Stefanie, you're such a sweetheart!

Dear Stefanie,

my lovely little sis. Tell me honestly, is your life's purpose making others happy?

I remember, when you found my blog about four months ago, your comments always made me smile. We became friends very quickly, because you're such a sweetheart, who befriends everyone instantly. And for a while, you were only following me, but people noticed you. And you quickly became friends with many of my followers and they became your followers, too. And I was very happy about that. For me, your blog is another way for you to make others happy. Everywhere I see you online, be it on your Twitpics or Twitter, I see your smile and kindness radiating. Your smile shines out and warms us. And it especially warms me. I'm happy, that you became friends with my girlfriend and I and that we "adopted" you as our own sister. I do have concerns about your health and I worry about you a lot lately, but you always manage to calm me down. I hope you get healthy soon and I really wish, I could welcome you in Taiwan one day.

Thank you very very much for sending me a lovely card with many kind words and a key chain with my name. That was very sweet of you and made me happy.

Thanks for being you, Stefanie a.k.a. Ms. Stefbunny :-)

[Photo by MKL, 2010]

8 and 8 is our double happiness

Today it's our 8 months anniversary.............................and it's also my 8th day in Taiwan

You found me exactly 8 months ago, on 23rd June 2009, when you replied to my tweet. Isn't it amazing how time flies? Of course, we weren't more than strangers 8 months ago. I remember, that you didn't even have your photo on Twitter, but instead you had a picture of a Japanese actress. And since you also tweeted in Japanese, I wasn't sure, whether you were Chinese or Japanese. I was like: Who is this girl? She says she's from Taiwan, but is she a Japanese girl in Taiwan? I have no idea.

And that's how it started. We tweeted and tweeted occasionally, for many months we weren't close at all. Until that day, when you sent me a DM and asked me to listen to you as a friend and share my opinion on your then complicated circumstances. We became closer, we became friends. We chatted on MSN every day and discussed various issues. I listened to you, you listened to me. Days passed fast and suddenly we felt an attraction, suddenly we sensed that we're more than just friends. That overwhelmed us and we became scared and we slowed down. We needed time. The year was nearly ending and there weres days, where we didn't know where this was going. But even in the hardest times, we couldn't stay away from each other. And then came that day, when you said you are wholly mine. I won't forget that moment. It was the day where you took a leap of faith and did it. You opened up to me like never before and we became a couple before we even met. We talked about everything, we dreamed, we planned, we hoped. And if you look back on those past 8 months, we made a big portion of these dreams come true in only 8 days. Isn't that amazing?
Today I passed by that spot, where you took that famous photo of the lovers in Taipei and it struck me: Wow. This is real, I'm really here, that's us now! I'm now the one who's walking hand in hand around this bustling city with a beautiful woman.
The most amazing thing about you is how humble you are. You're intelligent, gorgeous, funny, cute, hard-working, caring and loving. You always do good jobs, you always seek perfection in everything you do. You always put others infront of yourself and you always keep your word. A woman like you is hard to find. And guess what, I didn't even look for you, because I feared that someone like you doesn't even exist outside my dreams. Yet you found me. Again, how amazing is that? And it happened exactly 8 months ago and I believe 8 is a lucky number. Not only for you or for the Chinese, also for me. You turned my life upside down, you made me not only dry the tears of my past, but you also made me love again. You made me love deeply, you made me happy again with all the small things you do for [and to] me every day, ever since I've met you. Be it a tweet or a hug, be it your call, when you miss me or worry about me, be it holding my hand or kissing me many times when we come home - you always make me a happy man. Every time you smile, my heart skips a beat. I know it's sounds cheesy, but that's exactly what happens. You make me feel romantic, you make me feel confident, that I'm doing the right thing.
You made me fly half around the world and I don't regret it a single day, a single second. Every moment spent with you is like a dream come true. You're just amazing. I thank you for EVERYTHING you've done to me so far and that was A LOT. I hope people will understand how lucky I am. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. Even winning the lottery can't beat what we have, our closenes, when we lay in bed embraced and when I'm looking into your deep radiant eyes and see how your sexy lips are approaching mine.

You're one of a kind, baby. Simply amazing. I'm so lucky. I hope our fairy tale continues beyond these 8 months and 8 days, because I haven't had enough of your sweet kisses yet.

謝謝你. Thank you so much. 我愛你,寶貝. I love you, baby.

