Anyone been to Taiwan?
- Thread starter rusvik
- Start date
I was seeing a Taiwanese girl for a few years and spent some time there. It's quite boring but has a good solid infrastructure. Drinking isn't really a big thing there but Taiwan beer is nice all the same. 
Hualien is a nice town - worth a visit.
Down in south they don't really see westerners so I was a bit of a novelty to the darker skin people in the south. Also they don't really speak English down there (I was learning Mandarin from my GF anyway).
Tamsui is also a lovely seaside town. Food there is wonderful.
Where abouts are you moving to?
Hualien is a nice town - worth a visit.
Down in south they don't really see westerners so I was a bit of a novelty to the darker skin people in the south. Also they don't really speak English down there (I was learning Mandarin from my GF anyway).
Tamsui is also a lovely seaside town. Food there is wonderful.
Where abouts are you moving to?
Try stinky tofu and ask for extra "mala".. you'll hate it the first time, but second time is a charm! An acquired taste for sure.
Hotpot/shabu-shabu is good too, as are the all-you-can-eat BBQs. Mmm!
Summer will be really hot especially in the south.. but Kending is worth a visit at least once. I went there in Chinese New Year and it was still really hot.. And in Taipei you'll find more "first-world" accommodation and areas to live in, if you can afford it. Worth the price though I'd say.
Drinking culture is good I'd say, the people who do drink are mostly non-violent and fun (at least at the parties I was dragged into for being a foreigner). Foreigners can easily get away with a lot of things Taiwanese can't, such as walking around with beer etc. Just don't walk into the subway (MRT) with one as they can be quite strict with that. I got yelled at (which was a first for me here) for taking a sip of my beer before disposing of it (like I'm just going to throw it away when it's half-full!).
Police are mostly incompetent, which can be good and bad for you, depending on the situation
Crime is fairly low, the only time I encountered it was from two break-ins (one is quite rare but two even more so), one in a fairly shifty area and one in a nicer area. Second one was definitely opportunistic. They only steal cash and small things, they won't clear you out.. which is always a nice touch.
Hotpot/shabu-shabu is good too, as are the all-you-can-eat BBQs. Mmm!
Summer will be really hot especially in the south.. but Kending is worth a visit at least once. I went there in Chinese New Year and it was still really hot.. And in Taipei you'll find more "first-world" accommodation and areas to live in, if you can afford it. Worth the price though I'd say.
Drinking culture is good I'd say, the people who do drink are mostly non-violent and fun (at least at the parties I was dragged into for being a foreigner). Foreigners can easily get away with a lot of things Taiwanese can't, such as walking around with beer etc. Just don't walk into the subway (MRT) with one as they can be quite strict with that. I got yelled at (which was a first for me here) for taking a sip of my beer before disposing of it (like I'm just going to throw it away when it's half-full!).
Police are mostly incompetent, which can be good and bad for you, depending on the situation
Crime is fairly low, the only time I encountered it was from two break-ins (one is quite rare but two even more so), one in a fairly shifty area and one in a nicer area. Second one was definitely opportunistic. They only steal cash and small things, they won't clear you out.. which is always a nice touch.