Most Common Questions a Foreigner Might Ask in Taiwan

[quote=“GooseEgg, post:2, topic:154561, full:true”] Why is there a hole in the bathroom where the toilet should be?
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That’s old school crocodile. I have one buddy who was here during the “Why are there numerous dead bodies in the Tamsui River?” era. Another claims to have visited in the early 80s when the streets were open sewers. Taipei has certainly come a long way since then.

I think you covered most of the most commonly asked questions, but some other ones that I get are:

  • In Taipei for (insert time interval), what should I do?

  • Visiting and going around Taiwan for 7-10 days in (insert month), is that enough time to see all sights? What should I pack?

  • How do I buy a train ticket online?

  • Cockroaches can fly?!?!?!?!?!?

All of those except the last one would be best asked in an online forum such as this one, and probably not something I would ask a local. I would certainly ask you those questions though. I don’t even know you and I trust you more than some kid on the street. Anyway, buying the train ticket online almost requires the assistance of a local, so that’s actually a good one. On that tip, “How the fuck does this iBon fucker work and why doesn’t it accept my ARC or passport number as a suitable identifier so I can print out the ticket I just bought online?”

Two I hear a lot are

"What the hell is super_lucky’s avvie any ways?

and

“Has that GooseEgg fella always been so devilishly handsome??”

I only know the answer to one, but I ain’t saying which.

Where are the trash cans?

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Which banks ATMs can withdraw cash from using my foreign visa card?

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I have been here almost 20 years. I have been unable to perform task number 3 by myself.

Same for friggin ibon and company.

I had a friend that had been here for 12 years and also cannot operate or knows how to buy a ticket online through the TRA website. I ended up helping him with booking AND picking up at via ibon. They really should get an English version on those kiosks.

Chinese is not that much of a challenge. It is the out of order steps, they keep messing up with me. Very not intuitive/logical/user friendly.

I mean, after you go to the station to pick up the tickets at the machine, you still have to go to te counter it says. Can’t remember what for. All messed up. And I can speak Chinese, I always wonder what people who can’t read nor speak do in that kind of situation. Sit down and weep?

Stay home.

How this lunar calendar thing works?
Do I really need to learn how to use chopsticks?
Is it possible for a foreigner to drive in Taiwan?
What if I don’t want to teach english?
Where can I get a Easy Card?

I was thinking more like this: where just the questions are posted here so a new reader to this topic can quickly scan for a question.

This way people can jump down if they are interested in reading the questions (and answers?). Or the post with the question might have a Continuation Link to a new topic that discusses that question in more depth

Got it!
I guess we should start writing some answers then :smile:

Wouldn’t it be odd to reply and answer your own question though? Haha :smile:

I can imagine that. But I can also imagine that for many of us who have been here a while, we asked the question (when we first arrived) and we learned the answers (often the hard way)

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Maybe we can make a Taiwan FAQ.:stuck_out_tongue:

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How this lunar calendar thing works?
Lunar calendar lets us know some holiday or birthday correctly.

Do I really need to learn how to use chopsticks?
I don’t think so. There is always fork and spoon.

Is it possible for a foreigner to drive in Taiwan?
Yes.

What if I don’t want to teach english?
I think you can run a restaurant or something, not sure.

Where can I get a Easy Card?
MRT Station.

Where are the trash cans?
Home, or some streets walkway, restrooms.

I think some of those answers need vetting

my mum recently came here for a holiday so i defiantly got a bit of a newbie perspective.

the first thing seems to be where are the rubbish bins? this really made taiwan seem like some backwater retard country, especially when we were walking around danshui which has some night markety streets and there are literally piles of rubbish and shit on the streets because nobody put any bins there. we eventually found one after moving a street away from the river and it was overflowing with trash. its a joke.

toilets were another one. i kind of know to look in 7 11’s and temples to find them but i guess most new people won’t know this.

other than that i noticed that taiwan has a lot more tourists than i first realised. they really need to add more english. even for other asian tourists english is going to be more commonly used than chinese, other than with mainlanders but they are less numerous now.

the MRT map rotation is indeed dumbassery to the fullest.