File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Heay /trv/ what are your thoughts on visiting Taiwan?
>> Anonymous
Some people here seem to have something against Taiwan, and I'm not quite sure what.
I spent a few weeks in Taiwan with some of my friends from there, and it was fucking awesome. If you have the opportunity you should definately take it.

I come from Australia where the tallest building is a phone box so Taipei 101 was fucking mindblowing for me.

Taichung has the best night markets in Taiwan, bar none. Taipei's are good too, but they don't compare.

Also in Taichung, the lookout. You can go there at night and see the entire city from the top of the hill. There's also a coffee shop there that's open 24/7 so you can sit and drink and talk shit with friends while you look over the cityscape at night. It's awesome.

The Taiwanese were generally very friendly- although I didn't really find anybody outside of the airport who spoke decent English so if you're going by yourself and you don't speak Chinese, there could be some problems with communication.
(Just a side note: A lot of old people in Taiwan can speak Japanese, so if you speak any you can sometimes get yourself out of a tight spot that way.)

Taoyuan has some parks and shit if you're into that sort of stuff. Also Chiang Kai-shek is entoumbed there if you're a historyfag.

Taiwanese food stomps balls. Everything is fucking delicious except that fucking tofu they all eat which is FUCKING ROTTING. But don't worry about getting duped into eating it, you'll smell it a long time before you get to that stage.

Everything is cheap as fuck - ESPECIALLY electronics.

tl;dr Taiwan is the shit and you should go.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I flew over for a 3 day weekend this summer (live in tokyo) and enjoyed it, I don't think it'd be worth spending much longer than that though. Got to see all the night markets, CKS memorial, Taipei101 and all the other major Taipei sights as well as take a train out to some little touristy village on the coast. Stayed at the Grand Hotel, pretty dope
>> Anonymous
>>74248

We don't like Taiwan because we stayed there longer than you did.
>> Anonymous
I want to go there to study TCM someday.
>> Anonymous
I used to have a Taiwanese flatmate, she was :3 as hell and seemed to love Japan and America and pretty much everything EXCEPT CHINA.

She said that the general standard of the locals' English was very good, but considering previous posts I'm quite unsure now. She also said western men were quite popular with women there right now, so good for us. I could go into more detail, but overall it sounds like a pretty nice place to go to for a while.
>> Anonymous
>>74327
This is true for most Taiwanese people. The good thing about being in Taiwan is that the flight to Japan isn't significantly expensive and you can do it as a weekend thing if you wanted.

The impression from all of my friends (since I'm the only one who hasn't gone apparently) is that Taiwan is a pretty cool place. It has good food, engrish t-shirts, and some attractions to keep you busy. It's definitely a place I would consider visiting, but still unsure about living there. Everything in Taiwan is pretty politically charged and could determine who your friends are.
>> Anonymous
>>74327
I am exactly like your Taiwanese flatmate.
>> Anonymous
Oh, there's still a Taiwan? I thought China took that nigga over.
>> Anonymous
Aww look, the butthurt nationalist remnants still think they're the actual china, how cute...
>> Anonymous
>>74327

Had a taiwanese friend here in australia, she really didnt like chinese people at all and said that her family would be unhappy if she spoke mandarin at home as they did not see themselves as chinese.

Havent been to taiwan but have found all the taiwanese people I have met to be very friendly. By the sounds of it taiwan is some strange mix of chinese, american and japanese culture
>> Anonymous
it's fun as hell in Tiawan... even though chinese is nearly impossible to understand, if you buy a round of beers to people near you then you can party like it's 1999
>> Anonymous
I was amazed at the English and Japanese ability of a lot of people in Taiwan. Good food, too.
>> Anonymous
Taiwan is very close in proximity to Japan, and so there's often waves of popularity amongst Japanese culture(i.e food, electronics, movies, tv series, toys, etc...) that influence Taiwan. It was once occupied by the Japanese and that is why some of the elderly population speak fluent Japanese.

Taiwan is still considered semi-democratic but since the founders were people who had broken away from China's communist regime, there is still plenty of resentment towards China. And since 2004 there's been constant threats between China & Taiwan for control of this peninsula. There's constant rumors of a re-unification under China. In fact, Taiwan does not currently hold a position in the UN, there is still considered a "Republic of China".

One of the funniest things about Taiwan politics however, is the constant fighting in the government. I don't mean verbal attacks, I mean spitting, kicking & punching amongst senators, etc...
>> Anonymous
As for myself I'm one of those pro reunification "THE KUOMINTANG WILL RISE AGAIN" guys.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>75150
>> Anonymous
Taiwanese citizens are required by law to part-take in the military at a certain age. I was told by a friend(who was in the military) that it's all lies. The artillery, the military planes, weaponry, etc... are all pretty useless. If a country like China really wanted to attack, it would succeed.

The only drawback from an attack for China is world relations. Heck, even if Japan wanted to attack they'd probably win. We are talking about a peninsula.
>> Anonymous
Ausfag here; I'm in Taiwan now and so far it's a bitch getting around, can't speak a word of Chinese, and everyone I've spoken to can't speak English.

Anything I should be doing? All I planned on doing is buying clothes and stuffing my face.

Also, Taipei 101; holy shit that thing is huge.
>> Chinaman
     File :-(, x)
Hey OP, I see you are enjoying our great province of Taiwan, have fun there!
>> Anonymous
>>76413

also and ausfag thats why I am planning on going with a friend that speaks both mandarin and taiwanese.

Anyways go up to a hotspring, also nightmarkets, or maybe even try your luck picking up some local girls at a westerner friendly nightclub

this might have posted twice...my internet explorer is ass
>> Anonymous
>>76464

Just mandarin will suffice, since absolutely everyone can speak it.

Hell, even a lot of my taiwanese friends (aged in their 20's) can't speak it very well although they can understand it.
>> Anonymous
>>76466

yeah true, but my friend knowing japanese and taiwanese might be helpful in some situations
>> Anonymous
>>76467
how is japanese going to help any?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>76466
>>76467
>Taiwanese language
lolwut? Are you talking about their shitty Min Nan dialect thing, or is this just a way to refer to Mandarin while still being patriotic?
>> Anonymous
>>76493
Mi Nam dialect is actual Taiwanese dialect, along with some other variations i.e Hakian & mountain talk.

Mandarin is a language that has been adapted via China and is probably the best way to communicate with people of the younger generation.

As for Japanese, there are a few elderly people that speak that natively due to the occupation of Japan during earlier wartimes.

If your looking for something to do, there's parks, shrines, temples, lakes, hot springs, monuments(shitload of those) and some techie stuff in Taipei.

I recommend heading up north to "Magong", it's a resort town that many locals travel to relax. Mostly beaches and lots of activities if you enlist a tour group.

English is not a very popular language so I suggest you either hire a guide or find a local friend to take you around. Even though, there are signs in English it's mostly gibberish translations(making it pointless, since the locals won't understand a word of it).

I'd say Taipei is probably where most of the English speaking population exists. Everywhere else, you'll have a hard time finding someone who'll understand a speck of English. Or you could hang by one of those English schools, might find a local that's interested in learning and exchange languages.