What did you do Xmas eve? +another 'wanker in Taichung' rant

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Went to the Pig Pen (again) in Taichung last night…

Cost 1000 NT to get in, and the entertainment was woeful…

Actually some of it was so bad that it was funny… So I guess I had a laugh or 3 for my entry fee

They had a hilarious cock-rock style Taiwanese band doing Guns and Roses covers etc… And then at 11.30pm they paraded out a bunch of weirdos from the local church to sing Christmas carols. I have never heard such a racket… I dont think they practised much and the crowd were certainly not into it… The band sounded like the school band from the Simpsons … Boom crash honk …

There is another thread here about ‘wankers in Taichung’ and last night was no exception. I think that I am going to turn into one of the expats here that just avoid eye contact with any other caucasian person…

There were 4 other foriegners in the club, 2 of them were skinny, denim jean wearing shaved head louts that smoked constantly and got drunk in about 10 minutes. They then proceeded to strut around with their chest jutting out and dancing like spastics…

Another tall tatooed greasy haired fuckwit made it his mission to sneer at me as often as possible. Honestly, I am a pretty laid back guy (ask the folks that have met me) but damn I wanted to lay this jerk out…

And the weird thing is, these oxygen thieves had the hottest girls in the place dancing with them and hanging off their arm all night…

Maybe the local girls dont like the ‘big man’ charms, but I felt like I was invisible… There was a really drunk, insane girl from Shanghai that decided I was her date for the night, and she was rubbing herself all over me, grabbing my crotch and trying to stick her tongue down my throat… Maybe that kept the other ladies away :laughing:

I know I shouldnt care about this stuff, but I havent spoken engilsh to someone for weeks and weeks and it would be nice to just have a chat and swap stories with another foreigner here…

The one saving grace was the last whitie there who was another nice Canadian bloke. We had a good chat and he was a funny bastard too… So the night wasnt a complete writeoff…

I drank way too many Heinekens, got felt up all night by a crazy drunk girl from Shanghai, and am now nursing a killer hangover :frowning:

Merry farkin’ Christmas everyone :smiley: What did you guys all get up to??

/end rant

2

Move somewhere nice! It sounds shite. Taipei has nice pubs. Or there must be some nice places to go in Taichung. Taichungers, unite to help pubba! Can’t someone show him around?

3

Yes… Please…! Im even considering moving to Thailand…

Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and move to Taipei… But the smog scares me, and sandman lives there… He already tried to run me down once… :noway:

Im really starting to agree with some of the preconceptions about Taichung attracting the dirtbag foreigners… Most of the ones I have met here are bogans, socially inept or mentally unhinged…

I might as well be back in Australia!

Taichung Social Club and Ilary are both notable exceptions by the way :wink:

4

Wow dude that place sounds awesome! Can I get the address?

5

Never been to Taichung. Can’t be arsed. So I can’t really comment.

Don’t worry about sandman. Everyone will try to run you down in Taipei. But there are some good pubs.

I don’t really notice the pollution, but I’m used to it. Thailand is a fun place to have a holiday but it drives you slowly insane if you live there. Imagine that fun-loving, carefree, let’s do it later kind of attitude applied to your electricity account or your broken toilet or your visa or something… And Bangkok is way more polluted than Taipei. Better curries, though.

6

[quote=“pubba”]Went to the Pig Pen (again) in Taichung last night…

And then at 11.30pm they paraded out a bunch of weirdos from the local church to sing Christmas carols. I have never heard such a racket… I dont think they practised much and the crowd were certainly not into it… The band sounded like the school band from the Simpsons … Boom crash honk …

[/quote]

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

oh my stomach! I’m good friends with one of those ‘weirdos’ and I assure you that they are an awesomely talented bunch! they must’ve been exhausted since it was a hectic day. :laughing:

7

I’m not keen on the Pig Pen myself. Not my kind of place.

There are plenty of nice eateries, bars etc. in Taichung. Not sure if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, Pubba. I don’t know about discos really. As I say, not keen on the Pig Pen and even less keen on Lion King.

I keep meaning to go to Salsa Cubana again, or maybe even go to the free Friday night salsa classes wherever they are – I’ve forgotten.

Are you into pub quizzes? There’s the one at the Londoner every second Thursday.

I can’t really comment on the “foreigners in Taichung” thing. I have some western friends here, and I know some other westerners here who seem pretty nice and friendly to me. But I guess there may be others who aren’t so friendly. Just like any place really.

