The Taiwan Megathread 2.0: Vacations, Jobs, EarthquaJEREMYLINJEREMYLINJEREM

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Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
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Taiwanese people don't seem to drink with the frequency of other Asian countries or Americans, but good god when they drink it's like a marathon to puke town. The local bar's urinal is stained with goon vomit (you know who you are) and no one minds. They only drink beer by downing small cups of it rather than casually sipping it and everyone is on your rear end to drink as many cupfuls in a row as you can. There's a peer pressure mentality that I rarely see outside of college parties. Few things seem to make guys happier than to watch you collapse in the booth while the party rages on around you.

In short, I love these people and I love this country.

# ? Apr 14, 2012 06:13

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# ? Apr 20, 2024 00:30

duckfarts: Jul 2, 2010; ~ shameful ~; Soiled Meat

Haraksha posted:

Taiwanese people don't seem to drink with the frequency of other Asian countries or Americans, but good god when they drink it's like a marathon to puke town. The local bar's urinal is stained with goon vomit (you know who you are) and no one minds. They only drink beer by downing small cups of it rather than casually sipping it and everyone is on your rear end to drink as many cupfuls in a row as you can. There's a peer pressure mentality that I rarely see outside of college parties. Few things seem to make guys happier than to watch you collapse in the booth while the party rages on around you.

In short, I love these people and I love this country.

Basic rundown as I know it:

Most drinking is beer, whiskey is also common, sake/kaoliang/other hard liquor works too
Beer is poured from medium sized bottles(not your standard beer bottle, not the ginormo ones either) into small glasses, about 3/4 to full (equates to about a half cup or more).
When you drink, you drink all of it, and it promptly gets refilled either by you or another. Helping fill others' glasses is polite and encouraged, and should be done for people of "more importance" (boss, guest, the guy picking up the check, etc)

Exception: if you're drinking whiskey, it's fine to sip and not drink an entire glass. This isn't to say you may not be requested/pressured to do so.

Exception: if the place only has large glasses or mugs or something like that, then you're expected to drink the same amount or more than the other guy. Finishing the glass is optional, or used to try and pressure the other guy into finishing his.
You never drink by yourself; you always toast another guy to drink with you. The idea is that if you drink by yourself, why are you even out it's like you have no friends to drink with you aren't we your friends c'mon don't be like that, it's not that serious but something along those lines.
When toasting others, you generally either drink with one person or everybody, but not trying to get multiple specific people to drink with you(it's not fair); if you want that, you drink with them one at a time.
Use these above rules to try and get people drunk, possibly with friends ganging up on a specific person(s)(usually person of importance) to get them shitrocked and make them time travel

The above rules don't just apply to drinking at a restaurant/bar/club/hole in the wall, they can also apply in parts to weiya(company end of year parties) parties and wedding banquets(well, perhaps with less "trying to get people drunk" at some events, but no wait it still happens).

Random side note: when clinking glasses, you generally clink with the lip of your glass slightly below theirs - don't clink with the lip above the other person's glass, and don't tap the bottom of your glass to the top of theirs; the clink height is like saying "you're above me/below me", and you should tend towards being humble.

VVV: as long as the level is reasonably close, it's not a big deal, also it's usually the person who first moves their glass to drink that'll do it anyway. Basically, the thing to avoid is tapping the bottom of your glass to the top of theirs. (also not a big deal if you're drinking with people you know and/or non-assholes)

duckfarts fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Apr 14, 2012

# ? Apr 14, 2012 08:45

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
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But if both people try to be humble won't they end up spilling their beers?

# ? Apr 14, 2012 09:54

Ravendas: Sep 29, 2001

duckfarts posted:

Random side note: when clinking glasses, you generally clink with the lip of your glass slightly below theirs - don't clink with the lip above the other person's glass, and don't tap the bottom of your glass to the top of theirs; the clink height is like saying "you're above me/below me", and you should tend towards being humble.

My wife is Vietnamese, and this is HUGE in Vietnam. Like, they know their glass clinking hierarchy as beer seems to be drunk with almost every meal.

