Matt: Saying my temporary goodbye to first-world Taiwan, my favourite country in Asia (sophisticated Eastern culture and affordable Western standards), and to Kaohsiung City, a top-notch wintering place with the most wonderful and welcoming people, my friendly home away from home for a full three months.
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”
Matt: Agreeing with other expats that you know you have lived in Taiwan too long when...
- you look both ways before crossing sidewalk,
- you see three people on scooter and figure there's room for two more,
- you strap more things to scooter than you ever put in car,
- your main reason you stop at 7-Eleven is to buy tea egg (TWD 8.- each),
- you are very concerned about saving face;
Matt: Agreeing with other expats that you know you have lived in Taiwan too long when...
- you don't much mind drinking beer with ice cubes in it,
- firecrackers don't wake you up at night,
- you know which turn signal should be on when reversing on one-way street,
- "a" and "the" aren't necessary parts of your speech,
- you stare at other foreign devils;
Matt: Agreeing with other expats that you know you have lived in Taiwan too long when...
- you stop conjugating verbs,
- you leave transparent plastic wrapping on all new purchases,
- you are always first on elevator to hit "Close Door" button,
- you stop telling people about giant cockroach you saw,
- you regularly burn joss sticks at temple for winning lottery number;
Matt: Agreeing with other expats that you know you have lived in Taiwan too long when...
- you start to like Kaoliang more than Scotch,
- knife and fork feel very strange,
- you can tell, just by looking, which mooncake has yolk in it,
- you salt your fruit,
- you prefer tofu mock meat to genuine beef, pork or chicken;
Matt: Agreeing with other expats that you know you have lived in Taiwan too long when...
- you get used to habit of not paying any tips,
- your parties have agenda, but your meetings don't,
- you stumble going up flight of steps that are all same height,
- Mandopop remakes of Western songs sound better than English originals,
- you understand that smiling and nodding is Taiwanese body language for "go away and leave me alone".
“People say photographs don’t lie, mine do.”
Matt: Taking an uberefficient and ubercomfortable Ubus +88800241560 night coach (340 km, 4 ½ hours, TWD 420.- or US$ 14.20 per person) from Kaohsiung to Taipei’s posh Taoyuan International Airport, formerly Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, flying uneventfully with Philippine Airlines (“Your Home in the Sky”) in a clean Airbus A 321-200 from Taipei via Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Cebu’s Mactan-Cebu International Airport for US$ 155.70 per person, one way, all inclusive, without changing my watch from Taiwan’s National Standard Time (GMT/UTC + 8:00 hours) to Philippine Time (GMT/UTC + 8:00 hours), and thereafter a metered white cab straight to my hotel in downtown Cebu (PHP 220.- or US$ 4.90 for the ride).
Ich liebe Gross-Staedte! Vielleicht weil ich nun aelter werde und weil ich in jungen Jahren bereits ausreichend Natur und wilderness erlebt habe. Gross-Staedte haben dagegen extrem viele Vorteile, vom eiskalten Bier bis zu den bequemen Transportmitteln. Und jungle haben Gross-Staedte sowieso, vor allem nachts… - Welche Annehmlichkeiten und welche Herausforderungen bietet Euch Eure moderne Gross-Stadt Toronto?
From Taiwan, with Love!
Click below for more blog posts about Kaohsiung City and southern Taiwan
08 Feb 2014 Fo Guang Shan
07 Feb 2014 Meinong
05 Feb 2014 Tainan
16 Jan 2014 Kenting
08 Feb 2014 Fo Guang Shan
07 Feb 2014 Meinong
05 Feb 2014 Tainan
16 Jan 2014 Kenting
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