I’ve been thinking about this recently, not gonna go big on details this first post. Basically the 3 things in the title
For example:
Myth: Taiwanese food is great. Total garbage, on a good day I’m having boiled veggies with a little salt, and the rice is reasonably well done. Not great, but “food”
Nailed it: Great place to ride a motorcycle. Ok, the traffic situation is like a comedy sketch. But. Snow is an aberration, insurance is cheap, and mechanics are affordable
Pleasant surprise: Access to natural spaces. Very easy to find hiking and camping areas that are well maintained and/or beautiful
I have more for each category, but don’t want too many leading items, so…
Both of your posts are equally true of China, if not more so. Taiwanese food is awesome compared to most of the unhygienic slop served in the cafeterias and streets on the mainland.
That would be the complete opposite of my experience of china, riding a motorcycle was a legal nightmare and from friends who still ride over there it’s getting worse.
The food can be mushy slop like here, more so up north but there is a lot more options on vibrant good tasting food, and local dishes that seam to have lost their flavour on the migration to Taiwan.
But back to the topic on hand.
Myth: Deadly typhoons that will blow you and your home to OZ for 4 months of the year.
Nailed it: A safe living environment with relatively little street crime.
Pleasant surprise: How willing people are to accommodate you, even if you don’t have the language skills to communicate.
Honestly the restaurants in general in Kaohsiung are really sub par. That’s hot helping.
Myths : that this place is Thailand . All white foreigners are English teachers.
Night markets are amazing (they need to be cleaned up and updated badly)
Nailed it : Hiking, camping , cycling , motorbiking , hot springs , national parks access, tea and coffee culture and increasingly better management of the coast. Supposedly a developing country compared to Europe but
Super developed with advanced high speed rail, metros and hospitals and IT and internet infrastructure that puts Europe to shame
Pleasant surprises : not much surprises me anymore been here too long. Two from last year. Whale and turtle watching actually seeing loads of dolphins and whales and turtles and east coast sunrrises which can be incredibly beautiful.
I hadn’t heard that before I came, but since oh yeah. People saw on CNN that China will invade imminently
I have never seen young people dancing in public, and I find the population kinda old and low energy. It actually segues into another one of my top myths
Taiwanese people are very friendly. In my experience, they are not mean or unfriendly. But definitely not friendly. Very shy, antisocial even.
Pleasant surprise here though is the Indigenous Taiwanese (not the Han Chinese, the islanders). They are genuinely friendly, and generally awesome people IME
Every urban center with middle schools / high schools around has this. In the capital, some popular dancing spots include the underground passage adjacent to Ximen MRT Station heading north, I think along the Red Line too. In Hsinchu City the students would be dancing in the submerged walkways around that city’s iconic East Gate—burning off energy, having a great time.
I will venture to say that the impacts of White Terror continue to bounce around in society here even when (especially when?) this deeply unhappy history is unacknowledged or unspoken. Some f&cked up psyches around without adequate channels to speak about or work through those traumas.
Myths: Chinese food is good here! Far too often (not always) it is terrible compared to what’s available in cities in countries like Canada and Australia.
Nailed it: Extraordinary transport links that have definitely gotten better over the years, with the increased professionalism of Taiwan Rail (compared to the bad old days) and the increased spread of the youbike system.
Pleasant surprises: functioning government services, typically delivered quickly. Heaps of support for research, in contrast to some other countries which shall remain unnamed.
I see this all the time at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and a spot underground between Shuanglian station and Zhongshan station. I’ve seen it in areas in Banqiao as well. I’ve been to other cities but haven’t explored enough to see there but I’m sure it’s everywhere. Skateboarding blew up over the past few years too, so a lot of teenagers who might otherwise be dancing are skateboarding together now.
Myths: Foreigners can only teach English here, Chinese speaking foreigners don’t exist, you need a bachelor degree to get a visa, foreigners can’t be close friends with Taiwanese people.
Nailed it: 熱炒, KTV, 尾牙, food if you know where to look, convenience stores (better than Japan because we have more fruit and the microwavable meals have vegetables), Taipei is cleaner and safer than American cities.
Pleasant surprise: How nice elderly people are here. With some exceptions, I’ve interacted with some 阿姨 and 阿貝 who were so nice to me I almost cried. My new boss included. And they always seem to appear whenever I’m feeling the most frustrated.