When asking some random Taiwanese friends/coworkers, they said I was crazy and they never heard of that. Just hit dem glasses.

# ? Apr 15, 2012 03:59

HappyHelmet: Apr 9, 2003; Hail to the king baby!; Grimey Drawer

Yeah, if there really are rules that strict no one I know has ever abided by them. Just clink and drink.

# ? Apr 15, 2012 14:40

sub supau: Aug 28, 2007

Nah, the glass height thing is totally a thing. It isn't even Taiwan specific - they do it in HK too. Dunno about the mainland though. It's not really something I think many people are conscious of, but it's definitely a thing. If you're just out drinking with the boys/girls/whatever, though, no-one really gives a poo poo. It mostly comes into play in situations where face is an issue.

And on the "competing for the lower position" thing, in my experience it's been the person who first raises their glass in any particular instance that gets the top position where there's no clear/relevant hierarchy in place.

sub supau fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Apr 15, 2012

# ? Apr 15, 2012 14:44

SB35: Jul 6, 2007; Move along folks, nothing to see here.

TetsuoTW posted:

Nah, the glass height thing is totally a thing. It isn't even Taiwan specific - they do it in HK too. Dunno about the mainland though. It's not really something I think many people are conscious of, but it's definitely a thing. If you're just out drinking with the boys/girls/whatever, though, no-one really gives a poo poo. It mostly comes into play in situations where face is an issue.

And on the "competing for the lower position" thing, in my experience it's been the person who first raises their glass in any particular instance that gets the top position where there's no clear/relevant hierarchy in place.

This is totally a thing in the mainland too. The lower the better, shows the other guy more "face".

# ? Apr 16, 2012 17:12

dundun: Oct 29, 2005; H E R B

Haraksha posted:

I know of another spot open in Sanxia, this one less terrible than the last. M-F 3:30-8:30. It's 62000NT a month. It's a chain school, but a franchised one where a very good friend of mine basically runs the show. You should be afforded a decent amount of freedom. Email me if you're interested, same as my user name at gmail.

I've been lurking this thread for a while, what qualifications would you need to get a job like this? I have some money saved up and just got my passport a few weeks ago so I was thinking of just flying to taiwan and walking around until I found a decent teaching job instead of doing the Hess route.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 03:05

thegoat: Jan 26, 2004

Do you have a 4 year degree in something? A 2 year diploma and a tefl/tesol certificate? You qualify.

If you do not have either of these, are you married to a Taiwanese woman or man?

If the answer is yes to one of these three you qualify. Otherwise you don't.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 04:41

duckfarts: Jul 2, 2010; ~ shameful ~; Soiled Meat

thegoat posted:

Do you have a 4 year degree in something? A 2 year diploma and a tefl/tesol certificate? You qualify.

If you do not have either of these, are you married to a Taiwanese woman or man?

If the answer is yes to one of these three you qualify. Otherwise you don't.

...unless you have a lot of directly relevant experience, like 7 years or so I believe.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 05:05

sub supau: Aug 28, 2007

Does it actually have to be a four-year degree, or just a baccalaureate? Because those two things are not necessarily the same thing.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 05:28

dundun: Oct 29, 2005; H E R B

thegoat posted:

Do you have a 4 year degree in something? A 2 year diploma and a tefl/tesol certificate? You qualify.

If you do not have either of these, are you married to a Taiwanese woman or man?

If the answer is yes to one of these three you qualify. Otherwise you don't.

Yes I just graduated with a 4 year degree last year. So the overall opinion of Tefl is that its nice to have but not really necessary?

# ? Apr 17, 2012 05:53

thegoat: Jan 26, 2004

If you have a 4 year bachelor you don't need a tefl and I would consider it a waste of time.

When I came to Taiwan 9 years ago, I flew here and just cruised around until I found a job I liked. This is the only way I would want to do it.

If youre American I would recommend you get a two month visitor visa rather than the thirty day landing visa. If youre Canadian you get a three month landing visa. Either way two or three months should be enough time to find a job.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 08:32

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
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dundun posted:

Yes I just graduated with a 4 year degree last year. So the overall opinion of Tefl is that its nice to have but not really necessary?

