Taipei general observations Mar-May 2018
General impressions from first trip Dec 2016:
General impressions from second trip Mar 2017:
These two trips were short (5 and 8 days) visa runs, so I
didn’t get the full picture. Now after staying full 90 days (visa free for
German passport!), I can elaborate and correct some of above observations.
Most notably did I say that Taiwan is almost as cheap as
Thailand and almost as civilized as Germany. Taiwan is as civilized as Germany,
in some areas even more civilized. Taiwan is not as cheap as Thailand. Public
transport costs about the same as in Thailand; street food costs about twice as
much (but Western food about the same); accommodation (long-time rent) about
three times as much; hotels about twice as much.
Exchange rates at time of posting: 1 THB = 0.91 NTD, 1 USD=
30 NTD, 1 EUR = 36 NTD, 1 GBP = 40 NTD.
Apart from that (more expensive than Thailand), Taiwan
compares very favorably with everywhere else in South-East Asia I have been
(everywhere except Philippines).
Accommodation
In Bangkok Sathorn I had a room with about 24 sqm for 8000
THB per month. Rents in central Taipei turned out to be much more expensive. I
had a look at three rooms (found on the internet), and then decided for one
with 8.5 sqm and no window for 9000 NTD per month. Shared toilet, bathroom,
kitchen and living room with TV and cleaning service for shared areas included.
Living in such a small space was no problem for me. And room
without window gave experimental proof that I do not wake up from sunlight in
the morning, as I thought before. In this completely dark room I wake up around
8 am, same as in rooms with window and only little influenced by time I go to
bed.
Convenience stores
7-Eleven are as ubiquitous as in Thailand. They are even
better than Thailand, as most have a sitting area and you can copy and print.
Only few in Thailand have seating area: The 7-Eleven in NE corner of Klong Toey
intersection and the Family Mart about 200 m south of Malaysia Hotel (even
power plugs on the table; a Farang friend who likes beer goes there to buy beer
and consume it in the shop, with free aircon, seating and charging his phone).
Dogs and Cats
I observed several dog owners taking dustpan with cat litter,
brush and bottle of water when walking their dog. That’s for cleaning up after
the dog, and indeed I didn’t see any dog poo in Taipei. Contrary experience in
Berlin (when I studied there in the noughties and now when visiting friends):
dog poo everywhere!
High humidity causes skin problems for dogs (info from
friend who has a dog), and many owners keep their dog’s fur short.
Hairdresser for dogs, one of the dogs is real and the others are dummies:
Kitten (elsewhere puppies) displayed in shop window for sale:
I would have wished for more free roaming cats to pet. Not enough cats. There was only one cat that I pet, the others I saw were scared. Throughout my stay in Taiwan, I was under-catted!
Food
Food is about twice as expensive than in Thailand. Most of my meals were from buffet for 80-100 NTD.
Notice the use of disposable paper trays throughout.
There was very delicious pastry everywhere in town.
I guess I had between 5 and 10 of these per week. Here I violated my rule of civilized eating and ate them while walking.
Based on my loyal reader vinapu's
"I don't drink water. Animals drink water",
I made up some more:
"I don't eat while walking or standing. Animals eat while walking or standing."
"I don't have sex in the bushes. Animals have sex in the bushes."
Fried rice with pineapple is rare in Thailand (only in touristy areas at high prices, I had one in Phuket served in hollow pineapple for 120 THB), but widespread in Taiwan in Thai restaurants and general restaurants. Picture fried rice with pineapple, cashew nuts, shrimp, pork floss (?), yellow color from curry. Delicious, had it many times. Price 100 NTD.
From eating great food and a sedentary lifestyle, I’ve
gained some weight. I had a pair of shorts I’d bought years ago, and when I tried
to put them on I just couldn’t make the button and hole meet!
From eating great food and a sedentary lifestyle, I’ve
gained some weight. I had a pair of shorts I’d bought years ago, and when I tried
to put them on I just couldn’t make the button and hole meet!
Language
I would not want to live long term in a country without
speaking the language. Anyway, I would have a lot of time to fill (90 days), so
I took classes in Chinese (Mandarin, traditional writing). That turned out to
be much more time consuming than I thought. After some weeks I realized that
learning in a group (even if it’s small, 6 students in my case) is not for me
(my Asperger-Autism, and I think you cannot practice speaking and listening
with fellow students), and I didn’t like the teacher’s style.
So I looked for language exchange on the internet and
quickly found partners. In total I met 5 people, and my experience is
overwhelmingly positive. With two I did not just language exchange, we went
hiking as well. A nice change from Thailand where I have to plan everything for
my trips (and when I go with friends as well), here I just had to follow.
Coming from Thailand, I was used to all kind of space-time-confusions. Nothing of this here! When I had an appointment for the evening, I used to text my partner in the morning "How are you? See you tonight.", at noon (same) and in the afternoon (same) as I do in Thailand, not necessary here.
One language exchange partner I visited at home several times, and we are still in contact and will stay friends. Or, considering he is going to study psychology, did he find his most interesting non-institutionalized / free roaming subject in me?
A friend at school used to say "The best way to learn a language is to sleep with her". (Applying German grammar - Sprache = language is feminin in German - deliberately or by mistake?) That worked very well with Thai (half a year after starting to learn Thai I was already dating in Thai), but that incentive is missing here.
Hotels
Hotels are at least twice as expensive as in Thailand. I didn't stay in hotels during my three trips. In Taipei I used hostels and stayed in dormitory for average 500 NTD. For trip to Taichong I stayed in AirBnB. My first experience with AirBnB, positive.
Public Transport
Public Transport in Taipei is excellent and costs around the same as in Bangkok, subway/underground is even cheaper. Bus stops show time until next bus.
Most buildings in Taipei overhang the sidewalk to protect pedestrians from rain/sun (similar in Penang, Phuket, Singapore; there is a law/regulation, but I can't find it).
Toilets
No water hose (bum gun) where I live. So it’s back to toilet
paper, but we are not allowed to flush it down (will block the drain), so there
is a waste bucket for used toilet paper. A weird arrangement.
Weather
It's wet all over the year. The manager said in summer clothes won't dry in air, only in dryer. Dogs have skin problems (see above), and a leather wallet that I didn't use in Taiwan got some mould.
Copyright 2018 ChristianPFC
