|
Ravendas posted:Howso? I'm on vacation in America, what did I miss? Jeremy Lin is visiting Taiwan.
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 02:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 12:39 |
|
|
Jeremy Lin was in Ximending doing promos so literally everyone in the Taipei area was trying to catch a glimpse of him.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 02:11
|
|
|
The Taiwan Megathread 2.0: Vacations, Jobs, TyphooJEREMYLINJEREMYLINJEREM
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 03:56
|
|
|
I just noticed that the BBC Sport's Olympics website lists Taiwan as "Chinese Taipei." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/countries/chinese-taipei
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 14:55
|
|
|
That's because Chinese Taipei is the name Taiwan uses in the Olympics. It's just another example of the bullshit charades the world has to play to pretend like Taiwan isn't a separate country from China. You can read more about it on Wikipedia. I saw some people on FB passing around a "Taiwan pride" picture of the opening ceremony with "Taiwan" photoshopped in place of "Chinese Taipei" text and the actual ROC flag rather than the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag with the caption being something like "Someday..." edit: Actually, after reading that Wikipedia article again for the first time in a long time, it seems like they were originally offered the chance to use Taiwan and rejected it. Although that was back in the late 70s and obviously the political situation in Taiwan was much different back then. POCKET CHOMP fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Aug 6, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 15:35
|
|
|
Yeah, Chinese Taipei is the more common name by which Taiwan participates in international poo poo, in part because 中華台北 is vague enough about which China it is, and partly because back in the day Chiang Kai-Shek didn't want to admit he didn't run China any more, and now China's powerful enough to call the shots. The Guardian did a "Country of the Day" thing the other day basically explaining how it's loving stupid and everyone knows Taiwan is a country but no-one has the balls to admit it publicly.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 16:44
|
|
|
I didn't find anything in hte OP so I will ask here: Hiking and camping in Taiwan? Possible? Legality? WHERE!?
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 23:35
|
|
|
POCKET CHOMP posted:Stuff TetsuoTW posted:More stuff I hadn't heard about this before and it's really interesting, thanks! Herr Tog posted:I didn't find anything in hte OP so I will ask here: Hiking and camping in Taiwan? Possible? Legality? WHERE!? Hiking is a HUGE thing in Taiwan, so finding hiking trails isn't too hard. Camping less so but I know that it's done. The other foreigners in town talk about going camping at Sun Moon Lake all the time so you might want to look into that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 00:53
|
|
|
It should be said that "mountain climbing" in Taiwan usually refers to just walking up lots and lots of old mountain staircases, so keep that in mind. But yeah, there are some pretty great trails all over Taiwan.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 02:29
|
|
|
Just be wary that any trails that have an "attraction" on them will be crowded as gently caress. "Attraction" being something like a waterfall, rope bridge, view point, hot spring, etc. I've seen some trails, that were even pretty far outside the city, so crowded that it was less like hiking and more like waiting in line at an amusement park ride. Your best bet is to go somewhere like Taroko National Park that is very big and has lots of trails. Then ask around the locals to find out some of the less popular trails to check out.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 07:56
|
|
|
There are also a bunch of nice-sounding trails down south, although I admittedly only know about them from having translated about them rather than visiting them. I know a guy who goes hiking with a bunch of other people quite regularly, though, so if you want specific recommendations I could ask for you.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 08:37
|
|
|
Anyone going to Smashing Pumpkins on Friday?
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 12:10
|
|
|
Hey Taigoons, anyone know where I can find a good western breakfast in Taipei that's not associated with a hotel? Cafe Dante is ok, but outside of their waffles it's a bit lacking...I've been craving a fried egg sandwich on sourdough but I know that's probably impossible.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 15:26
|
|
|
Carnegies or the Diner both have western breakfasts that are pretty good.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 15:35
|
|
|
I'm not a Taipei resident (yet), but when I'm up north I've been to The Diner a few times, seemed pretty good. No idea if there are better places, but yeah. edit: beaten by a minute!
