Although I've had the good fortune of having travelled to Asia in the past, I'm always surprised by the new experiences that I'm able to have and I thought I would share a couple of them with you.
My first stop was Taipei and I was able to see a whole new side to Taipei. I'll admit that my past trips have been limited to going to the top of Taipei 101 and visiting a couple of night markets, but this year I was able to go beyond the usual tourist stops and gain a different perspective. One of my favorite memories from this trip involves taking a ride on the wild side by riding in one of the Crystal Cabins of the Maokong Gondola. Most people will tell you that I am not the biggest risk taker. I don't mind taking risks as long as they are calculated risks, and riding in a glass bottom gondola hanging from what looks like a thin cable for more than 2.5 miles over the hills of Taipei is kind of a big deal. Luckily for me, Hello Kitty is the Maokong Gondola's annual mascot this year and she helped to make me feel safe.
I definitely would recommend the Maokong Gondola to anyone visiting Taipei. Not only did I ride in a Hello Kitty themed gondola and enjoy beautiful views of Taipei, but I was also able to enjoy a delicious lunch at the top of the mountain and learned how tea is traditionally prepared. And as a bonus, for you cost-conscious travelers out there, the cost for a round trip gondola ride is less than $4 and if you purchase an all day Taipei Pass (with Maokong Gondola) then it's only a little over $8 and it includes unlimited MRT/bus/gondola rides for the day - the perfect way to get around Taipei!
So once I returned from my gondola adventure, it was time to get ready for the evenings events - meeting prospective MBA applicants at our school presentation and MBA fair organized by the MBA Tour and held at the Regent Taipei. I'm glad that I was able to count on the help of three UCLA Anderson alums who were able to share their point of view with the prospective applicants. We always meet great applicants in Taipei and I'm looking forward to evaluating their applications.
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