If you are looking to bring in something which you can sell to fellow expats, then
). As with the supplements, there could possibly be problems getting them through customs. Has anyone tried this?[quote=“OutofChaos”]MaPoDurian
[quote=“almas john”]If you are looking to bring in something which you can sell to fellow expats, then
You’re kidding. If you go into a tea store you will soon become overwhelmed by the number of different types of tea available.
Not true. You are getting ripped off if you are paying U.S. prices.
[quote=“OutofChaos”]Milling machine, hey? I was raised to appreciate the finer qualities of my
You can always make your own butter. Just buy some whipping cream and put it in a jar and shake it vigorously for about a half hour. You’ll have fresh butter and skim milk.
You’re kidding. If you go into a tea store you will soon become overwhelmed by the number of different types of tea available.[/quote]
I am in Kaohsiung for half year already and have not found one yet. I have found bakery supply shops, restaurant supply shops, Overpriced wine shops, no tea or gourmet style shops yet. I do not call it easily available if I have to drive for half an hour across the city to get an overpriced pack of tea, one brand, no selection.
Not true. You are getting ripped off if you are paying U.S. prices.[/quote]
I do not call it cheap if I have to bargain down to get European prices for an item with a “Made in Taiwan” label on it – I the US it is half price plus a mail-in rebate for the same thing. Most prices start here at European prices, I do not have the time, patience, and I do not think it is customer service if I have to bargain to get something at a reasonable price. In the US I even do not need to move my ass out of the house to get much cheaper prices - on stuff that is Made in Taiwan. Are they reimporting that stuff or something?
Now try to find special items like a external Firewire harddrive case. USB2 case yes, for Firewire you have to go to 20 different shops and get two to choose from - 3000NT and 6000NT. Thanks, I will order from the US and pay the shipping. YMMV in Taipei…
Whoops, :offtopic:
You’re kidding. If you go into a tea store you will soon become overwhelmed by the number of different types of tea available.[/quote]
I am in Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong) for half year already and have not found one yet. I have found bakery supply shops, restaurant supply shops, Overpriced wine shops, no tea or gourmet style shops yet. I do not call it easily available if I have to drive for half an hour across the city to get an overpriced pack of tea, one brand, no selection. [/quote]Did you see what I wrote above about tea?
Fruit and flower teas, and ‘British’ varieties of tea such as Earl Grey, are all popular and commonly served in restaurants and tea shops. So there must be somewhere to buy them in Kaohsiung. As I suggested, try big department stores.
Having said that, when my Mum came to visit I asked her to bring me out some ‘Yogi Tea’ herbal tea bags - that brand has a lot of cinnamon, cardamom and liquorice, and I don’t imagine it’s sold here. If I were dedicated enough, though, I could make something similar up myself using spices.
Bringing
tea
to Taiwan!! 
That’s like bringing a woman here. 
[quote=“almas john”]Bringing
tea
to Taiwan!! [/quote]
German as well, and I’ve imported loads of tea since I’ve come here, mostly different herbal mixtures, morning teas, evening teas, fennel, melissa (balm?). It seems easier now that it was two years ago to buy more common stuff like fruit tea mixtures, peppermint, brand black tea (though I do import my favorite Lady Grey tea from that supermarket in the Holland Village/Singapore). But mind you, I enjoy living in Taipei. And even here, the selection is much better in certain supermarkets (like the Wellcome at Shida) than your ordinary neighbourhood Wellcome. I think if I was living somewhere further away from Taipei, I’d need regular survival packets from my family containing tea and stuff. I also enjoy the different Taiwanese teas, of course.
However, I’ve just realized (shortly before I’ll leave for good in September) that you actually get used to do with the stuff you get here (mind you again, that’s for Taipei, can’t speak for any other place in Taiwan). I still stick to my German shampoo, laundry detergent and shoe polish. But I’ve needed much less of my favorite German sweets and have even started buying Taiwanese tooth brushes (when I found exactly the same ones as I use in Germany) lately.
There is so much one “can do yourself”… Yes, but I work 8-10 hours a day and have never had much fun cooking (I loved baking back home but haven’t done that in 3 years). I’ve made some yoghurt and white cheese (Quark for the Germans) before. But that takes days.
