Almost-post-industrial architecture in Taiwan

The almost-post-industrial architecture of Taiwan. This shot taken in Hsinchuang, Taipei County.

McDs delivers in Taiwan!

Following the lead of Dominoes Pizza and Pizza Hut in crowded Taiwan, McDonalds has started delivering by scooter as well. American fast food adapted to Taiwanese charateristics!

Asian Engrish # 1 - Candy Oiler

This guy is a Candy Oiler? Lost in translation?

Heavy Taiwanese rain - no lights on again

Taiwanese rain! With no lights, I really feel the pain! Again...

Illegal vehicles for senior citizen scavengers in Taiwan

Taiwan presents itself - rightly so - as a high-tech powerhouse (such as the Bill Gates-laden ad on CNN now). However, some parts of the economy and society are still quite low-tech. Dare I say poor? It is frequent in Taiwan to see dilapidated, old and illegal (no license plate) motorized or pedal-powered vehicles such as these. Elderly men and women use such vehicles to scavenge Taiwan for recycleables such as cardboard.

Police don't seem to enforce traffic rules against these poor senior citizens - not sure if that is good or bad for society.

Driving with lights on

In North America at the moment, sure enough, people drive with their lights on - even more so than I remember. Relevant to previous posts about Asians in Taiwan and China driving with their lights off.

Streetside vendors - Taiwan's cash economy

The cash economy in Taiwan is huge. Almost every street (and under bridges as here) have vendors selling wares -- often produced in Taiwan's (or China's) factories.

Taiwanese food court redux

A food court in Taiwan - still bustling!

Fun with outdoor electrical wiring

Boing Boing had a post on creative, ad hoc (can you say "poor urban planning?") electrical cables in Hanoi, Vietnam. One finds such wacky (and dangerous?) cabling all over Asia -- even Taipei County, Taiwan as these photos I took show.

Driving with lights off - saving gas or bad drivers?

A rant here. Please don't misconstrue this as racism or as anti-Taiwanese or anti-Chinese. I am just concerned for the road safety of all who drive (including me) in this part of the world.

Why do about 1 in 20 drivers in "Greater China" (Taiwan and China) drive with their lights off at night? Saving on petrol (gas) -- is this scientifically valid? Or the bumper-to-bumper traffic congestion makes it seem that lights are unnecessary? Are are these drivers just bad drivers?

Civic Boulevard temple

A temple on Civic Boulevard (市民大道) in Taipei. Near the intersection of FuXing South Road. Close to the Breeze Center shopping mall.

Scooters galore

For those new to or visiting Taiwan, beware of the scooters:

Free Wi Fi in the CKS (Taoyuan - Taipei) Airport - Terminal 2

Courtesy of Hsin Tung Yang (新東陽), free Wi Fi in the CKS (Taoyuan - Taipei) Airport - Terminal 2. The sign indicates one should register with the shop -- but the worker there said "Just use it."

Labor for sale graffiti

Throughout Taiwan (and China) graffiti that advertises ad hoc labor can be seen. Only mobile phone numbers are provided.

This photo was taken near Fu-jen Catholic University. Perhaps location-based services one day might service this labor market? A real Blade Runner-esque scenario with rough-and-ready laborers illegally finding dangerous work in the largely unregulated factories of Greater China (to manufacture for the world).

Lu Wei (魯味)

It is evident even to short-term visitors to Taiwan that Taiwanese love streetside food vendors. One popular dish is "lu wei" (魯味) that has an assortment of vegetables and meat that are boiled and served with spices. Here is a video clip and some photos of a lu wei stand in Hsinchuang near Fu-jen Catholic University:

Great new Italian restaurant / coffee shop near FuDa

There is a great new Italian restaurant (with some Taiwanese characteristics) along the "restaurant row" right next to Fu-Jen Catholic University in Hsinchuang. It is called "Milco Coffee" in English.

Here is a video clip of the interior:

This is how I roll...

This is how I roll... from Hsinchuang to Linkou.

Dome of CKS Memorial Hall

Interesting dome of the CKS Memorial Hall that shows the Kuomintang (Guomindang or KMT or 國民黨) flag. The KMT flag of course is the canton of the ROC (Republic of China) flag.

Changing of the guard - CKS Memorial Hall

The ceremonial changing of the guard at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is worth a few minutes. Nice eye candy.

Fireworks in rural Taiwan, Lunar New Year

During the Chinese New Year holiday season, Taiwanese set off lots of firecrackers and fireworks. The following is a short video in rural Taiwan at night. Above a nearby farmhouse, fireworks went off.

Families that gamble together, stay together

During Lunar New Year celebrations, families in Taiwan return home and often engage in robust games of chance with each other. They often play for money.

CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) at night

The CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) remains a really nice place for a walk or a show (theater), etc. Here are some photos at night:

China's Brown Cloud of Death invading Taiwan

With a chest cold (obtained in Nanjing, China), certainly not fun to head back to the relatively clean air environment of Taiwan only to be followed by China's brown cloud o' air pollution.

David blogs quite elegantly about the bout of Mainland particulates hitting the island with the cold spell.

I blogged quite extensively about China's air quality and did analysis comparing the Pearl River Delta's air pollution index with that of the US -- the point being "so so" air in the PRD seems to be equivalent to "extremely hazardous" air in the USA.

Homelessness in Taiwan (台灣無家可歸)

Despite Taiwan's economic success over the last half a century, there are still those left behind. One such is an old man who lives in Hsinchuang (新莊), Taipei Hsien (台北縣). He lives in a three-wheeled truck that is parked in a parking lot. He scavenges cardboard and other recyclables for small income. As you can see here, he hangs his clothes out to dry on the parking lot's wall.

Toothpaste in Taiwan

In addition to racist Darlie (formerly "Darkie" or 黑人 - "black man") toothpaste in Taiwan, there is also a White Men toothpaste!