Stray dog in a bookstore

This stray dog in Taipei County knows how to beat the summer heat! Sneak into a crowded, air-conditioned bookstore! The Taiwanese seem kind to strays letting them roam free. Or might it be better for the Taiwanese to exhibit tough love to the strays, coral them up and prevent them from starving and getting mangy?

Taiwan's Tantilizing TiT Townhouses

I can think of few places in the world besides Taiwan that would market a residential apartment complex entitled "TiT" -- "Town in Town". Are they being coy or just didn't bother to ask any random foreigner what "tit" means? Or to just look it up in the dictionary?

Taiwan's tiny trash tins

Taiwan is one of the most crowded places on earth and yet the garbage bins are about 1/3rd the size of those found in places like Hong Kong or North America. Why? One would think the Taiwanese - who love their island - would learn from overseas and expand the size of cans? Does not seem to match with Taiwan's excellent (world-class) recycling program.

Taiwanese with their lights off

Just another venting of the spleen in terms of Asians driving with lights off.

Taiwan's Blogosphere

Andres maintains a great blog covering the various and sundry universe of English-language blogs about Taiwan. Here. A good compendium of the Taiwan blogosphere as it were.

hao chr 好吃

I really like local content sites made by real users of said content. Well, er, food in this case. "Hao Chr" is a clever blog that has attractive reviews of eateries in Taipei.

When Americans live abroad for an extended period of time, we learn very quickly how much more expensive pharmaceuticals are in the US as compared to the rest of the world. For example, a good American friend of mine suffers from acid reflux and was prescribed Nexium by his American doctor (when he was visiting the States recently).

He assumed the price of Nexium in Taiwan would be much cheaper. The price difference was amazing. In the US, he bought Nexium for about US$300 for 30 capsules. (He, like a lot of Americans living abroad, has no health insurance in the US and the US has no national system like Taiwan does). In Taiwan, he is able to buy the EXACT SAME capsules for NT$1,040 (US$32 or so).

In the US, he needs a Rx to buy. In Taiwan, Nexium is over-the-counter.

When my friend related this story to me, we waxed poetic about medical tourism -- if one lived in the US, one literally might have to fly back to Taiwan to see the doctor and purchase medicines.

Something is wrong with the US medical system... Very wrong.... And, the Economist Intelligence Unit was "spot on" when it rated Taiwan's medical care system as the world's 2nd best in 2000.

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?

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:

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: