I’ve seen lots of “foreigners” in Taipei but haven’t talked to them, though I’ve thought about it. I probably just look like another Taiwanese person, though if you look closely I probably don’t dress like one. It is fun to listen in on conversations though, just to hear what people are doing during their day.
Taipei is cool and cold. So do London, New York and Tokyo. Being in a giant urban area makes people distant, not closer. But if you go to the same breakfast store, the same cafe, the same gym, the same supermarket for several days, people will warm up to you. 
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Sometimes I don’t understand the mentality of certain people. I’ve seen countless times about how foreigners hate being stared at or touched or taken a selfie with, and then out of nowhere some other people would come up and say people are so cold.
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Newsflash! Different people have different personalities. Some people like the attention, others don’t. Also, not all attention is created equal. Starting a friendly conversation with someone is a lot different than gawking at someone or wanting to take a selfie with them because, well, they have blond hair, blue eyes and a big nose.
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“Dikes” do the same thing with me, make sure their girlfriends don’t look at me and I’m 50 ha ha. They must be REALLY insecure. Sometimes women will not sit next to me but generally it’s fine. A few men who “bat for the other team” sometimes try and talk to me. Taipei is pretty friendly compared to most capital cities it’s just that most capital cities are not that friendly. I’m 6ft 2, and over 200 pounds (not fat) and have a skinhead, so it “aint” that bad in comparison to the wide berth people give me in western cities.
How many times has that happened?
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people can come across as cold even when they talk to you or show some interest. because they are keeping you at arms length and asking the same foreigner questions over and over again maybe?
Much better than a narrow birth. Now those are really painful…so I hear.
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I don’t really care about people being interested in wanting sitting next to me or not, I’m occupied with ‘people watching’, always trying to figure out why people are dressed the way they are or wear flip-flops or odd shoes in winter while wearing a coat you could survive a winter in Antarctica.
I’m having fun my way!
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Is it really about “foreigners”? I’ve noticed that Taiwanese people are sometimes too shy to sit with even other Taiwanese. Especially young ones and university students. This leads to people standing in buses or trains when seats are available.
Sometimes I miss mainland China where you have half a second to put your buttocks on vacant seat. But on the other hand - no, I don’t.
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If you like, I can introduce you to some queue-cutting obasans who like to push past people to grab a seat on the red line in Taipei. I’ll bet they’ll make you feel right at home. 
Guy
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Tainan = the best
In my home country people fight (often literally) for a double seat. Some Taiwanese hand it to you on a plate and it’s still something to complain about?
I’ll tell you what’s worse. The guy who deliberately sits next to you because he wants to talk to you. After a long day at work that is not cool.
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Yep. Definitely not on my concern radar, much less complain
Taipei is pretty friendly unless you’re on the road.
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Rude old man at gym tonight. He looked at me when he walked up, I’m thinking I’ll be courteous (it’s not really a conscious thought), and moved so he could get to his locker, then he proceeded to block mine for 5 minutes. The whole locker room was empty. I finally just moved myself in saying buhao yisi a couple times, then a second time just moved in, and he refused to move to the other side of locker or whatever. I’m pulling things from my locker like a contortionist and throwing them over to the nearest bench. He stands in the same damn spot the entire time.
I don’t get it.
i don’t get it either. its the whole pretend you are not there so they don’t need to get out of your way deal. if people don’t get out my way then i don’t get out of their way even more.
You don’t go to the Danshui world gym do you? There’s a crazy old guy there with a fading tattoo all over his back, likes to wander around the locker room naked doing bizarre exercises, making loud atavistic noises, blowing snot everywhere, and generally being a pain in the ass. I can imagine him blocking a locker just for the fun of it.
Why don’t you move him? Sometimes I just use my body to move people over. Nothing they can do about it.