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[quote=“sleep depraved”]
oh my stomach! I’m good friends with one of those ‘weirdos’ and I assure you that they are an awesomely talented bunch! they must’ve been exhausted since it was a hectic day. :laughing:[/quote]

Sorry, I was a bit harsh in my description… But it was a very surreal moment in the evening, I have to admit…

The place was going crazy, the dance floor was packed and spirits were high and then they bought out those brave souls to sing xmas carols… It just was seemed so bizarre at the time…

Actually the caucasian girls in the group were cute! The whole situation was just surreal… :slight_smile: Could have been all the Heinekens though (damn those cute Heineken girls in their ridiculous little shorts…!)

9

You arent missing much I dont think… Im not the greatest ambassador for Taichung lately… Actually the city seems ok, nice street landscaping etc… They seem to have made an effort to make the place at least look nice…

I guess that is a good trade off! :laughing:

Another good trade :slight_smile: I have to agree on the pollution thing. The air actually felt ‘thick’ in Bangkok and this was not even the hot season… Can only imagine how awful it would be in summer :frowning:

And regarding the slow descent into insanity, I could feel it starting after just 2 weeks. Actually I saw heaps of western nutters wandering around muttering to themselves with crazy eyes and tatoos, track marks and broken flip flops… The whole place seemed pretty wild and lawless… But I kind of liked it :slight_smile: I think I will take your advice though and leave Thailand as a holiday destination for now…

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[quote=“joesax”]I’m not keen on the Pig Pen myself. Not my kind of place.

There are plenty of nice eateries, bars etc. in Taichung. Not sure if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, Pubba. I don’t know about discos really. As I say, not keen on the Pig Pen and even less keen on Lion King.[/quote]

To be honest, back home in Australia I very rarely went to bars and nightclubs etc… Because usually they are full of wankers. I dont know why I assumed it would be any different here. I guess loneliness can force you do stupid things…

I went to Lion King last time and felt a definite air of hostility towards me there… Not a pleasant feeling. It was like the people there were thinking ‘Um… the foreigner bar is around the corner… what are you doing here?’

But maybe i ‘think too much’ :wink:

[quote=“joesax”]I keep meaning to go to Salsa Cubana again, or maybe even go to the free Friday night salsa classes wherever they are – I’ve forgotten.

Are you into pub quizzes? There’s the one at the Londoner every second Thursday.[/quote]

Now this sounds more like it! I like to try and learn new things. Went to a cake decorating class last week here in Taichung county (yeah… I was bored…) but it was actually kind of fun, something that I would have never considered back home…

The salsa class would be interesting too I think. You never know when a good Salsa could save the day :slight_smile: If you remember where they have the classes, let me know

I think herein lies my problem… I am trying to meet friends in all the wrong places… I need to get into Taichung city more often and find some clubs, or get a job and start mixing with more people. Its hard at the moment because Im stranded in Taichung county without my own transport and there is no public transport around here…

Maybe I should concentrate on finding a job before worrying about making friends. I guess my lifestyle back home was centred around spending time with family and friends, and wasnt prepared for this level of isolation

Geez I sound like a sad sack :slight_smile: When is the next HH anyway??

11

Pubba,

Is this your first Asian country? If so, save the energy for something really worth it :smiley:

You are in for some real adventures.

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[quote=“pubba”][quote=“joesax”]I keep meaning to go to Salsa Cubana again, or maybe even go to the free Friday night salsa classes wherever they are – I’ve forgotten.

Are you into pub quizzes? There’s the one at the Londoner every second Thursday.[/quote]

Now this sounds more like it! I like to try and learn new things. Went to a cake decorating class last week here in Taichung county (yeah… I was bored…) but it was actually kind of fun, something that I would have never considered back home…

The salsa class would be interesting too I think. You never know when a good Salsa could save the day :slight_smile: If you remember where they have the classes, let me know.[/quote]Will do! And the next pub quiz is this Thursday, around 10pm-12pm, The Londoner, No. 143, Section 1, Huamei Xijie. (In characters, that’s
華美西街一段143號
).

[quote=“pubba”]Its hard at the moment because Im stranded in Taichung county without my own transport and there is no public transport around here…[/quote]That sounds a bit rough. Obviously there are lots of things to consider about buying a scooter such as safety and the legal side (though I’m afraid that many people do not consider either of these aspects at all and happily ride around wearing 500NT helmets on scooters with rubbish brakes, bald tires, and no papers). But having motorized transport does make a huge difference to your social life in these parts.

