Seriously, we’re complaining about this? I mean, that’s just good practice. What if there was money missing from your account and they were like, I just saw you and you asked for money from your account without the appropriate credentials, and you were like wasn’t me!
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What about the guy in Danshui Post Office who wouldn’t accept my passport for a measly 800TWD emergency withdrawl, even though I’d been going to that branch for close to ten years?
In England they’d work with you and try and figure something out.
But here you get a wall of smiles.
The bank manager may have been right or wrong… but the fact is…
When your cashcards are lost… these sweet, obliging helpful and hospitable people suddenly disappear, and you see a very different side to SEA.
No point in getting bitter about it, cos life is good here, and we are lucky.
But the deal with 30-40% of people in SEA, and humans in general, is pay-per-smile.
I was in Bali ten years ago, and a taxi driver in the village came up to me giving it the chilled-out-islander routine. Hey bro, where ya from? Id already talked to him a few times for a few minutes every time I passed him.
I said, “Yeah, not so bad, but the bank is bust today, I couldnt withdraw any money.”
As soon as he heard that, he literally just smiled and backed away. Actually, I think he stopped smiling.
Didn’t bother to end the conversation, wish me luck or anything. Just walked off.
If you have experiences like that enough times, you will get creeped out eventually.
Luckily, that mentality is comparatively rare in TW compared to the rest of the area.
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I’m sure they can see the signature card to match it. Plus the chop. But no, it had to be the lost ID card
My issue wasn’t her doing her job, but it was her obvious joy. Obviously most Taiwanese are not like this but I’ve seen my share of those that don’t mind seeing someone suffer. Just miserable people I try to avoid
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I’m fascinated how you imagine that playing out in real life…
Do you have a uni degree?
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Thank you for your reply 
I do indeed think of it that way, and am fully aware of the simulation that I am currently participating in 
I sure hope it would actually fill me up 
usually when I eat those kinds of things it makes me feel hungrier and just temporarily stuffed because of the sheer amount of material in my stomach. If they have a whole lettuce I’ll definitely get some of that, just a matter of finding the right market and searching at the right time I suppose.
The main issue with walking 2 hours away is the chance of getting lost, since I don’t bring any devices with me anymore while going outside. My phone is so finnicky and useless at times that I just stopped bringing it because it just weighs down my shorts for nothing and disturbs my balance a bit anyway. Often times the maps don’t work properly for a long time anyway (and if there’s no wifi then I’m out of luck) and technically I have another phone but it has no main screen (just a small back screen which is hard to use). I got lost last week and was out walking for hours trying every potential direction from the point of unfamiliarity. The second thing is, if I walk for extended periods of time, a part of my leg/knee will start to hurt. I did indeed have knee surgery a few years ago, and while the surgery was fine after physical therapy and all, the surgeon had put metal strings in my knee which started to scrape against my flesh inside my knee, and it would cost another hefty payment to remove them, so whatever she put in there is still in there now. Depends on the day though, so I’d say it’s not the main reason I don’t go that far. However, I definitely can’t do it daily, it would have to be a once a week thing if I walked for 2 hours (and then two hours back…)
I also do have things to do that I’m working on personally, but I do put it aside for survival purposes of course.
So yeah, mainly the places I go to are nearby other places that I already know how to find, if that makes sense.
Sounds nice, do you think it would work out even if I don’t know Chinese?
Do you know the most affordable noodles? I looked in PXmart and saw the noodles, but if I remember correctly, the price to weight ratios weren’t too good…
I hope it works out then, there are plenty of different methods to try here, and it might be difficult to try everyone’s suggestions within the remainder of time I have left here, but I’ll do my best to incorporate everything I occasionally hibernate for 15-24 hours which is one of the simpler options I’ve been taking for energy conservation.
That’s an interesting suggestion, thanks 
Thank you
It was $222 which included my two check-in luggages, carry-on and enough room for my legs.
I’ve seen comparable prices for sure, but the main reason I didn’t choose the Philippines was due to the visa only being 30 days (at least the one I don’t have to apply for), and because I didn’t know the lifestyle there, compared to knowing that the lifestyle is at least somewhat similar to Japan in Taiwan, especially with convenience stores around and all. I just thought it would be a safer option to stick with this time around, but I will definitely look into the Philippines next time if I can get a visa for 90 days or more. It looks like it costs money to do that though, and doesn’t seem like something that can be easily done online…
It’s about an hour away on foot, so I can check it out in the coming days/week, thanks
That’s terrible 
I think rather than relying on people directly, I’ll just try the sign holding method and give free english conversations to random people in return for food, as well as finding a church to collectively ask, and also cheaper ways to eat.
I live kinda close to Ximending, but I’m locked in to the place I’m at now for the entire duration I’m in Taiwan, since their minimum requirement was a 3 month stay.
I see, but I’m visa exempt for Japan and they still have to stamp my passport though… maybe it’s just the landing thing but I don’t know if that counts
Nope, I don’t have one, and it’s unlikely that I’d be able to… even if I could afford it or it was free, I have a low chance of succesfully graduating if there are things like advanced mathematics and literature involved… haven’t heard of a 4 year degree i can get without taking other courses than the thing i would major in, so it’s grim odds at best and not worth the immense stress that school causes me.
