hit full-force, throwing a spanner into the works. Krosa has been reported to be potentially the most dangerous storm of the season so far. It's supposed to intensify into a super typhoon before easing slightly and making landfall on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Woohoo! :P

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Update as of 6 Oct, 1700 hrs

My house-moving plans were cancelled this morning. I didn't feel like shifting my things in the rain, especially when the authorities had declared that all offices and schools were to be shut for today in view of Krosa. I could hear the loud and continual rumbling of the typhoon from inside my hotel room. Since I didn't have a window that opened to the outside, I went downstairs to the ground lobby to take a look at the situation outdoors. I saw sheets of heavy rain, fallen trees and huge signboards tossed around like candy wrappers in the wind. There were hardly any cars on the roads, and there were the random stranded passers-by who sought refuge in the hotel lobby, their umbrellas -- or what's left of their umbrellas after being mangled by the storm -- crumpled in a wet and dismal heap by their sides.

When I returned to my room, the TV news reported serious flooding in some parts of the city, and showed images of vehicles being submerged up to half-a-wheel high in rainwater. There were mudslides across many parts of the island as well. The MRT service in Taipei had been suspended. Someone's house had its roof dramatically ripped off. Smashed windows. Uprooted trees. Crashing waves. Flooded homes. Overturned vehicles. A funeral procession that got swept away. And then, all of a sudden, there was a power-trip in the hotel. The whole room plunged into darkness, and all was silent except for the ominous rumbling.