What would I bring if I were to come again?
Foods: Cheese, above-mentioned teas, Griesbrei, maybe some wine, possibly vitamins if I took them
Sanitary Items: deodorants, especially if you’re used to a certain brand, shampoo (for my very fine, very thin hair), hair colour, facial creme that neither bleaches the skin nor is f*ing expensive
Clothes: bras, undies, nice leather shoes (luckily, I fit into most of the Taiwanese L and XL stuff - though the quality is remarkably worse)
I think most of the other stuff on the original list is readily available, at least in Taipei (if you don’t know where, check on Forumosa ). It’s probably easier to make a trip once in a while to Taipei than get all the stuff in advance in ship it here. Besides, keep in mind that things easily go off in the climate here or suffer from the humidity.
HTH
Iris
A welcome first for me this weekend was being able to buy fresh green courgettes with the blossoms still attached! 
And not from a specialty store – I got them from our regular Bitan market vegetable lady. A bag of about 10, plus three of the bigger yellow ones, for less than NT$100.
I hope this was not a flash in the pan, but she had a big basket of them and lots of the housewives were buying them.
I just had my health exam last week and I didn’t have to give a urine sample.
Outofchaos,
I’m curious, how much does it cost to ship a whole 20-foot container or 40-foot container to Taiwan from USA or Canada? Also, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you moving to Taiwan and why to such a remote location in Ilan County?
Mark
Mark wrote:
Unless you have lots of pain, I think you will be holding a lot of past expiration date pain meds if you bring dozens of bottles.
tigerman wrote:
“…you will be holding a lot of past expiration date pain meds…”
You are perceptive tigerman. Dates, however,won’t be a problem.
OOC
Pumpkin seed oil capsules and other vitamins for prostate care. Fig Newtons if you get those kinds of cravings.
I take vitamin E regularly, and it’s freaking expensive here plus I can’t find 1g capsules anywhere. I pick it up at Sam’s Club when I visit the US. Ditto any vitamins/supplements, and especially aspirin or Advil. You can’t simply go to a discount store and buy aspirin in Taiwan, you have to go to the doctor’s office to get it, I believe. As iris has pointed out, if you prefer a certain brand of deodorant/anti-perspirant, get it before you leave since the choices here are laughable.
I find it’s easy to get bean coffee here, and I especially prefer that imported from Seattle and available at TESCO. It’s nt$299/kg, which is cheap compared to the US (it’s good coffee, imo, arabica quality, but it’s also roasted very darkly, like Starbucks, which some people do not like). There are Starbucks everywhere but selection is limited (although prices are roughly equivalent to those in US Starbucks). In the US, I subscribed to Starbucks’ Encore service, but you can forget about that here. You can buy your own grinder for US prices (brAun quality) or thereabouts (not a burr grinder, but a blade grinder works fine for me). Oddly, I have found that it’s difficult to find a coffeemaker with a timer in Taiwan (so you can have fresh-brewed in the morning); Chinese culture places a big premium on freshness. Big box stores, like TESCO and Carrefour, also carry ground coffee but it’s bagged not tinned (like Folger’s). Tea is EVERYWHERE.
And by all means skip the tank water heater; tankless are far superior although a bit of a pain in the ass if you choose to do a DIY installation. That said, construction standards here simply suck compared to the US; lower your expectations immediately. There are DIY shops everywhere, and most power tools are available here.
Forget about cheeses here altogether, unless you can stand cheap mozzarella or cheap brie (or the like). Milk is expensive, period. The butter here is ok (not nearly as good as that available in the middle of the US, imo), but it’s not worth bringing (!). Olive oil is expensive, extra-virgin outrageously so.
If the bloke moves to Yilan, then he will be some 45 minutes away from costco starting October 2005.
They ahve burr grinders there - NT$1500 for one. many of the full-sized appliances are also available there.
Where will a Costco be located that’s 45 min away from Yilan? Although I’ll be north of Yilan that’s still closer than Taipei…or do you mean the new highway?
OOC