Taipei is growing up?

Some of the real changes in this city:

  • The MRT. Ten years ago it was being built, and the streets were even more congested because of the construction. Its construction has vastly improved the quality of life here.

  • Better traffic. Partly a byproduct of the above. People still drive like maniacs, but it’s better than it used to be.

  • Cleaner air. Also a byproduct of the above, plus the fact that there’s less construction going on at any time so there’s less dust.

  • Hanyu Pinyin street signage. Yeah!!! Now let’s see it in the rest of Taiwan…

  • The EasyCard. Ten years ago there were no bus cards. 15 years ago there were discount paper bus cards that were hole-punched by the drivers.

  • Far more imported goods available. Cost an arm and a leg, but they’re available. This includes foreign foods, like cheeses and Thai ingredients. Ten years ago the Florida Bakery was the only place I could get blue cheese without making a special trip to Tianmu.

  • Page One Bookstore. Need I say more? Eslite and Caves were available back then, as was the Lucky Bookstore, if we needed English books, but Page One beats them all hands down.

As for the whole country:

  • Visa situation: 10 years ago, you could only get a five-day visa-free stay here. 15 years ago there were no visa-free stays here. Now it’s 30 days.

[quote=“Chris”]

  • Visa situation: 10 years ago, you could only get a five-day visa-free stay here. 15 years ago there were no visa-free stays here. Now it’s 30 days.[/quote]

Kept out the riffraff.

[quote=“Chris”]Some of the real changes in this city:

  • Hanyu Pinyin street signage. Yeah!!! Now let’s see it in the rest of Taiwan…
    [/quote]

Grrr…

Hmmm…this is true, but I live in the Guting neighborhood and don’t drive. For me, there is no real difference in the practical availability of imported goods.

[quote]

  • Page One Bookstore. Need I say more? Eslite and Caves were available back then, as was the Lucky Bookstore, if we needed English books, but Page One beats them all hands down.[/quote]

Page One is fantastic. But do you really think that it can continue to carry so many english books? There’s no way they can be making money. There are just nowhere near enough English readers in Taipei or even in all of Taiwan to support this kind of bookstore. Enjoy it while you can.

I find the more significant changes to be in the Taiwanese–their aesthetics, their values, and their identities have changed radically in the past 15 years or so. That’s what’s making Taipei so much more diverse and vibrant than it once was.

Taipei has improved greatly in many respects. I am often prompted to comment to my wife on how much more liveable the city is becoming with each passing year.

Moreoever, the denizens of Taipei are generally much better dressed and groomed, classier and more sophisticated, especially in the downtown areas. At least their bags and jackets are far less likely to be covered in infantile images and nonsensical English, as they invariably were in the past!

It’s nearly all change for the good, and I can hardly find any cause for complaint except for the loss of the “beef shows”.

[quote=“Omniloquacious”]Taipei has improved greatly in many respects. I am often prompted to comment to my wife on how much more liveable the city is becoming with each passing year.

Moreoever, the denizens of Taipei are generally much better dressed and groomed, classier and more sophisticated, especially in the downtown areas. At least their bags and jackets are far less likely to be covered in infantile images and nonsensical English, as they invariably were in the past!

It’s nearly all change for the good, and I can hardly find any cause for complaint except for the loss of the "beef shows".[/quote]

Ya, but we can always go down south for those.

I remember paying NT$800 for a bottle of shite Ernst & Gallo vin de table in Tien Mu in 1992 and being delighted with myself. I never want to go back to that. Christ, I nearly creamed my jeans (pun intended) when I saw processed tasteless brie by President in Carrefour.

No. Despite the hideous impersonal shopping centres they’ve stuck up everywhere, the place has got better. I think it suits me now I’m 13 years older. I don’t miss the drink driving, no helmet, drink in skanky pubs 'til dawn lifestyle. Now I’m interested in good bread, cheese, wine, cigars, and sitting on the balcony watching the birds fly back with a good book. Birds. There used to be no birds in Taipei. Not even flying rats (pigeons).

And thanks to Chen Shuibian in his mayoral capacity, it is now possible to cross Zhong Zheng bridge in less than half an hour.

All I can hope for is that someone discovers architecture. That would improve this place beyond measure.

i agree re. architecture; but it’s happening anyway since the value of much of the land downtown is already higher than the asset value of the buildings…so in the next 10 years fingers crossed we’re going to see most of the old 5 story gray blocks torn down…of course no guarantee there’ll be any great aesthetic component adhered to in the reengineering…

But those old five-story blocks often harbor some of the quirky and interesting things that give this city its soul…

I loved the nonsensical English, and lament that I don’t see as much of it now than I used to! I kept notes of some of the more hilarious ones during my wanderings around the city in 1990.

I also enjoyed the fact that people had atrocious fashion sense back then, making me, a person with no fashion sense whatsoever, one of the better-dressed people around without effort or cost!

It’s funny how so many have brought up wistfulness towards the elements of Taipei that made it more provincial and underdeveloped. It smacks of an air of condescension with more than a hint of a ‘caretaker’ mentality. I should think more people would be happy to see Taipei advance and improve. I should also think the long-term residents who have made Taiwan their home for so long would feel a sense of pride towards this improvement and a sense of happiness for their Taiwanese friends.

MRT, MRT, MRT

Nobody who has lived in Taipeh before and especially while the MRT was built (???) can deny that Taipeh has changed.

If you compare mid 80’s Taipei to even the early 90’s I think you’ll find a greater proportion of change as opposed to 1995-2005.

Tunhwa South Road with a few remaining rice paddies toward Hoping. The snake shows (guys hangine vipers off their tongues), vespas everywhere with the two-stroke exhaust hanging over the city. No real western goodies outside of Tianmou, far fewer cars, no traffic on the freeway (I do miss that), garbage everywhere, almost no crime, martial law, little nightlife outside the zone, no cable with one english show per week, ICRT playing classical music from 8pm to midnight.

By the mid-nineties a large majority of the things that make Taipei more liveable were in place. It continues to improve, but not at the pace of the late 80’s/early 90’s.

What patronising bollocks. Take a look in the mirror sometime.

Funny that you find positive comments about Taipei patronizing.

For most of my life here, I’ve had few foreign friends, as most of my friends are Taiwanese. It’s likely that my time spent learning from and living with the people here has made me more respectful and supportive towards them. If you find that patronizing, after living here so long, then I’m sorry for you.

[quote=“Chris”]
As for the whole country:

  • Visa situation: 10 years ago, you could only get a five-day visa-free stay here. 15 years ago there were no visa-free stays here. Now it’s 30 days.[/quote]

I get 90 days visa-free in Singapore.

And…civilization (as we know it) stops at Taipei’s border. Well…almost…

MOst of us get visa free (longer than 30 days) entrance in many countries.

[quote=“belgian pie”]And…civilization (as we know it) stops at Taipei’s border. Well…almost…[/quote]Saying that Taipei has borders suggests there is something outside Taipei, which is just silly :noway:

Well, there is the airport and the thin strip of land connecting it to Taipei.