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 15:36
|
|
|
stfuDonny posted:Hey Taigoons, anyone know where I can find a good western breakfast in Taipei that's not associated with a hotel? Cafe Dante is ok, but outside of their waffles it's a bit lacking...I've been craving a fried egg sandwich on sourdough but I know that's probably impossible. Grandma Nitty's. In ShiDa. Act now before total assholes shut it down!
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 15:45
|
|
|
You can gte a decent breakfast at NY Bagels, and it's an all-day one. I think the same is true of Cucina Sole, in what used to be Kmall. At least, they do pretty good omelettes. e: Also, in unrelated news, I just read that the Wall Street chain of buxibans just shut up shop "for financial reasons".
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 17:14
|
|
|
Herr Tog posted:I didn't find anything in hte OP so I will ask here: Hiking and camping in Taiwan? Possible? Legality? WHERE!? Near Taipei? Take the Red 5 bus from Jiantan station to Yangmingshan. Want to get away? Take an overnight bus from Taipei Main Station to Alishan. I think it's on the Kuo-Kuang bus line, and is only on Thu/Fri (maybe Fri/Sat) nights from the western terminal (#2?). You'll get there between 3 and 4am, in time to catch the historic train ride to the top for the amazing sunrise over distant Yushan. Then spend a few hours hiking around/back down toward the bus terminal. The return bus leaves around noon and gets you back into Taipei between 6 or 7 I think. Hop on a train on the east coast and head down to Taroko Gorge. Get off at Xincheng station and take a cab up to the visitor's center. If you're leaving from Taipei, go EARLY in the morning (like the first train you can catch). We left Taipei around 9am and only really had time to hike one trail before we had to catch the last bus out from the visitor's center. Live and learn. Hope this helps. 
khysanth fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Aug 7, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 19:03
|
|
|
TetsuoTW posted:e: Also, in unrelated news, I just read that the Wall Street chain of buxibans just shut up shop "for financial reasons". i was considering working for them when I first arrived. Bullet dodged I guess.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 02:40
|
|
|
TetsuoTW posted:e: Also, in unrelated news, I just read that the Wall Street chain of buxibans just shut up shop "for financial reasons". Yikes, thought that was one of the more richy-rich types of schools. Other schools get to eat up their (tiny) student base at least, so others should get a boost.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 13:50
|
|
|
Apparently they only had like 700 students across five schools, so I guess they were more hosed than we realized.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 14:23
|
|
|
Oh look, the school I was going to teach at before I lucked out and found a writing job. The hiring guy was a pretty decent guy at least.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 14:30
|
|
|
All of my vacation plans are hosed so I am doing this last minute. I found a relatively not so expensive last minute flight to Taipei for about 6 days. Is that enough time to putz around Taipei and maybe see another part of the island? Does anyone want to show a goon around? Do you have a welcoming committee? (It's a thing that Lummox and I over in the Koreathread started doing, mostly it's an excuse to get drunk with new goons and show them some cool poo poo) Any recommendations on hostels or just go online and pick one with a good rating. Are there other housing options? The other idea is to take a flight with a 20 and 23 hour stop over there and back in Taipei that arrives and leaves around noon. How far away from interesting things is the airport? Could I run in, eat and drink, sleep, and get out with reasonable ease? DuckFarts, are you the technical editor/patent engineer guy? Doesn't Wall Street in Taiwan require a CELTA and some serious experience or was The one in Seoul giving me a story?
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 21:23
|
|
|
The airport is a good hour from anything interesting in light traffic. There's no welcoming committee per say, but a couple of us have done our best to offer beer to any goons that make it out here. Could you see some poo poo in Taipei in less than 24 hours? Yeah, but it would be exhausting. You wouldn't really need to give yourself as much time as you would in another major international airport (the Taiwanese sure don't), but it's still a trek from anything worth seeing. 6 days is ample time to do everything of note, though. I've never stayed in a hotel, so I can't offer advice there. Stuff is cheap here so I can't imagine that a real hotel wouldn't be affordable. I personally only stay in hostels when things are ridiculously expensive.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 04:03
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:Oh look, the school I was going to teach at before I lucked out and found a writing job. The hiring guy was a pretty decent guy at least. I passed up a whole bunch of good reply opportunities here. DontAskKant posted:Doesn't Wall Street in Taiwan require a CELTA and some serious experience or was The one in Seoul giving me a story? They didn't ask me for anything beyond immediate availability, but, that was the Kaohsiung set and they were obviously operating on short notice. Haraksha posted:
Depending on your budget the motels are easily of hotel quality, and I think they are similar to some of the (nicer) hostel prices. url fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Aug 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 05:21
|
|
|
Really I just want to come out and maybe see some buildings and then eat a bunch of food and do that again on the way back.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 06:31
|
|
|
In that case, six days'll be more than enough.DontAskKant posted:Doesn't Wall Street in Taiwan require a CELTA and some serious experience or was The one in Seoul giving me a story?
