Last Day in Taiwan

Day 20

East Coast – last day in Taiwan

We drove over to the east coast today to take grandma to visit some old friends and see the town where Wen Jen (Chandler’s father) grew up. It was really a really pretty drive, and I wish I took more pictures. We stopped shortly after we were near the ocean for a wonderful seafood lunch, and continued north along the coast for many miles to Wen Jen’s home town, which is a very small fishing village. There was little to do there, and we continued to the next town where the family has some friends. We took Chandler’s grandma to see her 106 year old friend. Unfortunately while we were there, Wen Jen’s friend locked the keys in the car, and we had to call a locksmith. The locksmith couldn’t get the door open, so they ended up breaking the window! Luckily it didn’t rain. Chandler and I tried to make the most of it by heading down to the beach, which looked really nice, but they wanted to charge you, so we decided against it. After we departed this town, we continued up the coast and turned inland for another stop to see a friend and to see another small town that was very pretty. We returned home early to have dinner with the family and catch up on everything and pack. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 4:40PM, and we have a long day of traveling ahead…

Having been here for the last 3 weeks, I must say that I really enjoyed Taiwan and and China. But if I had to choose 1 out of the 2 to visit again, I would go back to Taiwan before I would go back to China. It's not that I disliked China, it's just that I like Taiwan better. It's more... civilized, I guess. The culture shock wore off after a few days and I got used to things pretty quickly. It's a lot different, but I definitely like it.

Gahn-Bay



Notes: These items didn’t really fit anywhere, but are interesting.

The Chinese/Taiwanese love malls. They put them everywhere and in strange places like underground, in financial districts, etc. It’s their new favorite thing. Malls are vertically oriented. Eight stories is pretty standard.

People don’t really talk much. The subway is kind of quiet despite all the people.

The most I spent on a beer was 50 Yuan (about $7.50) for a 350mL (12 ounce) bottle. The least I spent was 3 Yuan (about 45 cents) for two 600mL (about 20.5 ounces) for a total of 1.2 liters (or 41 ounces). A beer in Taiwan pretty much always costs the equivalent of $1 to $2.

There are no open intoxicant laws in Taiwan or China. You can buy a beer anywhere and drink it in stores, on the street, wherever. There is little incentive to buy a beer at a bar when it’s very cheap in the stores and you can drink it anywhere.

I could always tell a Chinese person from a Taiwanese person based on how much they invaded my personal space. Believe me, it actually worked – Chandler can corroborate.

People stared at me in China a lot. I guess they really like light colored skin… A lot of people in China wanted to take a photo with me. My guess is that I got asked a total of about 20 times while there. The Taiwanese were unphased by my presence.

Chinese people touch you a lot (the whole invading your personal space thing). I hated it.

Everyone has a cell phone – everyone.

Chinese people drive more Buicks than Americans.

If you want to drive a nice car, you drive a Mercedes, especially in Taiwan. The German car brands are really popular as are the Japanese ones. American cars are prevalent. There are lots of Buicks in China, not so much in Taiwan. Ford has a larger presence in Taiwan, and I saw very few Chrysler products in either country. There are also some French cars (Puegeot, Citroen, and Renault), Italy’s Fiat is around, and a Czech car called a Skoda which is owned by VW. I saw 2 Bentleys in Beijing, and 1 in Taipei. I saw a Ferrari in Shanghai.

We borrowed a Communist policeman’s cell phone in Beijing… He was really nice.

Nobody in China speaks English, and if they do, they’re trying to sell you something, or they’re foreign. Most people in Taiwan speak English, as 12 years of it are mandatory in school.

Pedestrians don’t necessarily have the right of way.