1st impressions....three years later

Below is a post I wrote three years ago, a year after I moved here. I wrote five things I like about TPE and five things I missed about the US. In bold, I wrote my present impressions on some of those things, just to see my opinion has changed in three years.

(Originally posted on September 30th, 2005)
Last year, I did something I thought I would never do: I moved permanently to Taiwan. Without getting into much detail as to the reason why, I felt it was important to be with mom. But I also felt moving to Asia would be a good move career-wise with the rise of China as an economic power. After being here almost a year, I have to say Taipei has turned out to be a great place to live. Growing up, I didn’t always think that way. From my frequent visits to Taipei to visit my grandparents and subsequently my parents, I always viewed Taipei to be a hot, dirty and smelly under-developed city. Even during the country’s economic boom in the 80s and even 90s, Taipei never reflected the image of a modern, metropolitan city (as much as the country itself would hope to be viewed as modern independent country). But a couple of developments have given Taipei a more modern facelift: its mass rapid transit system and Taipei101 building. The rapid transit system has also seem to indirectly changed the social behavior of the citizens as people are more considerate in abiding by posted queuing guidelines as well as keeping the transit and its stations clean and free of litter. The result of these apparent changes in behavior can be seen outside of the transit stations as overall there is less litter and trash on the street than I can remember. Also, there is less nose-picking and “air” nose-blowing and spitting. More so now than in the past, people here seem to care a little more about how not only their city is being perceived, but how they are being perceived.

With that in mind, here are 5 things (in no particular order) I like about life in Taipei (so far):

1. People here are very nice and friendly. Being a foreigner trying to learn the local language, it’s so easy to be a source of intolerable frustration and ridicule because, after all, that’s how Americans treat foreigners in the states. But, here, I’ve only been met with encouragement and patience. Also, people are very polite and considerate. More often than not, if someone inadvertently bumps into you, he will immediately raise his hand and/ or bow his head apologetically. There is a refreshing lack of attitude and overall sense of entitlement that is suffocatingly pervasive in the states. For example, I have yet to witness a fight in any bar or club here, whereas in the states, you can get into a confrontation just from looking at someone. People just seem to pursue happiness more earnestly here and, thus, look to sidestep any possible confrontation as it would just interfere with that pursuit.

One of the drawbacks of learning and practicing to speak Chinese here is that people here are so polite and so intent of being helpful that as soon as they hear my mangled, heavily American-accented Chinese come out, they immediately reply in their equally mangled, heavily accented English. Now, of course, these people could merely be seizing a rare opportunity to practice their English, but I prefer to think that it’s more to do with their innate nature of “helping their follow man”. I maintain that you wouldn’t really need to speak Chinese to get by here. And many people have been doing so.

Also, in a refreshing change, almost every quasi-famous or well-connected (i.e. party promoter, bar owner, minor celebrity, relative of celebrity, etc.) person I’ve met have been some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. For example, one guy is the promoter of one of the hottest weekly parties in TPE. The first time I went to one of his parties, he came over to where me and some friends were sitting and introduced himself, sat down talked with us for awhile and, overall, made sure we were having a good time. Even now, anytime I want to go to his parties, all I have to do is call him beforehand and he’ll make sure to get me in. That has never happened to me in US and even I know the guy that threw the “Absolute” parties in SF and he acted as if he could care less if I was there. Another guy is the brother of the #1 model in TW and he also couldn’t be nicer.

Samuel Johnson, the man who brought us the “Dictionary of the English Language”, once said, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” That definitely applies to these people.

2. Women here are beautiful. This is the biggest change that I’ve noticed. In the past, I use to be down on how Chinese women looked. I always felt that they couldn’t compare with other Asian ethnicities. Now, I think they’re just as beautiful. I think this change came about as a result of people here attaining a higher standard of living that allows them the ability to purchase nice clothes and cosmetics as well as an increasing proliferation of pop culture that has helped influence their style.

This hasn’t changed over the last three years. An additional bonus with the women here is that comparatively to other women in the world such as women in Shanghai, HK or the US, the women are not as pretentious and shallow. Now, of course, TW has its share of gold-diggers, but, to me, it’s not as pronounced as it appears to be in HK and Shanghai, for instance. What I find refreshing is that, for the most part, the women here give you a chance and are not so quick to dismiss you based on how much they think you make or other material status indicators. But, one negative thing about the “evolution” of the women here is that more and more of them are aware of the power they have and routinely juggled a numerous suitors.