The position is still open, you just need a 4 year degree, don't bother with a TEFl. Shoot me an email, user name at gmail and I'll see if I can set you up.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 08:35

USDA Choice: Jul 4, 2004; BIG TEN PRIDE

dundun posted:

Yes I just graduated with a 4 year degree last year. So the overall opinion of Tefl is that its nice to have but not really necessary?

In Taiwan, regarding 99% of cram schools, it doesn't even qualify as "nice to have."

A baccalaureate is fine for immigration, as to being qualified I suppose that depends how enlightened the cram school manager is regarding international education standards.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 10:58

POCKET CHOMP: Jul 20, 2003; me irl.

Haraksha posted:

The position is still open, you just need a 4 year degree, don't bother with a TEFl. Shoot me an email, user name at gmail and I'll see if I can set you up.

Man, don't keep posting this, I'm really getting tempted to move to the Sanxia area but I'm trying my bestest to honor my contract and not lose my deposit on my apartment here in Tainan.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 15:35

dundun: Oct 29, 2005; H E R B

Haraksha posted:

The position is still open, you just need a 4 year degree, don't bother with a TEFl. Shoot me an email, user name at gmail and I'll see if I can set you up.

Thanks for the offer! Right now I'm just weighing a few options because the job I was supposed to start in NY has just been put in indefinite limbo. My brother has been teaching in Korea for about 4 years now and seems to enjoy it, but I don't really find Korea as interesting as Taiwan.

# ? Apr 17, 2012 22:33

PaoFerro: Jun 24, 2010

I've only read the OP saying that Taiwan isn't a great place for a vacation but I thought I'd come grab some information off people if they can help!

I'm from Australia, serial traveller and I'm looking for another trip, maybe only for two weeks or so before Christmas (university holidays). I understand this probably works out favourably for more comfortable temperatures in Taiwan. The reason I'm thinking of going to Taiwan is quite simply I've been almost everywhere else in South-East and East Asia (some countries on several occasions) and I want to add another country to my list of experiences. It's not a massive flight away so I figured I'd see if it can keep me entertained. I want to travel again but to be honest I can't be hosed doing a 24 hour return journey to somewhere else, I only just did that a few months ago and I'm sick of it for a year or two.

I'm really into hiking, peace and culture, especially in East Asian nations. I really loved Japan, China and Hong Kong for these reasons. Is Taiwan similar in experience opportunity? How much would I expect to spend in $US per day for budget travel? I like the idea that the country has efficient rail transport, it makes travel in East Asia and Europe so much more enjoyable. Hopefully it's the same in Taiwan? Obviously I can't speak the language, how much of an issue is this? Is it ok to play charades and be obnoxious or should I try to learn some of the language?

So there it is. Is Taiwan worth my time and money?

# ? Apr 18, 2012 11:03

duckfarts: Jul 2, 2010; ~ shameful ~; Soiled Meat

PaoFerro posted:

I've only read the OP saying that Taiwan isn't a great place for a vacation but I thought I'd come grab some information off people if they can help!

I'm from Australia, serial traveller and I'm looking for another trip, maybe only for two weeks or so before Christmas (university holidays). I understand this probably works out favourably for more comfortable temperatures in Taiwan. The reason I'm thinking of going to Taiwan is quite simply I've been almost everywhere else in South-East and East Asia (some countries on several occasions) and I want to add another country to my list of experiences. It's not a massive flight away so I figured I'd see if it can keep me entertained. I want to travel again but to be honest I can't be hosed doing a 24 hour return journey to somewhere else, I only just did that a few months ago and I'm sick of it for a year or two.

I'm really into hiking, peace and culture, especially in East Asian nations. I really loved Japan, China and Hong Kong for these reasons. Is Taiwan similar in experience opportunity? How much would I expect to spend in $US per day for budget travel? I like the idea that the country has efficient rail transport, it makes travel in East Asia and Europe so much more enjoyable. Hopefully it's the same in Taiwan? Obviously I can't speak the language, how much of an issue is this? Is it ok to play charades and be obnoxious or should I try to learn some of the language?

