Tips on Taiwan

[sdifox]

Well, two things happened: 1.) red envelopes...I won't be spending my own money for a while 2.) my friend's offering to exchange for me, giving me a great rate. Hooray!

Taiwanese people worship US dollar. I think they are preparing to leave when the commies take over

 

[Old Hippie]

Oh Man, I envy you!

I'm sure it'll be great!

 

[rsutoratosu]

I heard its hot as hell now.. is it humid already ?

 

[sdifox]

I heard its hot as hell now.. is it humid already ?

It's an island in the subtropics. It is always humid :biggrin:

 

[God Mode]

Did you see any of those huge centipedes?

 

[rsutoratosu]

It's an island in the subtropics. It is always humid :biggrin:

I go every 2 years around nov-dec, its never humid. Temp around 65 - 70s, good for shorts.

I went once in may for wedding and it was like 100 and humid. You sweat in your shirt

 

[sdifox]

I go every 2 years around nov-dec, its never humid. Temp around 65 - 70s, good for shorts.

I went once in may for wedding and it was like 100 and humid. You sweat in your shirt

shit, I can only go back in the Dec Jan time frame or I would melt. I prefer Canadian winter to Taiwanese heat. The worst kind of heat is when you can't sweat due to high ambient humidity


<== From Tainan.

 

[EvilYoda]

Getting hotter...about 77F today. It's always amusing being in short sleeves and shorts while others are in full jackets and pants still. Headed up toward 80+ by Friday only to be in the low to mid 60s for the weekend. Boooo.

Had some great beef & noodles last night, then supposedly the best sao bing yuo tiao this morning...staying healthy, definitely.

Just walked to a fitness center that was freaking amazing...4 floors, huge square footage, tons of sports available to play: badminton, golf driving range, billiards, squash, GIANT swimming pool, fitness center, dance rooms, spinning, rock climbing, skating rink...all within 5-10 minutes walking from here. Can't wait to go back.

Met up with a few of my friends over the weekend, went to Spark on Saturday...got my first taste of Chinese clubbing. Sounds like I'll be doing some more (Lava) this weekend. Hitting a lot of the sights, did the zoo yesterday. Looks like museums later this week.

Loving it here...so many of the smells are triggering childhood memories, I love how that happens.

 

[rsutoratosu]

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2010/12/20/the-worlds-most-expensive-noodles/ btw try this.. if you dare, i tried the 1000NT bowl, not the 10,000NT bowl..

 

[EvilYoda]

So, I've been hearing for forever how eyeglasses are so much cheaper in Taiwan...today I dropped by one of the nicer stores I've come across. I brought a frame that I've had for a few years (Costco said they couldn't make lenses for it so I didn't think about them for a while) - the store here said no problem, we went over my options on the hardware, pricing, etc.

Now, before I get to the pricing, let me just say that the lenses were so cheap that I asked to try on a few frames in store. This location happens to be right outside of NTU so it was very competitively priced and carried some "trendier" looks. He pointed me toward a type of frame that's made out of a rubbery plastic that can be bent and dropped with no issues. It's also super light so I won't even notice them after a long day's use. So I found a shape that fit well (I went with something a little "louder" since the frames I brought in were more conservative/traditional) and chose my lenses.

$173!!!

FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!

I'm still basically in shock. I wanted to kiss the employee I was so happy. Now I'm going to move to daily-use contacts since I'll have glasses that I can be happy wearing for extended periods of time.

Just another in my list of "holyshitthingsarecheapintaiwan".

 

[EvilYoda]

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2010/12/20/the-worlds-most-expensive-noodles/ btw try this.. if you dare, i tried the 1000NT bowl, not the 10,000NT bowl..

I'm always down for a good bowl of noodles...I'll check them out (for the $1000, hah). Thanks!

 

[rsutoratosu]

you know u can negotiate those prices, my gf got 3 pair for 12000NT and after negotiated, it was 10000, they were the expensive frame and lens.. but kinda useless now that we all had lasik but great deal regardless

So, I've been hearing for forever how eyeglasses are so much cheaper in Taiwan...today I dropped by one of the nicer stores I've come across. I brought a frame that I've had for a few years (Costco said they couldn't make lenses for it so I didn't think about them for a while) - the store here said no problem, we went over my options on the hardware, pricing, etc.