3. Always something to do. I guess, like any major city, there is an endless list of bars, restaurants and clubs to go to and Taipei is no different. I’m reminded of the movie “About a Boy” where Hugh Grant’s character is always going to these cool, modern and hip places, which seem to belie the drab London cityscape.

Taipei is sort of the same thing. Some of the places I have gone to are places you would expect to see in LA, SF or NYC. I would almost have to walk outside to make sure I was indeed in Taipei. But, unlike LA (which was the last place I lived at before moving here), you don’t have to be celebrity or be friends with a party promoter (like you do in SF) to feel like you can experience the best nightlife this city has to offer. A particular advantage for me here is that everything is a short cab ride away, which makes going out so much easier and less of a headache. I was just thinking the other day: how can a guy in his mid-20s living in NYC ever get any work done, much less, even go to work?!?!

I guess the one bad thing about TPE is that it doesn’t have all that many big clubs or “hot spots”. Club-wise, there are only five big ones (18, Luxy, Plush, Primo and Mint; Mint, at this point, has become the UPN of clubs here). Bar-wise, the most popular, by a landslide, is Barcode. Barcode is aided by the fact that it’s upstairs from 18 in the popular Neo 19 building that houses Chili’s and Macaroni Grill (which is much more upscale-y here than its US counterparts; think Maggiano’s Little Italy). But what TPE lacks in quantity, it makes up for in vibrant-ness. I’ve hear from HK people that the party scene is better b/c it’s less of a scene and more of a party.

After visiting Shanghai a few times, I think I might have overstated the cool and hip-ness of some of the bars and clubs here. If anyone has been to XinTianDi and the Bund will know that TPE doesn’t have anything of that size and eye-popping architecture. I think TPE compares favorably to San Francisco where there are many nice, small- to medium-sized places tucked within the city.

4. So easy to meet people. I don’t know if this is a byproduct of living in a big city or of being an American in an Asian city, but it’s just effortless. The best part is that most of the people I’ve met have turned out to be really cool people who have been tremendously selfless and unassuming (compared to some of my lifelong friends back in the states (more on that some other time)).

Well, this hasn’t changed much either. The thing about being an English-speaking foreigner is that you end up going to all the same places as other English-speaking foreigners and most people here are open to meeting new people b/c they, like you, don’t have a built-in group of friends that they grew up with. Everyone is pretty much starting over here. TPE’s expat community (even the locals that hang out in these circles) is, in some respects, like a college campus. You end up seeing the same people over and over again.

5. Food. First, I love Chinese food. It’s my favorite type of food because of its endless variety of dishes. So, obviously, I’m in the right place. I’ve come to realize that people love to eat here. I don’t know if it’s more than people in the states, but it sure seems like it. For example, it seems like, at every outdoor event, a least half of the booths are for foods. In addition, there are numerous night markets and shopping malls with food courts five times the size of those in the US. Also, unlike the states, you can find something good to eat at a modest budget. What’s doubly good for me is that I get to eat my mom’s cooking all the time. Thus, these factors make it rough for a 30-something like myself who’s fighting my body’s desire to look like a pear.

I think one of the things that helped me make my decision to move here (or, at least, make it easier for me to transition over here) was the growing presence of American and Italian restaurants. In addition to Chili’s, TGIFriday’s, Outback and a number of smaller privately-owned restaurants, TPE has added Macaroni Grill, Gordon Biersch, The Diner (a privately-owned restaurant that serves, as the name implies, diner-type food; the 1st one was so popular, another one opened shortly after), numerous burger joints and even a pizza-by-the-slice place. The one thing about TPE is that people have not gotten tired of western cuisine, particularly casual dining. For now, it seems that these places are recession-proof as with every place that opens, the place is consistently full. Although, there still needs to be more Mexican (I can only think of two or three places). Also, it’s my belief that Jamba Juice would kill here.


5 things I miss about life in the US

1. My sister and her daughter Maile. Maile is the closest thing to my own kid (in that I have full access to watch her grow) and I hate that I’m not there to watch it happen. Last time I was there, I was blown away by seeing her stand and walk (even run). I still remember her running up to my sister and hugging her from behind. It was such a simple moment, but for me, to see my sister’s daughter act that way to my sister, it was unforgettable.