So there it is. Is Taiwan worth my time and money?

Taiwan can be pretty cool for hiking and naturey poo poo; the bits that immediately come to mind are poking around in Alishan, seeing the sun rise (or looking at the stars) on Yangmingshan, Taroko Gorge in Hualien, some old railway stuff somewhere, and you can take the Maokong gondola to a tea area. There's a bunch of cool temples in Taipei, as well as some giant ones around Taizhong and Pingdong I think, and night markets are rad. Getting around should be way cheaper than Japan, though I don't have a lot of numbers I can think of. I do know that the longest high speed rail ticket you can get is $50USD, and that's from Taipei to Zuoying(in Kaohsiung), and all other tickets should be cheaper than that, particularly for normal trains for going to the east 'n stuff. If you're just talking about the MRT(subway), that's really cheap, with most rides being less than $1, and the longest one being $2, and that's going a looooooong way(like an hour's ride). Buses are stupid cheap.

Other than that, Taiwan's reasonably English friendly and you can get away without knowing Chinese, moreso in the north than in the south, and of course more in scenic/tourism areas. Generally, the prevailing opinion/feeling is that Taiwan is really friendly, so as long as you're not a dick^*, people are generally helpful(it's a "friendly helpful people at 7-11" vs "rude soulless people at 7-11" place). Last, Taiwan's pretty safe, and it's hard to think of places "you shouldn't be in".
_{* OK, sometimes you may need to be a dick}

# ? Apr 18, 2012 11:40

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

dundun posted:

Thanks for the offer! Right now I'm just weighing a few options because the job I was supposed to start in NY has just been put in indefinite limbo. My brother has been teaching in Korea for about 4 years now and seems to enjoy it, but I don't really find Korea as interesting as Taiwan.

Yeah, my friend wants to have this positioned filled within like a month because it starts in June. If you're not able to commit by now, it probably won't work out.

# ? Apr 18, 2012 11:42

SnowWolf: Nov 20, 2005

PaoFerro posted:

I've only read the OP saying that Taiwan isn't a great place for a vacation but I thought I'd come grab some information off people if they can help!

The OP also thinks food in Taiwan is awful, so he doesn't know what he's talking about. Come to think of it, that OP is really a big disservice.

Here's a good starting guide to read up about vacationing in Taiwan http://wikitravel.org/en/Taiwan

SnowWolf fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Apr 18, 2012

# ? Apr 18, 2012 14:37

HappyHelmet: Apr 9, 2003; Hail to the king baby!; Grimey Drawer

PaoFerro posted:

I've only read the OP saying that Taiwan isn't a great place for a vacation but I thought I'd come grab some information off people if they can help!

I'm from Australia, serial traveller and I'm looking for another trip, maybe only for two weeks or so before Christmas (university holidays). I understand this probably works out favourably for more comfortable temperatures in Taiwan. The reason I'm thinking of going to Taiwan is quite simply I've been almost everywhere else in South-East and East Asia (some countries on several occasions) and I want to add another country to my list of experiences. It's not a massive flight away so I figured I'd see if it can keep me entertained. I want to travel again but to be honest I can't be hosed doing a 24 hour return journey to somewhere else, I only just did that a few months ago and I'm sick of it for a year or two.

I'm really into hiking, peace and culture, especially in East Asian nations. I really loved Japan, China and Hong Kong for these reasons. Is Taiwan similar in experience opportunity? How much would I expect to spend in $US per day for budget travel? I like the idea that the country has efficient rail transport, it makes travel in East Asia and Europe so much more enjoyable. Hopefully it's the same in Taiwan? Obviously I can't speak the language, how much of an issue is this? Is it ok to play charades and be obnoxious or should I try to learn some of the language?

So there it is. Is Taiwan worth my time and money?

