What were your first impressions of Taiwan (25 word limit):
The constant traffic, the car horns, skyscrapers, people every-where, bicycles, roadside cafes, back streets, markets, department stores. First impressions - Taipei is alive.
betel nut stains, 7-11 (honey jasmine tea box), everything in Chinese, tatami mats, dirty bathroom tiles on all the buildings, nobody to talk to :’-( [and] scooters
a let down - i thought it would be busier with bigger buildings and more crowds 
plus more crime
i still like it though 
because everybody 
's to me
cheap toys, t-shirts, and shoes from K-mart, the Teapot Inn in Chula Vista Ca. and Mrs. Wang’s Pot Stickers. Or do you mean I got here.
Chou
First impressions of Taipei upon re-entry from the old world.
Where have all the parks and old buildings gone? Why are all these people rushing about? With all the drinks at 7-11, why can’t i find bottled water WITH gas? What do you mean I need to pay for public transport?
So many food stands, cheap clothes & cheap ciggies, oh… this is a shopping heaven and I am going to smoke my lungs out!!
~MiakaW~
a land of friendly people, too many 7-11s and tourist attractions within walking distance of one another.
Crappy, third-world airport. Crazy taxi ride. White lines on street mean nothing. 220 volt circuit breaker in the shower? I want my momma!
hot, traffic, hot, anarchy, hot, filth, hot, beautiful, hot, efficient, hot, disorganised, hot, bing-lang, hot, scooters, hot, stench, hot, crowded, hot, chopsticks, hot, temples, humid…
The shifty looking Taiwanese grad student back from a brief stint in the US Midwest who picked me up from the airport and promptly informed me that life in Taiwan was like living in a roach hole. And it is.
[quote]hot, traffic, hot, anarchy, hot, filth, hot, beautiful, hot, efficient, hot, disorganised, hot, bing-lang, hot, scooters, hot, stench, hot, crowded, hot, chopsticks, hot, temples, humid…[/quote]hot, girls,
Like China, only better organized and the girls aren’t so pretty. Too hot.
crowded, hot and humid, scooters everywhere, chaotic traffic, air pollution, loud music in every shop, and white tiles on the sides of every building, but beautiful betel nut girls.
In 1988, at age 19:
Humid, tropical feel. Small people. Open sewers. Different cleanliness standards. Utter lack of comprehension on my part, despite six-month study of Mandarin. I love bings.
Things have changed since then.
were you reading my mind? I would have just substituted one of the hots for verdant (but not these last 2 years)
1992 - looks like somewhere hastily put up with the intention of abondoning it all in a fortnight.
Preface: My first arrival here was in the late evening of June 19, 1985. I was driven from the CKS airport through Linkuo to the place I would stay for the first few days in Taishan. My first impressions:
Hot, humid, gray, bits of neon in the black-grayness of the night, stench, scooters, air pollution, large cockroaches mistaken for mice, muffled sounds, heat.
Airport pickup, drive from Taoyuan to Taichung, it’s all city, all urban lights, not a speck of countryside seen from the freeway. 7-11! Hey there’s another 7-11! Why do they have so many 7-11s? Dogs, wild dogs everywhere. So crowded, crowded, crowded, too many people, it’s just like that Star Trek episode where they beam down to that extremely overpopulated planet, so many crowds I can’t breathe!
First day in Taiwan 8-8-88. At customs, long hair, hung over, Customs man screams at me to take off my shirt( HK 1997, had PRC flag on it). Went thorugh Customs shirtless.
The movie “Bladerunner” comes to mind.