The only thing that has changed is that my sister has popped out two more kids (one just recently). Her daughter Maile is still adorable as ever and her 2nd, a boy, is just a riot and a joy to be around.

2. Driving. I miss driving mostly because I miss driving my dog around, the way she would seat in the front seat and then when I roll down the window, she get up and stick her head out. Also, the sight of her sitting in the driver seat when I come back to the car looking at me as if to say “you look tired, maybe I should drive.”

3. Dog parks. I love watching my dog run around leash-free and interacting with other dogs. Also, going to the dog park represents an opportunity of me to read, which I can’t do at home because when I’m around a TV, I don’t do anything else but watch TV, which leads me to…

4. TV, more specifically Tivo. Actually, the viewing options here are not that bad. There are about seven English channels here including HBO and Cinemax (without the sex though). They mostly (if not) only show movies although one channel airs a TV show such as Nip/Tuck (great show) and Monk at 10pm weeknights and another airs shows like Fear Factor, CSI and Lost. There are three sports channels, but due to regional preferences, they show a lot of billiards, Formula 1, tennis and local baseball and basketball. What’s kind of annoying sometimes is they’ll show an otherwise unremarkable game over and over again. For example, over a recent weekend, they showed a Braves-Marlins game at least four times. Sometimes, the replays (of the game) are just separated by a few hours! It’s particularly frustrating because I would like to see more European soccer. Anyway, as any Tivo owner knows, much of my frustrations could be solved with Tivo.

5. Food. I know I just raved about it, but, being born and raised in the US, there is obviously some food that I miss such as Mexican food. It’s interesting that there is a lot of foreign cuisine here such as Japanese, Korean, Singaporean, French and Italian, but no Mexican. I’ve recently been craving some Baja Fresh. I ate at a restaurant that serves Mexican food and I’m willing to bet that they bought their chimicagas at Costco (which they do have here) instead of making it themselves. I also miss good old American cookies. The way they make chocolate chip cookies out here, they shouldn’t be allowed to call it chocolate chip cookies.

Not much has changed with any of these. In fact, I actually miss the US less. Even the TV options have gotten better here. I have since been able to get Star World, which is a channel that airs a lot of US TV shows such as American Idol, Heroes, How I met your Mom, Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld, Jimmy Kimmel Live. Actually, this might be a good time introduce what programming we get here.

There are about eleven channels that air US shows. First off, we have HBO and Cinemax (w/o the late-night soft-core porn; TW is a fairly conservative society and one of the areas reflective of that is pornography, it’s nowhere near as accessible as it is in the US). The bad thing about the programming here is that a lot of the movies are edited to not include any nudity and even some profanity or heavy sexually suggestive dialogue. (btw, here is a hilarious clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp4QVYNAFcQ) of what one show would be like if it was heavily edited. Fortunately, it’s not that bad in TW.)) There is also Discovery, National Geographic and Animal Planet, although everything on Animal Planet is dubbed in Chinese. There is also Star Movie which, naturally, airs movies. Their catalog of movies is second to HBO here. There is also AXN, which airs both movies and TV shows. Some of the shows are all the CSIs, Chuck (love this show), X-Files, Damages, Numbers, Asia version of Amazing Race and even Slamball. Interesting mix, huh? Another channel is called Hollywood, which airs pretty much B-movies that you probably didn’t know existed. The best movie this channel has aired is “Family Man” with Nicolas Cage (which is a very underrated movie, imo). Then there is Videoland Max, which carries a mix of movies (some decent ones), WWE wrestling and Sex and the City episodes. Finally, there’s one with a Chinese name that only airs movies, which are all pretty decent. Right up there with Star Movies, in terms of quality. For example, “Shawshank Redemption” can often be seen here. The funny thing about the programming here is that often you can see two movies starring the same actor running simultaneously. For example, on one channel, there will be “Meet Joe Black” with Brad Pitt and then, running at the same time on another channel is “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. This happens almost all the time. Anyway, if you want to see what the programming is like here, you can go here: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/tvguide/.


Sports-wise, you get a lot of pool/ billiards, more soccer and NBA and college hoops (although not the NCAA tournament), all the Yankee games (due to TW’s favorite son Chien Ming-Wang’s presence on the team), the local pro basketball and baseball leagues here, tennis, table tennis, golf and auto-racing. Recently, I’ve seen some college football, but it usually airs at around 3:00am. There isn’t any NFL here.