Just expanding on what duckfarts already said, I think for someone in your position you should absolutely come to Taiwan. I'd recommend against traveling on the HSR unless you have tons of $$$ to burn, and want to get around quickly. I personally am partial to using the bus as its cheap and Taiwan has an excellent city to city bus system. You can also take the regular train, but can be slower than taking the bus. Absolutely use the MRT in Taipei during any time you spend there.

As for hiking/naturey type stuff. I'd recommend traveling down the East coast of Taiwan. There are much less people on that side so the crowds won't be so bad. If you can try renting a scooter, and just driving up into the mountains. Just be wary of buses, and crazy (drunk) blue truck drives coming down the (single lane! )mountain roads. Some spectacular views up there though.

Most of all be sure to try talking with some local people if you can. Like I said in the OP Taiwanese people are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet, and easily the biggest reason I enjoy living here.

# ? Apr 18, 2012 15:15

HappyHelmet: Apr 9, 2003; Hail to the king baby!; Grimey Drawer

SnowWolf posted:

The OP also thinks food in Taiwan is awful, so he doesn't know what he's talking about. Come to think of it, that OP is really a big disservice.

Here's a good starting guide to read up about vacationing in Taiwan http://wikitravel.org/en/Taiwan

I never said the food was awful. Its just that I find Taiwanese food gets boring if you eat it for too long. I've tried asking my co-workers why they don't try something different (like Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc.. food) than the same lunch boxes/fried whatever they eat almost everyday at work and they just get confused. That or their Mom does all the cooking for them, and of course they don't get much choice then.

Still point noted, and I took a minute to update a few things in the OP:

* Change some wording in the food section
* Hopefully got rid of all the "your/you're" grammar errors
* Added a small school section

Sorry I haven't updated it more. Was busy with ME3, and now busy trying to put together a business plan :/.

# ? Apr 18, 2012 16:17

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

There is lots of boring food in Taiwan. This isn't to say that the food in Taiwan is boring. I have to agree with HappyHelmet completely when he says that his coworkers eat the exact same piece of fried meat every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.

The most common food is not sauce heavy. It's fried and seasoned with mixed vegetables, rice, and some tofu. There are small variations. Sometimes the fried meat is pork. Other times it is fish.

However, there is a huge range of food available. There is lots of great poo poo to be found if that's your thing. It's just that most local people don't seem to go out of their way to get it.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 03:17

Ravendas: Sep 29, 2001

Haraksha posted:

There is lots of boring food in Taiwan. This isn't to say that the food in Taiwan is boring. I have to agree with HappyHelmet completely when he says that his coworkers eat the exact same piece of fried meat every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.

The most common food is not sauce heavy. It's fried and seasoned with mixed vegetables, rice, and some tofu. There are small variations. Sometimes the fried meat is pork. Other times it is fish.

However, there is a huge range of food available. There is lots of great poo poo to be found if that's your thing. It's just that most local people don't seem to go out of their way to get it.

My wife's coworkers eat lunchboxes twice a day, every day, forever. When we told them we went to Tasty the other day (500nt/person, steak + a ton of courses place), they just divided it out and said "That's like the cost of 8 meals for each of us!!! Why would you ever do that!!!"

I do however like the Taiwanese black pepper steak for ~200nt. Noodles, egg, random veggies with a steak on top, with the sizzling black plate it's served on. UGH so good and well priced.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 05:06

GoutPatrol: Oct 17, 2009; *Stupid Babby*

Ravendas posted:

I do however like the Taiwanese black pepper steak for ~200nt. Noodles, egg, random veggies with a steak on top, with the sizzling black plate it's served on. UGH so good and well priced.

I can get (almost) the same thing in a box for 60NT. :smug:

# ? Apr 19, 2012 05:46

USDA Choice: Jul 4, 2004; BIG TEN PRIDE

GoutPatrol posted:

I can get (almost) the same thing in a box for 60NT.

Steak for 60NT? Is that like .5oz of steak?

