The pollution in Taipei’s not that bad!
I do not find the pollution that bad 7:30 in the morning… And treadmills are just not me 
I have a friend who is off and on at the Taipei Hostel on Linshen.
He claims there is a fifty something foreigner bouncing between here and Thailand who dresses in drag and goes out late at night and tries to turn tricks with drunken businessmen in the Linshen Bay-loo area.
The guy stays at the Taipei Hostel when he is in town.
Can anyone confirm or deny this dude? I have never been to the Taipei Hostel and I am guessing a lot of you may be more familiar than I.
Do you know what kind of underwear he wore?
Never let drunken businessmen near your Linsen Bay-loo area, that’s just asking for trouble.
mwalimu - that is a great read. Kept in suspense til the end.
I second that. Hear, hear! 
Treadmills make you feel like a lab rat. ITs only good if a hottie with bouncing titties is using the one next to ya and you can see her in those big mirrors in front of you.
Then i can do 15minutes on one otherwise its just five minutes to make sure my legs work and im off to the next stupid machine.
Absolute gold!! :bravo:
I nominate this for a Classic Post!
I’ve highlighted my favourite bits.
1 Like
Hi DanishGuy, you might find a more comfortable running environment if you can make it one of the riverside parks. You’ll be able to exercise in more open space. Heck if I really liked running as much as you say you do, I’d take a cab to the riverside, run the 10k and then take a cab back. On the return trip the taxi will have turned on the AC, so by the time you’re back to the hotel you’ll be ready to take the elevator in a drier state.
Hi Rocky Raccoon !
What do you think the taxidriver will say when I place my sweatdripping body in his nice newly vacuumcleand and wiped seats ! I bet he will not be to happy 
Besides that it seems complicated for me to take taxis back and forth to find a suitable place to run. I normally run around 1KM on the streets to Da’an Forest Park. Then I take a few rounds there to reach 9KM and then 1KM back to the hotel again.
But thanks anyway for the hint…!
Reminds me of a Canadian hometown friend of mine whom I’ll call Captain Jack. Now Captain Jack comes from an entrepreneurial family back home, but he doesn’t care too much about material possessions. The things that are important to him in life are chasing, drinking, travelling and saving money. I’ve travelled with him to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan, and generally get a real kick out of his roguish behaviour. In fact, I expect it. If we’re touching base somewhere in the world for a trip, I demand that I get to see him put on a “show.” And that means watching him try to pick up an odd assortment of ladies from the local gentry.
He’s slept with 100s of women and documents his conquests in a little black book. One time, as a joke, we stole his black book, and he actually thought he had lost it. He went nuts and ripped apart the hotel we were staying at looking for it. It was as if someone had ripped out his heart. On that same trip, we put a stuffed tarantula (always on sale in Ko Samui trinket stores) on his bed pillow while he was with some chick 
Scared the hell out of both of them.
He’s fornicated with native girls on their rag, three hookers in one night in Thailand, 300 pound Southeast Asian visiting students in uni, and every shade in between. Listening to his recent conquest stories and the lewd commentary is quite entertaining indeed. The guy hasn’t grown up since his teenage years and it is quite funny to see someone who stays the same year after year after year.
One time in Bintan Indonesia, he tipped a hooker with an O Henry bar and a loonie while short changing her and was later chased around town by the Momasan. Another time, he was too cheap to get a separate hotel room and brought some Thai “slapper” back to a hotel room where I was staying with an old family friend. Very annoyed at his low class behaviour but too tired to make an issue of it (we had just returned from a kayaking trip), my friend and I spent the night mimicking the sounds Captain Jack was making with the pickup. Despite the mockery, he was still too cheap to get another room.
No wonder so many snowbirds have such a bad reputation, except this dude isn’t a senior–he is in his mid 30s.
It’s a two year old thread, so I don’t think it’s gravedigging. Temp this if it is.
One thing that has struck me since moving to Taiwan is the number of foreigners who I call ‘single issue expats’. They just have one topic, often a political issue, that they are completely obsessed with. When you meet them for the first time all normal social conventions go out the window and they launch straight into whatever issue it is that bothers them. I’ve noticed that this type of person is way more prevalent in Taiwan than in the UK.
This does mean that foreigners often come across as odd. Just to give an example, this is a conversation I had with a stranger who approached me at a party recently:
Him: So, what do you think about American politics?
Me: I don’t really know, to be honest.
Him: ‘I don’t know.’ What sort of an answer is that?
This is by no means a rare occurence. I’ve met loads of people who only seem to want to talk about one thing, and they keep on bringing it up again and again. It could be some conspiracy theory, immigration into their home country (that one always makes me smile), a problem they have with Taiwan… they just seem to launch into their obsession and refuse to discuss anything else. Obviously, people who bypass standard social conventions are going to come across as a bit odd.
Not the oddest, but certainly odd: I was at an event on Saturday where there were members of the local media in attendance. I was chatting with a very congenial radio station program manager when one of his DJs appeared. The station manager introduced us and, just as we were shaking hands and saying “Nice to meet you,” this DJ turned away to look around the room. No eye contact at all, head completely turned, and he was still shaking my hand. That was a bit weird.
Oh BOY! Would I have a whole bunch of possible answers for THAT one! “I don’t care a jot about you daft weirdoes over there!” would probably be one of the more polite ones.
As for poor Tomas – the guy was a fricking ICRT disc jockey, fer chrissakes! He probably knows the latest scoop on Bruno Mars, for heaven’s sakes! Why on EARTH should he have acknowledged a mere you? You need to remember that in the rarified atmosphere of money-losing tenth-rate radio stations, he’s an EXALTED figure! ROYALTY, practically. I BET he has a free pass to get into Luxy any time he wants!
Jealousy is unattractive.
Yeah, probably something like that. For the record, it wasn’t Ron Stuart. I know Ron and he is a very cool guy, always friendly, very genuine. I was so surprised by this other guy’'s behavior that I couldn’t do anything but burst out laughing. It’s no big deal; it was only mildly offensive. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who turns away to look elsewhere and then says: “Yeah, nice to meet you.” Hilarious.
Sorry, but Ron Stewart is a funny guy. There. I said it. But he is. I like his show.
Tee hee! Just for the record, you wrong-side-of-the-ponder, we have a fucking ROYAL WEDDING later this year!!! What have YOU lot got, eh? See? That’s where your "jealousy thing falls flatter than a soggy bearclaw with too many grits. :roflmao:
And he’s genuine too. IRL, he’s exactly like he is on the radio. Very high-energy, nice fellow, remembers your name.