Are you kidding? You have to be kidding, right? That’s just pure dead mad.[/quote]
It is? I wouldn’t think twice about accepting a ride from pretty much anybody. Am I insane?
How about waiguoren hitchiking ? Would you stop if you see me or just pass by thinking “omg, another psyco killer looking for its next victim” ?
Really, stop paranoia :neutral:
Would depend on whether I had any Fava beans cooking at home…
Whats wrong with gay men talking to you tommy?
[quote=“Funk500”][quote=“tommy525”]
We are certainly not open to any person of the same sex talking to us because they may be gay?
[/quote]
Whats wrong with gay men talking to you tommy?[/quote]
Actually nothing. But theres no worry in SF because simply nobody will talk to you in a cafe basically.
I used to be homophobic until my then GF in Taiwan had a gay male friend who turns out to be a great guy. And living in the USA certainly erased any fears further. Actually gays in America usually are quite careful not to be seen as hitting on non gays.
In Taiwan they used to (perhaps not now) have such a reputation and hence the phobia.
Many would describe me as on the paranoid side, but I wouldn’t think twice about accepting a ride here in Taiwan with almost anybody (of any race), within reason, ie. central city, had helmet, didn’t look outrageously dodgey etc. I recently accepted a kind offer from an elderly Taiwanese man back from Shitoushan to the nearest bus station, and really felt quite safe, even when he took the backroads, and clearly knew them. I can’t think of any other country I would though, and certainly not my original country of New Zealand!
And as someone who lives in Hsinchu, and walks a lot, I think it’s good to know.
So thanks for the post Alexandril! And even if the subject was a bit over the top, I wouldn’t have read it otherwise 
Sounds dodgey and planned to me, so chances are, he’ll do it again. And if he wanted company, how about “shall we stop for a coffee on the way” rather than his games? Definitely cause for concern methinks…
Good post - thank you. I’ll forward it to my colleagues, just in case…
Jesse
99 times out of 100, you’ll be fine. I’ve accepted lifts all over the world and have never had anything weird happen. Dodgy shit happened in taxis in Thailand occasionally, but only in touristy areas.
Why take the chance, though? Most people in most countries of the world would caution against hitch-hiking and I don’t think that’s over-cautiousness, especially for young women. Taiwan is not safer than other countries, you just filter out a lot of the media, here, because of language stuff. It’s all still there in the same way it is at home.
[quote=“JesseD”]
And as someone who lives in Hsinchu (Xinzhu), and walks a lot, I think it’s good to know. [/quote]
From the Hsinchu train station area, the #1 bus runs to TsingHua every 5 minutes. A newcomer would walk skanky KuangFu Rd. and wouldn’t be aware of the path(s) under the train tracks, winding through the back alleys of NanTa Rd. & DengShan St. up to the Water Company & to TsingHua’s back gate.
The guy on motorcycle could be Max –
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/01/06/2003433007
He’s quite a character (as are most of us here since Martial Law), but harmless.
Actually, I was walking under the rails because I kept asking people for the shortest way and eventually made it through the tunnel under the railroad. I met him shortly after the tunnel.
The guy looked to young for being Max, I’d say around 35.
[quote]He’s quite a character (as are most of us here since Martial Law), but harmless.
[/quote]
Which is a lot more than I can say about that Taipei Twats article. It gave me the runny gripes. Don’t they employ ANY editors over there?
[quote=“alexandril”]
The guy looked to young for being Max, I’d say around 35.[/quote]
That doesn’t proof anything [essence of life, young victim, hint, hint***] :ohreally:
*** generally speaking