# ? Apr 19, 2012 06:17

duckfarts: Jul 2, 2010; ~ shameful ~; Soiled Meat

Ravendas posted:

My wife's coworkers eat lunchboxes twice a day, every day, forever. When we told them we went to Tasty the other day (500nt/person, steak + a ton of courses place), they just divided it out and said "That's like the cost of 8 meals for each of us!!! Why would you ever do that!!!"

I do however like the Taiwanese black pepper steak for ~200nt. Noodles, egg, random veggies with a steak on top, with the sizzling black plate it's served on. UGH so good and well priced.

FYI: That's kinda high priced, probably from being in a convenient location or having good service or quality; standard is something like 150ish(see most food courts), night markets sometimes have 120 or 100NT ones, includes fill it yourself tea if you like that kind of thing.

GoutPatrol posted:

I can get (almost) the same thing in a box for 60NT.

Does your box sizzle? Hmmm?
_{_{on second thought don't answer that}}

# ? Apr 19, 2012 06:26

sub supau: Aug 28, 2007

duckfarts posted:

FYI: That's kinda high priced, probably from being in a convenient location or having good service or quality; standard is something like 150ish(see most food courts), night markets sometimes have 120 or 100NT ones, includes fill it yourself tea if you like that kind of thing.

Yeah, there's a place down by Jingmei night market that does hell cheap teppanyaki, and it's really nice too.

Ravendas posted:

My wife's coworkers eat lunchboxes twice a day, every day, forever. When we told them we went to Tasty the other day (500nt/person, steak + a ton of courses place), they just divided it out and said "That's like the cost of 8 meals for each of us!!! Why would you ever do that!!!"

And fair enough, too, given what wages here are like. Personally I've already had enough biandang for a lifetime, but I can fully understand why people would eat sod-all else but them.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 07:12

thegoat: Jan 26, 2004

It should also be mentioned that Tasty is disgusting. You couldn't pay me 500nt to eat a steak there

# ? Apr 19, 2012 07:28

duckfarts: Jul 2, 2010; ~ shameful ~; Soiled Meat

thegoat posted:

It should also be mentioned that Tasty is disgusting. You couldn't pay me 500nt to eat a steak there

Never been there myself, though I confuse it with "Eat Here" or "Eat Free" or wherever that Goon Meat was at. I take it Tasty is like Noble Steak House in that it's pretty lousy/kinda ghetto?
_{also you could totally pay me 500NT to eat there, PM me if you're interested}

# ? Apr 19, 2012 07:32

sub supau: Aug 28, 2007

It's like a slightly higher-end Noble. The one down on Chongqing is alright too. Nothing outstanding, and for the price it could and should be better, but it's not that bad.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 07:34

PaoFerro: Jun 24, 2010

Thanks for all the replies regarding holidays in Taiwan. Just a couple of more specific questions?

I'd be travelling with my girlfriend, we're happy to eat cheap and off the street but we'd like to stay in accommodation that is half decent. Happy with double rooms in hostels or good value 3-4 star hotels or guesthouses. Just don't want to sleep in dorm beds. We aren't big drinkers or into crazy nights out, nor do we want to shop. How much would we be likely to spend in two weeks there? If someone could tell me some sort of daily budget (per person) for us considering we'd be sharing some costs.

Also, are parts of Taiwan comparable with any other areas of Asia? For example, is Taipei like Tokyo or more like Hong Kong or more like Guangzhou? Does the countryside resemble southern China or Northern Vietnam or something totally different? Just asking because I know nobody who's been there and there's not many world famous areas or landmarks that stick out in my head when I picture Taiwan.

Final question. What are the opportunities for hiking like in Taiwan? I know there's a bunch of different mountains there, but are they good for exploring?

Thanks in advice and for the quick replies on my previous post! Great thread and detailed contributors.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 08:27

dtb: Feb 1, 2011; I like to traveling world and take pictures of.

