A Short Primer on Taiwan
A couple of things the average American may not know about Taiwan:
• It’s really humid here in the summer. Plus, sudden thunder storms appear out of nowhere quite often. It could be sunny and 85 degrees one minute and pouring rain the next. So most people walk around with an umbrella all the time, even if it feels like 120 degrees with the humidity.
• Taiwan is a small island right off mainland China. Taipei, the capital, where I was born, is the only major metropolitan city here. Think New York and Las Vegas, in terms of crowdedness, atmosphere, and nightlife.
• The nightlife here is amazing. Taiwan is known for their Night Markets and Shopping districts. Street vending is a way of life here and you can find vendors selling anything you desire if you know where to go.
• Traffic here is crazy. Yes there are traffic lights and drivers will obey them, mostly. But other than that, anything else is fair game; multiple cars in a single lane, not stopping for pedestrians, not pulling over for sirens. Plus, everyone and their grandmas ride scooters here, it’s insane. On any given street, scooters can outnumber cars 2 to 1, and they don’t stop for pedestrians either so don’t be offended if you almost get run over 5 or 6 times a night. It’s part of the culture.
• The public transit system here is excellent. The buses, subways/metro, taxis are all very affordable and popular. In addition, the subways are way cleaner than any of the ones in the U.S. I’ve been on New York, Chicago, San Francisco subways and they can’t hold a candle to Taiwan subway’s cleanliness. They don’t allow food or drink or even gum on the subways. They don’t even enforce it but people just obey it. Trust me, I checked; there is no gum under the seats, on the floor, or anywhere else. I also never see any gum wrappers or trash in general on the ground. People might be “rude” drivers, but even that’s debatable because it’s more about survival, but they certainly are considerate when it comes to keeping public transit clean.
• The foods here sold by street vendors are some of my favorite foods in the world. Where as hot dogs, pretzels, peanuts and popcorn might be your only choices in the U.S., the variety in Taiwan is limitless and it’s far cheaper than what street food would cost in the U.S.
• And finally. . . here in Taiwan, I’m waaaaay fat.
I know, I know, tell you something you don’t already know. But I just wanted to point out that if you were already considered overweight in the U.S., you’ve got no prayer here. Like most Asian countries, people here are just more fit. But I don’t think they eat less because I’ve seen the way people eat here. Plus, *food seems way more abundant, cheap, and available here than overseas. It might be because people walk more here because cars are a bit less convenient. Or maybe they have more self restraint when eating later at night. But whatever the reason, it’s hard not be self conscious when walking around when I’m clearly the biggest tub of lard within a 10 mile radius. Sigh@#$%!
*What I mean here is eating out food, not home cooked meals. But actually one theory why people are skinner here is that the Taiwanese and other Asian people don’t buy in bulk. I’ve been to a couple of supermarkets here and you’ll be hard pressed to find a 6-pack of soda much less a 12-pack anywhere. People here buy what they need and they use it for that day or maybe a couple of days. But buying Costco size bags of food and stocking up and then storing it away in the pantry is a foreign concept I think. And that would make sense don’t you think. The more people buy, the more people eat right? I think snacking late at night while watching TV just does not happen as often here. For a more detail analysis of this argument and concept, read Michael Pollan’s book, Omnivore’s Dilemma. It’s a well researched look at food processing in America and why we as Americans over produce and in turn, overeat. There is a new movie/documentary out now called, Food Inc. which is based on this book. Go check it out if you can.
• It’s really humid here in the summer. Plus, sudden thunder storms appear out of nowhere quite often. It could be sunny and 85 degrees one minute and pouring rain the next. So most people walk around with an umbrella all the time, even if it feels like 120 degrees with the humidity.
• Taiwan is a small island right off mainland China. Taipei, the capital, where I was born, is the only major metropolitan city here. Think New York and Las Vegas, in terms of crowdedness, atmosphere, and nightlife.
• The nightlife here is amazing. Taiwan is known for their Night Markets and Shopping districts. Street vending is a way of life here and you can find vendors selling anything you desire if you know where to go.
• Traffic here is crazy. Yes there are traffic lights and drivers will obey them, mostly. But other than that, anything else is fair game; multiple cars in a single lane, not stopping for pedestrians, not pulling over for sirens. Plus, everyone and their grandmas ride scooters here, it’s insane. On any given street, scooters can outnumber cars 2 to 1, and they don’t stop for pedestrians either so don’t be offended if you almost get run over 5 or 6 times a night. It’s part of the culture.
• The public transit system here is excellent. The buses, subways/metro, taxis are all very affordable and popular. In addition, the subways are way cleaner than any of the ones in the U.S. I’ve been on New York, Chicago, San Francisco subways and they can’t hold a candle to Taiwan subway’s cleanliness. They don’t allow food or drink or even gum on the subways. They don’t even enforce it but people just obey it. Trust me, I checked; there is no gum under the seats, on the floor, or anywhere else. I also never see any gum wrappers or trash in general on the ground. People might be “rude” drivers, but even that’s debatable because it’s more about survival, but they certainly are considerate when it comes to keeping public transit clean.
• The foods here sold by street vendors are some of my favorite foods in the world. Where as hot dogs, pretzels, peanuts and popcorn might be your only choices in the U.S., the variety in Taiwan is limitless and it’s far cheaper than what street food would cost in the U.S.
• And finally. . . here in Taiwan, I’m waaaaay fat.
I know, I know, tell you something you don’t already know. But I just wanted to point out that if you were already considered overweight in the U.S., you’ve got no prayer here. Like most Asian countries, people here are just more fit. But I don’t think they eat less because I’ve seen the way people eat here. Plus, *food seems way more abundant, cheap, and available here than overseas. It might be because people walk more here because cars are a bit less convenient. Or maybe they have more self restraint when eating later at night. But whatever the reason, it’s hard not be self conscious when walking around when I’m clearly the biggest tub of lard within a 10 mile radius. Sigh@#$%!
*What I mean here is eating out food, not home cooked meals. But actually one theory why people are skinner here is that the Taiwanese and other Asian people don’t buy in bulk. I’ve been to a couple of supermarkets here and you’ll be hard pressed to find a 6-pack of soda much less a 12-pack anywhere. People here buy what they need and they use it for that day or maybe a couple of days. But buying Costco size bags of food and stocking up and then storing it away in the pantry is a foreign concept I think. And that would make sense don’t you think. The more people buy, the more people eat right? I think snacking late at night while watching TV just does not happen as often here. For a more detail analysis of this argument and concept, read Michael Pollan’s book, Omnivore’s Dilemma. It’s a well researched look at food processing in America and why we as Americans over produce and in turn, overeat. There is a new movie/documentary out now called, Food Inc. which is based on this book. Go check it out if you can.
posted by Presto at 2:17 AM
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