Maybe you can take a bike instead of walking? Only 10 NTD for the first 30 minutes. Can at least get you closer a lot faster one way
Edit: oh but you need a sim card
I’ve been to manila myself and I’d say it’s different than Japan and Taiwan but it’s a pretty fun place with nice and friendly people. Of course some parts are dangerous but all in all it’s not a bad place to be.
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If life is a video game, I want a word with the developer. It’s buggy as hell and I want to rage quit sometimes.
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Btw, it’s about 100 dollars us to fly to manila from Taipei on cebu
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So you were living as a tourist in Japan for all this time?
You need to do SOMETHING that you don’t like to get out of this mess.
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It sounds like a fair price, but I think I need a certain card for it (TPASS?), right? And I would have to know well enough the closest places to put the bike back, before it’s too late, because I’ve seen that these types of services can get you by letting you get lost trying to find a docking station for the bike and all that. I also wouldn’t be able to do it daily but definitely could afford it a couple times a week if I can truly manage to only need the bike for 30 minutes, probably going to have to be twice a day. I think there’s an NT$1200 fee just to get the TPASS though…
yeah I don’t have one unfortunately, at least not ones that work outside the US (I technically have some free SIM cards but they only work there)
If I can get everything I need without a car basically, then I might be able to survive there. I really love Filipinos, every Filipino I’ve met has been very kind, so I definitely know they’re doing something right in that country. I would definitely visit if it were just about visiting, but because it’s about making sure I can survive there with limited resources too, I just felt the need to be careful to choose going there. I’ll do more research to make more informed decisions for next time thank you
haha, we are all the developers of this game, we just pretend that we’re not in order to have an authentic experience 
Thanks, I just looked at it but the wording on their checked baggage policy is highly confusing for me, so I don’t understand whether it would cost me a lot more if I had two checked luggage… It’s about 45 kg in total I believe, though I can potentially stuff a jacket with some items and carry them with me to lower it to maybe 40 kg… iffy
yeah, I’ve been going and leaving every 3 months… This is something I don’t like, because I would’ve preferred to stay forever but it’s still the next best option to be able to participate in what goes on in Japan at all…
Most other options involve basically not going to Japan anymore and getting caught up in things that haven’t even worked for me in the past
I’m a person that has waited long enough to start working towards my goals, so I eventually had to decide that I won’t wait anymore, I have to try with my current situation because otherwise I’m wasting time aging and not reaching for my goals and dreams now. Hope it makes sense
I think most younger Taiwan, know the USA is a multi racial country. Black or white should make no difference to most. I am Asian (Japanese) and get treated well for the most part (very few anti Japanese I met here), since your American should be the same.
As far as money, cheaper places nearby as others have mentioned to stay and area you stay in Taipei is not cheap too, you could get many cheaper places in taiwan cheaper, much cheaper.
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Looks like two checked bags would push the cost up by about 50 bucks unfortunately. Still 150 for a one way isn’t bad.
Ubike stations are literally every where. It’s hard to miss but you can also see them on the ubike app. There’s a lot of free wifi around taipei that makes it easy to find things using your smart phone.
Btw im a brown American and get treated pretty fairly most of the time. There is some racism but it’s not that common. Occasionally people assume I’m some kind of Asian (indian, middle eastern, Indonesian even) I think people just try to interpret what they see through their frame of reference.
I just had a baby and the doctor told me that she assumed my baby was 75% Asian when I told her I’m actually half white 
. I was like… Where did that extra 25% come from!
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You’re aware that its a simulation?
I’m sure if you help us break the Groundhog Day loop someone will buy you a meal.
I can’t figure out if this world is more AR or VR… do you have any ideas?
Cambodia is very safe, if you go to the right city. You can buy a 6 month visa for 130USD. A year is closer to 300USD.
I eat about of kilo of Basil every day, or yardbeans… with pandan noodles. Ive never felt better…
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Go hang out with the homeless guys at longshan temple. There are some crazies out there but there’s also some that are totally chill. They know where to get free food, make friends with them. My understanding is they get some food from the temple and a social services building that is nearby. Either way they were willing to give me free food just because I sat down next to them to drink some bubble tea.
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I also heard that if a temple is doing a feast (and it’s a feast, very good and expensive foods are being served here) you could just go and eat. They consider it an act of charity.
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Taipei Main also has a lot of chilled out homeless people. One of them came up to me one day a couple of summers ago, and started whispering clues to me. It was straight out of a sci-fantasy movie.
I also remember that some Buddhist temples have daily cafes that are donation only.
But you’re right… the homeless will know where to get bread at closing time…
OP, PXMart might be overpriced and boring. Morning markets are by far the best place to get fair priced food. The Taiwanese rarely overcharge people… very rarely.
I just remembered… Shuanglian is near Ximen, and has lots of traditional markets. Dadaocheng is good too.
If I was in your situation, I’d try there, as it’s one of the oldest and most traditional neighbourhoods in Taipei.
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I remember seeing groups handing out free lunchboxes at the Taipei main station.
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Have you thought about working on cruiship? Many positions don’t require any qualifications. Accomodations and food provided, so great opportunity to save some money.
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Hmmm.
But wouldn’t that be an infringement on OP’s Taiwanese visa-exemption?
I mean, by even approaching these groups she’s committing fraud-by-omission.
Any legal experts here?
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