Since I was still under the impression on Monday that I had an apartment at this point I decided to do some tourist things and go off and see Taipei 101 – the tallest building in the world. Sadly it was not open yet. However the mall next to it is and is more like a cathederal of shopping. EVERY brand you can think of, from UK highstreet to Italian catwalk is represented. People are crawling over themselves to get a slice of the increasingly affluent Taiwanese pie.

Taipei 101, as you can see is pretty.. tall. Very ornate. Not my taste – give me the Gherkin any day.

At this point I got the call that my flat was not available, so I went to the tech district and checked out the products on show. My word, it is like Tottenham Court Road on steroids and speed. I saw the smallest cameras, biggest TVs and more hifi’s than I have ever seen combined in my life. A very different shopping experience to the restrained european model.