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 06:36
|
|
|
DontAskKant posted:Really I just want to come out and maybe see some buildings and then eat a bunch of food and do that again on the way back. Go buy a brick of tofu from your local market in Korea. Leave it on the ondol for a week. Congrats, you've recreated the most cherished local dish. Seriously through, out of all the Asian countries you could visit, Taiwan is the worst as far as food is concerned. At least, that's my opinion. We debate it a lot in this thread. What it comes down to is that there is, in fact, excellent food here, but the excellent food isn't really anything unique to Taiwan. The primary cuisine of the locals is heavily fried, flavorless meats and organs with a large helping of veggies, tofu, and rice. It occupies a weird nutritional nice of being low in calories, high in nutrients, while also being pretty bad for you, unless you just stick to the fish. The buildings are pretty cool though, especially compared to the soviet style apartment blocks in Korea.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 06:41
|
|
|
Actually on the food thing, if you do the six-day plan and you're feeling adventurous, you should hit up Taiya Popo restaurant in Wulai for some Aboriginal food, like fried bees, As Seen On TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nTn_H0rJGs&t=90s e: And while his pronunciation of absolutely anything Chinese is loving atrocious, full credit to the man for a reasonable approximation of the actual, native pronunciation of Atayal.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 07:12
|
|
|
Taiwanese food is delicious. The tradition of sitting in open air restaurants and guzzling tai-beer and sharing plates of fried meat treats is pretty awesome.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 08:09
|
|
|
the eating and drinking thing was for the layover. I guess for 6 days I would want to do some hiking and tea drinking/buying and maybe a beach? Does everyone wear a full set of clothes with only a face visible at the beach there too? Really, I am looking at Taiwan on word from my Hong Kong friend who loves it. Also as a backup in case my flights to HK or Vietnam on Sunday turn out to be too expensive or non-existent. Also, scouting a new place to move to for work. The short list for writing gigs is Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. With 5 years in journalism and 4 in IT and a degree I should be able to find something I would think.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 08:18
|
|
|
Spanish Matlock posted:Taiwanese food is delicious. The tradition of sitting in open air restaurants and guzzling tai-beer and sharing plates of fried meat treats is pretty awesome. This. TetsuoTW posted:fried bees I'm in! DontAskKant posted:5 years in journalism and 4 in IT and a degree I should be able to find something I would think. I don't foresee any problems. Contact whoever you know, and toss your CV onto 104 etc etc, and direct mail. You'll be inundated in no time I'm quite sure of it. Firms here are scraping LinkedIn on a pretty regular basis. (Both nVidia and Google contacted me recently) So, yeah update your keywords with the latest jargon and you'll get approached that way too. (I'd suggest getting a spare SIM card prior to this process, because the spammers here are loving quick off the mark) E; spurling and ytops url fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Aug 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 08:28
|
|
|
What is 104? a site? any other sites? I know I have brought this up here before, but I don't remember URL's take on it. Maybe we can PM so as not to clutter the thread. If I do make it in, there isn't really anything I wont try (as long as it won't make me sick), there are some things I know I don't like, but will try anyway like fermented skate wing in Korea. There is a reason they keep that poo poo covered on the buffet and I have yet to find a Korean who willingly eats it. Basically all I heard about Taiwan from her was "trees, green stuff, real tea, bubble tea, noodles, OMG!" Also, sorta kinda clean air!