I'm loving it when I convert these prices to JPY. I think I'm going to enjoy Taiwan very much

Anywho, are there any holidays where business shut down for more then 3 days consecutively besides Chinese New Years? Putting together a business plan and from what I can find there seem to just be a bunch of one off holidays, which is hard to believe.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 08:30

sub supau: Aug 28, 2007

PaoFerro posted:

I'd be travelling with my girlfriend, we're happy to eat cheap and off the street but we'd like to stay in accommodation that is half decent. Happy with double rooms in hostels or good value 3-4 star hotels or guesthouses. Just don't want to sleep in dorm beds. We aren't big drinkers or into crazy nights out, nor do we want to shop. How much would we be likely to spend in two weeks there? If someone could tell me some sort of daily budget (per person) for us considering we'd be sharing some costs.

I don't know if guesthouses'll work so much with the whole not-speaking-Mandarin thing, but either way you could probably expect to spend AU$35 upward a night for good accommodation. You can get cheaper, and it's not always bad, but it's a gamble. A decent Western feed'll set you back anything from about AU$15 up per person, but if you're OK with going cheap, you could easily get by on AU$10 per person per day foodwise. For reference, a meal at McD's is about AU$5, but a boxed lunch (like a Japanese bento - rice, meat, some veg) goes for around AU$2+. Transportation I can't really speak to - reckon you'd be hiring a scooter or just getting around by train and bus?

quote:

Just asking because I know nobody who's been there and there's not many world famous areas or landmarks that stick out in my head when I picture Taiwan.

There really aren't any world-famous areas or landmarks in Taiwan, because Taiwan's tourism bureau are loving incompetent. One idea for a look around would be jumping on Google Street View though - most of the place is on there. I've been told Kenting, down at the south end, is very Southeast Asian feeling, and I know that Taipei is definitely way more comfortable and way less chaotic than HK, at least.

# ? Apr 19, 2012 08:48

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

Money question. I have a friend of a friend who wants someone to look at a college essay. It's 15,000 words. How much would you charge to correct just the grammar and the fluency? It's for a UK masters program, so I have to assume that their English is pretty good (the person being Taiwanese), but I wouldn't even know where to start negotiations.

Also, it's the kind of family where money really isn't a problem.

# ? Apr 20, 2012 14:51

mad carl: Feb 11, 2009

Haraksha posted:

Money question. I have a friend of a friend who wants someone to look at a college essay. It's 15,000 words. How much would you charge to correct just the grammar and the fluency? It's for a UK masters program, so I have to assume that their English is pretty good (the person being Taiwanese), but I wouldn't even know where to start negotiations.

Also, it's the kind of family where money really isn't a problem.

I'd just clock it and take my hourly rate.

# ? Apr 20, 2012 14:58

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

Well, my guess is that 15,000 words is like 35 pages. God knows how many hours that's going to take me, but even if it was 3 hours that would still be like 2000 dollars at my hourly rate. It's entirely different work, and frankly seems more taxing than teaching kindergarten.

# ? Apr 20, 2012 15:01

mad carl: Feb 11, 2009

Haraksha posted:

Well, my guess is that 15,000 words is like 35 pages. God knows how many hours that's going to take me, but even if it was 3 hours that would still be like 2000 dollars at my hourly rate. It's entirely different work, and frankly seems more taxing than teaching kindergarten.

Then go up to 800 or 1,000 an hour. 1,000 is like top shelf one-on-one tutoring, as I recall, and I think you're good enough with language to be well worth that price for editing work.

# ? Apr 20, 2012 15:04

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# ? Apr 20, 2024 00:30

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Haraksha posted:

Well, my guess is that 15,000 words is like 35 pages. God knows how many hours that's going to take me, but even if it was 3 hours that would still be like 2000 dollars at my hourly rate. It's entirely different work, and frankly seems more taxing than teaching kindergarten.

I would suspect it'll be more than 3 hours. At 30 pages that's 5 minutes a page to do both the reading and revising. In addition you'll want to check your work either page-by-page or at the end. More pages would only increase the pace. I'd call it 5 hours in all, maybe with some stipulation for more if the writing is really crappy. If the writing is already good though I doubt it'd be more taxing than kindergarten.

Totally unrelated: 15,000 words just to get into a school? Will admissions counselors even read that?

# ? Apr 20, 2012 15:22

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