Is there any particular reason you’re staying out in Wuqi? It’s not the most exciting of places. Once you’ve been along the pier that’s about it.

13

[quote=“Namahottie”]Pubba,

Is this your first Asian country? If so, save the energy for something really worth it :smiley:

You are in for some real adventures.[/quote]

Hi Nama :slight_smile:

Its my first time where I have come to live long term… Have visited Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

Have already had a few adventures so far - I really enjoy living outside my comfort zone and I do sincerely like living here in Taiwan.

I think my first Christmas away from family and friends has just made me more of a sook than usual… :slight_smile:

Where are you now? Back home again? Do you miss Taiwan at all?

14

[quote=“pubba”][quote=“Namahottie”]Pubba,

Is this your first Asian country? If so, save the energy for something really worth it :smiley:

You are in for some real adventures.[/quote]

Hi Nama :slight_smile:

Its my first time where I have come to live long term… Have visited Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

Have already had a few adventures so far - I really enjoy living outside my comfort zone and I do sincerely like living here in Taiwan.

I think my first Christmas away from family and friends has just made me more of a sook than usual… :slight_smile:

Where are you now? Back home again? Do you miss Taiwan at all?[/quote]]

Nope still in taiwan as I make this post. I have several hours before the dreaded flight. I’m smoker- so it’s gonna be hell for me in several hours.

Anyway, travelling and living in a foreign country ain’t the same :wink: but you soon see. I do look forward to your ongoing ‘blog’ on f.com. It’s good with out being cynical. Yet. :laughing:

15

[quote=“pubba”]

And the weird thing is, these oxygen thieves had the hottest girls in the place dancing with them and hanging off their arm all night…

Maybe the local girls dont like the ‘big man’ charms, but I felt like I was invisible… [/quote]

Ah, here’s the real reason you got so pissed (in both senses) the other night. :frowning: :laughing: Other guys stealing the hot girls away from you are always “wankers”! But in reality, it was you who wound up the wanker because you went home alone that night.

16

Get a scooter. Maybe move to a city and get a job with a chain school so you can meet people. Try and meet up with more forumosans.

Come on Taichung guys. This man is doing cake decorating and salsa! Have you ever heard a more plaintive cry for help than this? You will have this man on your conscience if you don’t intervene, here.

17

I’m guessing the main problem is that pubba is going to the pig pen looking for conversation with real people.
There are tons of great bars in Taichung with real people looking to have real conversations. If you just go to the places that all of the wankers hang out, your going to think that everyone is a wanker.
I’m not really into the late night life so I can’t be of much help. If I go out to a bar, I’m usually found at Fubar on Soho street. They usually try to close on the early side (around 12:00), but that fits my style pretty well.

18

Fubar is relaxed, but we should note that since it is largely patronized by middle-aged guys arguing about who was the best quarterback in 1992, it does not attract a lot of female customers of any persuasion.

There are (were?) free salsa lessons at 7070, which used to be Chubbies. It is down the street from the Landis hotel. I went in there for a beer one night about two months ago, and found myself participating in a salsa class. It was fun for me, and wildly entertaining for everyone else. (202cm + hopelessly uncoordinated + Salsa = teh funny) Also, if you go to 7070 and nothing is happening, about 50 meters away is La Bodega, a nice little restaurant/bar. They are usually broadcasting a soccer game from two European teams I have never heard of, but many people like that kind of thing.

The Dive, on the corner of ZhongCheng St. and HuaMei W. St. is a pretty chill place to hang out. I like it because the owner occasionally plays UFC matches on the big screen. But the bar is open to the street, so they won’t open if it is too cold. Maybe call them at 2320-6037 before stopping in.

19

Isn’t this “Pig Pen” place the one where there was a long series of threads about foreigners getting beat up by locals?
That name seems familiar.

20

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Isn’t this “Pig Pen” place the one where there was a long series of threads about foreigners getting beat up by locals?
That name seems familiar.[/quote]

That’d likely be the Pig and Whistle in Hsinchu (They were once part of the same franchise) though I do remember a similar Taichung based thread. I suspect cover charge keeps the bulk of foreigners out of the Pig Pen these days.

Soundgarden used to be a nice quiet late-night alternative.