Now, before I get to the pricing, let me just say that the lenses were so cheap that I asked to try on a few frames in store. This location happens to be right outside of NTU so it was very competitively priced and carried some "trendier" looks. He pointed me toward a type of frame that's made out of a rubbery plastic that can be bent and dropped with no issues. It's also super light so I won't even notice them after a long day's use. So I found a shape that fit well (I went with something a little "louder" since the frames I brought in were more conservative/traditional) and chose my lenses.

$173!!!

FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!

I'm still basically in shock. I wanted to kiss the employee I was so happy. Now I'm going to move to daily-use contacts since I'll have glasses that I can be happy wearing for extended periods of time.

Just another in my list of "holyshitthingsarecheapintaiwan".

 

[EvilYoda]

Yeah, probably...but the guy was great and already cut me a decent discount, so I wasn't going to haggle what might've amounted to $20USD. Plus I was already in shock and not thinking straight.

 

[rsutoratosu]

did you try the soup dumpling ? http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp

Ding Tai Feng&#8206;
No. 194&#34399;, &#20449;&#32681;&#36335;&#20108;&#27573;, Daan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 106

and the noodle soup place is like 4 blocks away


&#29275;&#29240;&#29240;&#29275;&#32905;&#40629;&#8206;
No. 16&#34399;, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4, Zh&#333;ngxiào East Road, Daan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 106

btw, are you using smart phone or something, I could never find a place that sells pay as you go MiFi devices, would love to get one of those.. easier on the data plan

 

[EvilYoda]

I'm staying with family and they have wifi - but one of my friends hooked me up with a FarEasTone SIM card with unlimited data (my AT&T Skyrocket has tethering) so I can use that in the future if I needed internet on my tablet/laptop.

As for DingTaiFeng, of course! I've been to one location, going to hit another one eventually. I love me some "small Dragon buns".

Overall, there's a ton of shopping, eating, and drinking to be done in that area - a few big clubs, a couple of expat bars, MOD...I think I'll be spending a good amount of time there.

 

[rsutoratosu]

booking my ticket for december... i can't wait now

 

[Old Hippie]

Pretty women?

 

[MaxFusion16]

I'm staying with family and they have wifi - but one of my friends hooked me up with a FarEasTone SIM card with unlimited data (my AT&T Skyrocket has tethering) so I can use that in the future if I needed internet on my tablet/laptop.

As for DingTaiFeng, of course! I've been to one location, going to hit another one eventually. I love me some "small Dragon buns".

Overall, there's a ton of shopping, eating, and drinking to be done in that area - a few big clubs, a couple of expat bars, MOD...I think I'll be spending a good amount of time there.

dragon buns? it's literally translated to cage, not dragon, the 2 words sound similar, but are written differently.

the buns are actually named after the small bamboo baskets in which they are steamed.

 

[MaxFusion16]

Pretty women?

yes, girls in taiwan are pretty cute, good luck approaching them though, they tend to be shy, especially towards foreigners.

 

[EvilYoda]

dragon buns? it's literally translated to cage, not dragon, the 2 words sound similar, but are written differently.

the buns are actually named after the small bamboo baskets in which they are steamed.

Ah, that makes a lot more sense now. Now that you've pointed it out, I realize I've never bothered to look at the words, LOL...I've never once looked a menu since at Joe's Shanghai or DingTaiFung I've always known what I was ordering.

 

[EvilYoda]

Pretty women?

Plenty of pretty women...lots of leg shown, lots of stockings/leggings/tights. Lots of butterfaces, some criminally so...but then they turn around and all is well again.

Went to Stream and Myst yesterday, talk about pretty women...met some friends of a friend and turns out a few are going to Spring Scream in Kenting next week, so we'll see if I don't meet up with them down there. Pool parties FTW.

Got home at 6AM, slept til 1PM, then was out with family all day...time to pass ooooooout.

 

[EvilYoda]

went to Kenting for a few days...that was CRAZY...now I'm in Hualien for a few days, then Taoyuan. Tomorrow, Toroko Gorge!

 

[sdifox]

went to Kenting for a few days...that was CRAZY...now I'm in Hualien for a few days, then Taoyuan. Tomorrow, Toroko Gorge!

you doing the famous food from each place thing? :biggrin:

 

[MovingTarget]

It sounds like a nice country to visit, despite the fact that as a 6' white guy I'd stick out like a sore thumb...

 

[EvilYoda]

It sounds like a nice country to visit, despite the fact that as a 6' white guy I'd stick out like a sore thumb...

there are more tall people than you'd think and there are plenty of white people here.