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 08:47
|
|
|
DontAskKant posted:What is 104? a site? any other sites? ahh, my bad: http://www.104.com.tw/ CV/resume site (you'll need the www bit because - lol) there's 1111.com.tw too, but I don't think that's quite as popular. DontAskKant posted:I know I have brought this up here before, but I don't remember URL's take on it. Maybe we can PM so as not to clutter the thread. Hit my PM by all means, but the folk who have been here (in tw) longer are likely a better source of quality information for a long term stay/and for a short term stay too tbh. I'm only coming up to my first year here, and I had a pretty easy ride because I stayed with a friend while I set myself up. That's not to say I won't/can't help, but there's folk in this thread better equipped than me, plus I'm from a UK/EU background and I'd guess alot of the info you'll be asking about will be US specific. DontAskKant posted:Basically all I heard about Taiwan from her was "trees, green stuff, real tea, bubble tea, noodles, OMG!" Also, sorta kinda clean air! I haven't really done a great deal of touristy stuff yet. So far I've kept in and around Taipei. "sorta kinda clean air" pretty much nails it though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 09:33
|
|
|
DontAskKant posted:Does everyone wear a full set of clothes with only a face visible at the beach there too? quote:Really, I am looking at Taiwan on word from my Hong Kong friend who loves it. quote:The short list for writing gigs is Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. With 5 years in journalism and 4 in IT and a degree I should be able to find something I would think. quote:Basically all I heard about Taiwan from her was "trees, green stuff, real tea, bubble tea, noodles, OMG!" Also, sorta kinda clean air! url posted:you'll need the www bit because - lol
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 10:06
|
|
|
Booking tickets now and I am choosing between HK, Taiwan, and Philippines (once I factor in the flight to Cebu to gtfo of Manilla) they are all about the same cost. Easy enough to get around in Taiwan? Meet up with a few of you? if that's the case then I'll just go Taiwan because the Philippines would be great, but gently caress if I know what to do there solo.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 10:24
|
|
|
DontAskKant posted:Booking tickets now and I am choosing between HK, Taiwan, and Philippines (once I factor in the flight to Cebu to gtfo of Manilla) they are all about the same cost. Easy enough to get around in Taiwan? Meet up with a few of you? if that's the case then I'll just go Taiwan because the Philippines would be great, but gently caress if I know what to do there solo. Metro transport: here is easily amongst the best I've ever used. Cabs: plentiful and reasonably priced Scooter: I'm on a scooter so all other scooters and anything else on the road is my enemy Bus: I don't use them, but I will pull up next to one with open doors to enjoy the awesome AC they blast. (by all accounts they are reliable and well priced) Meeting goons: I'm tied up this weekend, but next weekend or an evening after I get off work we can do a few beers. From what I hear being solo in the Phillipines isn't something you should pass up too often vOv
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 11:11
|
|
|
I come to Taipei every Saturday afternoon for Chinese lessons, so come evening I'm free. Also, I have a car and am itching to do something with it. I keep joking about a fat goon trip to the beach, but that might be something to do on a coming weekend.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 13:05
|
|
|
DontAskKant posted:DuckFarts, are you the technical editor/patent engineer guy? For jobs, other than 104, there's tealit.com and forumosa.com. YMMV url posted:Bus: I don't use them, but I will pull up next to one with open doors to enjoy the awesome AC they blast. (by all accounts they are reliable and well priced)
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 15:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 12:39 |
|
|
If I figure out how to get a ticket, this country better be freaking awesome. I have spent 8 hours trying to get this ticket downloading all of the Korean Bank I'll definitely be using my data roaming plan. $8 a day to have unlimited data wherever I want? That's fine. What do you guys use down there? WhatsApp? Kakao? Can I get some contact info? I would totally be down for a car trip if you want to use me as an excuse to rally the troops.  I DID IT!!! by 19:00 tomorrow I should be landing in Taiwan Taoyuan International, terminal 1. Now the clusterfuck that is trying to plan a vacation and pack in a few hours when I wake up after hunting the streets of Seoul at 2AM for a printer. What do you guys need to contact me on Whatsapp? my phone number? It's acting wonky for me. Just let me know what you guys use. DontAskKant fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Aug 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2012 16:10
|
|