I got a big kick out of this; thanks for the endorphins:
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I’ve assumed it’s fears of the delta variant, but I’m not sure if that was stated.
The English translations and summaries I see of announcements seldom provide much in the way of scientific explanation or rationale. Maybe there’s more in Chinese, but I’m skeptical.
I don’t mind biandangs / lunchboxes, but even two in a day would get me annoyed. Two weeks of them? Ugh.
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It’s funny how it requires 70 years of life experience to ultimately conclude: “bugger it, let’s just have a beer”.
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Are those rare…and are they good? I haven’t had ice cream in a couple of years, but was contemplating buying some over the last few weeks. 
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Was nobody here a student on a short budget? Back in my day I was on a 25 NTD sandwich, 10 NTD tea for breakfast, student cafeteria for lunch, night market or pao mien for dinner. You guys are spoiled…
That said, I had a pal who got 711 bientangs all 2 weeks. But I am unsure hers was a certified quarantine hotel.
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I refer you to this discussion. Beware: it may lead to irrational futures choices!
https://tw.forumosa.com/t/rare-ice-cream-finds/168575/132
Guy
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Not here, but I’ve lived on crap food. I’ve also stayed in cheap dorms for extended periods of time. Those however were at a different stage of my life, and when my body didn’t react quite so badly to the abuse that two weeks of lunchboxes would inflict upon it.
Plus I’m just spoiled these days, I suppose.
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Looks like I might need to go outside into plagueland tomorrow then…
So are these rare as @lostinasia suggested, or are they available in many/most 7-11s?
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As @marco can attest, the coveted Ekselence bars can at time be elusive.
The less flashy yet also solid Pols bars at Family Mart seem to be more regularly in stock, at least in my corner of Taipei.
Happy hunting!
Guy
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Depends where you are I think. I haven’t seen the caramel-chocolate ones in my nearby Danshui 7-11s in couple of weeks. But even the summer beers are hard to find around here.
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I’m in a similar corner I think (Gongguan/Taipower area)…guess I’ll go on a scouting mission tomorrow then with a fully charged phone!
The nearby Family Mart scares me. It seems to collect the smokers and mask-avoiders. Even in normal times I fear disease in that place, never mind now.
North America has gangs of faintly threatening teens outside the convenience stores. We’ve got elderly folks smoking cigarettes and spitting out betel nut, and smugly chin-diapering their masks.
Boy, we’re putting the “open” in open discussion, aren’t we?
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So the piers and pathways and stores and restaurants are closed…yet people drive in groves 4 hours to get to Sun Moon Lake…
Locals not happy. Local authorities not happy. National health authorities not happy.
And before you say it is safe outdoors, remember these folks come to crowd narrow streets, gather in groups, basically eliminate the advantages of being outdoors.
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So true. It’s not the lone person on a trail or beach that is the problem, it is the 10,000 people that inevitably follow.
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They don’t eliminate the advantages of being outdoors, they reduce those advantages. Perhaps because access to the outdoors has been limited so they are forced into the few places that remain open?
I can see two solutions to the problem. Either open up everywhere outdoors to increase the spread of people, or close everywhere outdoors down. The latter would require a very harsh lockdown indeed.
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If you have even been on a tour or trip with Taiwanese, you will know that the great outdoors is not for them masses. They are looking for photo ops.
If they wanted open spaces, isolated from others, they could find them elsewhere, not in Yangmingshan or Sun Moon Lake. Those are tourist spots. People go for famous food, manicured trails, not open spaces and wild forests.
You can check how many people went to natural reserves before and compare how many went to Sun Moon Lake. Mostly to the hotels.
Even with the options of open spaces, the locals mostly choose the night market like scene. Maybe some biking around the lake, take the boat, eat at certain restaurants. But when they had a choice, top choice was not undeveloped, pristine areas. So it is not a matter of choice. It is habit, convenience and plain stubbornness as they have been told not to go, they are not wanted, yet there they are.
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That’s interesting to learn as I’ve never had the pleasure of a tour with Taiwanese.
However, it doesn’t offer a solution to the problem. Do you prefer everywhere outdoors to be closed to the public, or everywhere outdoors to be open to the public?
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You need to try the KTV buses. They will give you a new perspective on life. As in “get me outta here before I jump out”. They’ll make you appreciate what a real enclosure means.
Currently all closed goes logically with the do not go out mandate. Food and medical stuff is open as it is necessary and it is assumed people will not linger longer than necessary. As we had discussed before, them making exceptions here and there causes confusion. Opening mountain areas endangers locals with limited medical resources. In summary, there are way too many people in this island of ours and they tend to congregate no matter indoors or outdoors. This ain’t Kansas.
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It’s not difficult to close the borders.
This is why closing everywhere doesn’t work. People end up bending the rules and crowding together anyway.
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