I took a taxi to Taipei Main Station, loaded with the honey liqueur I’d purchased for my hosts. Inside the station, I followed the TRA signs thinking I’d find a manned ticket booth; the last time I was here there was a manned ticket booth. This time, I must have entered on a different floor (there are at least 3). The only ticket booths I saw were for the HSR. Maybe they would have sold me a train ticket but I didn’t want to wait in line and ask. Finally I did ask – an entrance attendant. I said the word “Yingge” and she pointed towards a set of escalators and, after swiping my Easy Card, down I went. I know Yingge is south of Taipei so, just to be sure, I asked a lady standing on the platform. She asked someone else, who asked someone else, who….you get the picture. Soon, there was a crowd gathered around trying to *help*! Luckily, this time, I did select the right escalators (out of hundreds) and got on the train. 30 minutes later my friends picked me up in Yingge and we headed, by van, to Taichung.
National Pride
10 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Culture, Taiwan Tags: 7-11, birthday; happy birthday, flags
This weekend everyone is celebrating this tiny island nation’s 100th birthday. Taiwan may be small but its show of nationalism is anything but! Flags are displayed everywhere. Roads have been blocked off for the many parades and inevitable crush of people going to see tonight’s firework display over the river. Military aircraft overhead are showing off their capabilities during an airshow. 7-11 is giving away colorful “Happy Birthday Taiwan” folders with each purchase. Most everyone gets the day off; folks are in a festive mood!
Happy Birthday Taiwan!
More musings on life in Taiwan
07 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Travel Tags: Anhe, Palace HD Hotel, paper tape
Although I’ve been walking to and from work for several months, people still stare up at me like I’m a creature from another planet. If I catch their eye, I will smile at them and it takes them a few milliseconds to realize I come in peace and they smile back.
As I passed the Palace HD Hotel (not sure what the HD stands for) on Anhe, I noticed a funny sign out front. At first all I could read was “SEX” and as I got closer, I could see it read “SEX & CITY”. I’m guessing they mean to pay homage to the popular TV series and movies starring SJP et al. What’s funny about it is that the Taiwanese are outwardly very conservative and the fact that they don’t seem to understand that such a sign, so close to a hotel has a, shall we say, unintended meaning for English speakers.
this is hilarious!
The women’s magazines here all come shrinkwrapped with all sorts of goodies inserted as “bonus” gifts. Sometimes it’s full-sized beauty products and sometimes a PILE of samples. I love it! (The German magazines have the best FREE stuff in ’em!)
What can you use to decorate your walls that doesn’t have to be painted over when you want to change your color scheme? Paper tape from Japan, of course! What a fun idea!
Bill paying, Taiwan style: take your bills – ALL of them – into the nearest 7-11, smile, hand the clerk the bills and some money and within seconds, it’s done. Done. DONE. For the entire month! (Most folks get paid once a month.)
Weekly review
01 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Shopping, Taipei, Taiwan Tags: bamboo, Eslite, gondola, luoshi, oolong tea, vegetarian buffet
I started out writing at least daily and now it seems I’m so busy enjoying all Taiwan has to offer, I write a lot less frequently. Every day I find something else to marvel at. One interesting factoid: the Taiwanese can be a superstitious lot. They don’t like living on the fourth floor because the words for this floor sound like a word with a bad meaning. HINT: if you want to pay less for an apartment in a nice building, check out the 4th floor!
On Wednesday it was Luoshi (low-sure) Day, a day to celebrate and thank teachers! Several of us share the same Chinese teacher so we got together to get her a gift (lucky bamboo) and a card. The card was red and the envelope pale pink so I thought it would look nice to write her name in red ink on the envelope. Oh no, big faux pas! Writing someone’s name in red ink means you’re predicting their death. Say what? Who knew? (When folks here use a “chop” to stamp their name on a document, they use….yup, RED ink!) So, crisis averted; I used a black pen instead. Whew. Luoshi said it “made her heart happy” to get our gift. Awwwwww.
Luoshi is super patient and I like that she’s open to “alternate” teaching methods. For instance, one of my lessons was supposed to be about negotiating the price of a new car, something not likely to happen during my stay. Instead, I asked teacher to help me decipher all the junk mail I get. It’s colorful and looks interesting; ads for restaurants, real estate, foot massage places, retail store circulars. If I peruse them long enough, I can detect patterns and figure out a little of what is being said. It’s amazing how much you can learn about a culture by reviewing their junk mail!
On Saturday I met some friends at the local “bookstore”, Eslite. This place must be seen (and experienced) to be believed. 5, or is it 6, floors (only one and a half of which contain books) of the latest clothing, gadgets, accessories, paper products, music and movies, food, jewelry, cosmetics – and everything in between. I had a delicious fresh vegetarian lunch at a buffet that came to 88NT (less than 3.00) and included 5-grain rice and green tea. You can almost do all your shopping in one place!
Eslite Bookstore - and so much more!
Sunday, I planned to ride a gondola up a mountain to where the oolong tea Taiwan is famous for, is grown. The weather has been dicey – windy and rainy – this weekend; I hope they don’t cancel the ride.
Asia's best kept secret... 