Despite some of Taiwan’s other pitfalls as a noisy, humid and sometimes overbearing metropolis, they seem to have one thing down — hotels. On my last trip out to Taipei I spent a few nights at Les Suites Taipei and it turned out to be one of the best-valued luxury boutiques I’d ever stayed in. This trip rather than stay in what I know, I figured I’d try something different, this time it was the newly-opened Tango Hotel in the busy commercial area of Zhong Xiaio road. Point blank: This place rocks. The room is huge (42 square meters) with an incredibly comfortable king sized bed and goose down bedding. In addition to the usual amenities, each room has a 42″Pioneer Plasma and a 5 speaker surround sound system, a sunken jacuzzi tub (with another flat screen) and a glass panel that separates the bathroom from the bedroom. The whole room was tricked out with a remote control; to say that Asians love their electronics would be a gross understatement. What’s really remarkable though is the price, which falls between $120 and $200 per night per room depending on size. I can’t seem to get in anywhere in NYC decent for even three times that. If you find yourself in Taipei, check The Tango Hotel out, it’s well worth experiencing.

When I was in Taipei I got a nice tour of all the Royal Elastics flagship stores. It’s amazing to see a brand have such solid Asian brand presence. The American team should be taking notes on the way the Taipei team is marketing Royal Elastics–they’re really doing it nicely here. Many Americans haven’t even heard of the brand–Asia on the other hand has recognized Royal as a massive supporter of street-art. This past Saturday in Tokyo there was a massive art party with live painting by sheOne, sponsored by Royal Elastics. They’re totally doing it right here: Art installations, customized artist-sneakers, and beautiful store fronts. I’ve started seeing this brand all over Tokyo as well, nice stuff.

Amidst the industrial, working class facades of Taipei, Les Suites clean exterior hints at the modernity awaiting inside. The lobby’s balanced marble grey and blond hues welcome weary travelers with efficiency and crisp attention. An elegant floral arrangement of wild orchids set a graceful complement to the breakfast lounge as we arrived well before our room was ready — the hotel was sold out from the night before. Once we settled in, we effortlessly signed on to wifi in 10 seconds, and enjoyed the morning buffet, a blend of chinese dumplings, meats and rice gruel with western offerings like pancakes, boiled eggs and toast. After a stroll ’round the neighborhood of clothing and jewelry shoppes, we returned at 10 AM and checked into one of our two rooms (the King) that occupied the top floor of this nine story boutique gem. A bamboo filled terrace was perfectly placed next to the comfy reading chair. The room was lovely overall, the closet space generous and the desk area came fully equipped with everything from a stapler to an art eraser and exacto. Les Suites got everything right, from mechanicals (just the right temperature inside to offset the scorching heat) to proportion (the lounge and rooms were both user-friendly dimensions without being either too large or cramped) to professional, helpful and friendly staff (smiles and clear directions to a particular address we needed.) Remarkably pleasant, warmly bright and continental and a great value for the money, Les Suites was, well, a sweet surprise in Taipei.

Only having one day (really 26 hours) in Taipei was a big ol’ tease, luckily I’ll be spending another day there on the way back home. I did manage to check a few pretty nice shops I found walking around last night– one of them was a place called Patchwork– a small-modern designer toy shop. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many tiny Kubricks and Bearbricks in one place. They were all lined up along the walls with numbers and prices, pretty neat. The shop called it self ‘where apparel, toys and design collide’. Well, whatever back street I ended up on was an absolute blast at night. A few doors down from Patchwork there was a sneaker shop called Magnetic– it reminded me of the Alife Rivington Club in NYC, hardwood floors, shoes behind glass, the works. Unfortunately they were totally over-protective and wouldn’t let me take any pictures for a write up, so they just won’t get one.

I spent a few hours checking out the National Palace Museum– one way to get out of the sweltering 87° heat here. I’ve always loved Eastern art, especially sculpture (the Buddha collection was mind blowing) and the scriptures and paintings were also great, all older than I can even fathom. There was a section of ancient stamps I also really enjoyed. It was nice to see one of the most well-known museums in the world which holds some of Taiwan and China’s most precious treasures. Unfortunately it looks like I just missed the Old is New ‘Modern T-Shirt Design Competition‘ that was held at the musuem just a few days ago. The t-shirt competition website is in Chinese, which I’m not so hot at reading– so looks like I’m out of luck on that one.

After the 14 hour long haul from LAX, I’ve arrived in Taiwan safe. I’m actually reasonably refreshed thanks to the lovely crew on Malaysia Airlines (more about their in-flight services soon). First impression of Taipei? I’m a total gringo here–even the soda machines fascinate me. The airport here is incredibly efficient, friendly, yet quite utilitarian without being too sterile. I’ll be uploading photos from around town soon– shops don’t even open until 10:00 or 11:00am and it’s barely 8:00 as I write this post! Thanks for all the encouraging and supportive feedback on the redesign. More from Taipei soon!