Well, last week I went to Taipei on what is known out in these parts as a "visa run". That means you leave the country, because your visa is about to expire, and then you come back to get a new visa. If you're a foreigner in Toronto, a visa run means simply getting on the next bus to Niagara Falls. But Japan is an island-nation, so a visa run means a costly airfare ticket. I was gone from Thursday the 11th until Tuesday the 16th.
I really enjoyed my visit to Taipei, but I can't honestly say that nothing bad happened. The first bad thing that happened is that my friend Pi Chen got sick on the same day I arrived, so I couldn't see her that day, which sucked. I didn't get to see her until Saturday. The second bad thing that happened is that a typhoon struck down on Taipei at that time, so it rained every day and many stores and restaurants were closed. The third bad thing is that my friend Joyce, who I've only seen once in the last four years or so, didn't make it down to Taipei because of the typhoon.
But what good things happened? Well, my first night there I met a cool British guy named 'Huggy', and we went to the night market. On my second night there I met two girls from Osaka, Ayumi and Touki, who I basically spent my whole time with except for when I was with Pi Chen. Also, I managed to pick up some DVDs I had been looking for. Ironically, DVDs of Japanese movies, even legal copies, are much cheaper in Taipei and they come with English subtitles.
Things I learned on my trip to Taipei:
• Scooters can be dangerous. A scooter literally ran over my foot because the guy wasn't paying attention to pedestrians! It's OK now though.
• People who drive scooters can be crazy. Some guy was riding his scooter in the middle of the typhoon with his wife sitting behind him, and his kid sitting in front of him! The rain and wind didn't bother them as they rode down the street, all smiles.
• Umbrellas are not built to handle a typhoon. The wind broke my umbrella approximately 5 minutes after purchase.
• The food at the night market is amazing. Actually I already knew this but it's worth repeating.
• Lack of a language isn't always a barrier to getting around. Despite minimal Chinese, I was able to get around by supplementing my speech using primal grunts and hand-gestures.
• Taipei loves the Nintendo DS. Then again, doesn't everyone? ^_^ I saw DS systems everywhere in Taipei. I even joined a group of Taiwanese kids playing Mario Kart over wireless connection in a coffee shop, and whipped all their asses.
Also, I found there are many differences between Taipei and Tokyo:
• Taipei seems more relaxed. People are not as much in a hurry, people laugh more and talk more. At the stores and restaurants, sometimes staff have a casual conversation with the customers. In Tokyo this rarely happens.
• Taipei seems less preoccupied with presentation. For example, when I got to Excelsior to get a coffee in Tokyo, it comes on a tray with a stir stick, a napkin and everything all nicely arranged and presented to me. When I go to Mr. Brown's coffee in Taipei, I just get a mug full of hot coffee. Period. Stir sticks, etc. are on the side and you get them yourself.
• Taipei is not as clean. Both cities have their clean and not-so-clean areas, but in my opinion Taipei generally has more grungy areas, and more old buildings. That being said, I can't say that Taipei's grungy parts (at least the parts I saw) are any worse than Toronto. Toronto was once revered for being such a great clean city back when I was a kid, but sadly the years have not been kind.
• People dress more casually. For example, in Tokyo younger women often wear expensive clothes, some form of leggings or stockings, high heels, elaborately decorated nails, full makeup, crimped eyelashes, and hair that looks like it was just recently done at an expensive salon. Even if they're just going out for shopping on a Saturday. I often see them fixing their makeup on the train. In Taipei, women often wear sandals, a tank top, and (very) short shorts. Some don't even wear makeup. Don't get me wrong, they often still manage to look good (some very good!)
• The train is not so busy. Even at rush hour I don't get the "I can't breathe" squish that I sometimes get in Tokyo. And at night time (like 12 am) the train is so empty you can sometimes even sit down! At 12 am in Tokyo the train is still crazy busy, at least on the lines I take.
• Taipei is the land of the scooter. While motorcycles and scooters are certainly popular in Tokyo, you don't see them nearly as often as in Taipei. In Taipei the sides of the downtown streets are completely lined with parked scooters, and you see legions waiting at every red light. A student told me that in Vietnam
there are even more scooters, but I can't imagine it.
• Taipei is less expensive. While some things are the same price as Tokyo, generally food, transportation, housing etc. is less expensive in Taipei.
There are also of course, some differences between Taipei and Toronto:
• Taipei is warmer. Imagine Florida's weather (sub-tropical, warm winter, heavy rains) but a million times more humid.
• Taipei is more crowded. While it certainly didn't feel crowded, having just arrived from Tokyo, there are definitely more people around than in Tokyo.
• Toronto is much more diverse. While in Taipei I saw many food and store items from Japan as well as a few from mainland China, as far as actual people go, I would say that by-and-large most of the people in Taipei are Taiwanese (i.e. they were born in Taiwan).
Huggy said he was surprised by Taipei, that he was expecting a city that was 'more poor' (in his words). I think that a common misconception about Taipei is that it's an underdeveloped area. But while living expenses are much lower than in Toronto or Tokyo, Taipei feels very safe and in the main areas, most of the buildings are nice and new.
One question I had to ask myself is: Could I live here? I mean, if Tokyo really doesn't work out, would I be happier living in Taipei than in Toronto?
It's not an easy question to answer. Living somewhere vs. visiting can be very different things. I've learned this staying here in Tokyo (don't get me wrong, I love living in Tokyo, but it feels a lot different now than when I was here on vacation). But if I was forced to answer the question, I would say that yes, I would enjoy living in Taipei very much. While I still prefer to live in Tokyo more than anywhere else, I believe I would be happier living in Taipei than in Toronto.