Happy anniversary! :-D

Being a foreigner in Taiwan

Some funny things that happened to me in the first few days

Being an European, or a foreigner in general, in an Asian country is always a challenge in many ways. And Taiwan is no exception to that. Of course in these few days, I haven't experienced anything bad. The only thing that is different for me now is that people are looking at me more often, I feel like I'm getting much more attention.

That happens especially in the neighborhood, where I stay, because it's a very traditional one. But even in Taipei City, around Taipei 101 or in the subway, people look at me a lot and talk about me or us. It's so easy to notice, even if I don't understand what they're saying. Interracial couples are always an interesting sight (even to me), so that's understandable. But so far I haven't been walking around by myself. I will have the pleasure to experience that tomorrow and that may provide even more funny situations, because I will have to communicate with some locals and find my way around all by myself. More about that next time.

So what happened so far? There were three really funny things, the first one is...

My epic fall: Me and my girlfriend were walking back to the subway from Taipei 101 and as you can see, the sidewalk is very wet and slippery. It's been raining for like one week, there's even small leaves on the ground. So while we were walking, I had the stupid idea to take a quick snapshot of my girl. I stepped two steps back with my cell phone camera in one hand and said: "Baby, look at me!" She turned around just to see how I slipped and fell on my front - what an epic fail! It didn't really hurt, but I immediately started to look around, if any people have seen it. Lucky for me, most of them were too far. I had a small bruise on my left hand, the right side of my pants was all wet. My Nokia got smashed on the slippery floor, but luckily, no scratch or damage was done. Pheww... I felt so stupid and shy, haha. The blurry photo above is the result of my epic fall, hehe. That shall remind me to walk like a gazelle from now on - slowly and gracefully :-P

I am the "Money come cat": The cat on the right is a common sight here, it signifies wealth. The waving left paw is calling for money to come. And guess what? My girlfriend says I'm like that cat, because it happend at least twice, that I helped someone to increase their business.

On the picture above you can see the two dishes I ate in the recent days. My girlfriend noticed that after we ordered it, suddenly there were so many people ordering the same dish. She says it's because of me :-P First I didn't believe it, but then it made sense, because they all ordered the exactly same dish and the hawker was suddenly full of people. We joked around that I should get free meals, since I always attract customers. My girl's theory is that when Taiwanese see, how a Westerner enjoys the food, they think it must be delicious, hehe. And you know, I'm many times at the center of attention, because I am different.
But the truth is, I always finish my food, even, if it's not thaaaat yummy. I don't like to waste food. But in the cases above, I really liked those dishes and I was very hungry, so I ate quicker, hehe. I guess people had the impression I'm eating the best food in the world. Well, that's how I became the "Money come cat" :-P

We were street models: Yesterday, when we walked around Taipei 101, a young girl started to talk to my girlfriend. i had no idea, what she's saying, she talked fast. I thought it's my girl's friend. Then she took out her cell phone and snapped a photo of us and repeatedly bowed and said thank you. She wanted to take a picture of us, but I have no idea why. Do we look cute? Weird? Unusual? Who knows. The only thing I thought about is, I may end up on a Taiwanese girly blog or Facebook and people will drop tons of comments about us. That's ok, if I never find out where I am posted, I don't care :-P

[Taipei][Taiwan][Money cat photo][Other photos by MKL, 2010]

Beautiful Taiwanese girls in Xinyi

Two impressions of beautiful girls in Taipei

Taipei is full of beautiful people. And that's very easy to realize, if you happen to walk around Xinyi or Zhong Xiao East Road, two parts, where young and fashionable people dominate. It's amazing, how fashion conscious young Taiwanese are and that's especially true for Taiwanese women. See two photos my girlfriend took near Taipei 101.

Sexy promoters caught the attention of many passsers-by. Love the white jackets.

A young woman with great legs and fashionable boots. Love how she holds the bag.

This post is part of People in Xinyi 2010>>

[My TAIPEI page][Both photos by Lily, 2010]

Xinzhuang 新莊, New Taipei

A very populated proletarian district in New Taipei

It was very rainy during that time in Xinzhuang.

Xinzhuang 新莊市 looks like a small traditional district, but it's more of an industrial suburb of Taipei City with many factories. The name simply means "New village". It looks like a small town, but it has around 400.000 inhabitants [in 2010]. The part where I reside is old. The streets are narrow, the density is high. There are shops and hawkers everywhere, motorbikes are cramped between the sidewalk and road. It's not classy, but it's definitely a thoroughly Taiwanese place with great food and nice people. There is also a new part of Xinzhuang with modern buildings emerging, but I wanna show you the old Xinzhuang. Enjoy some photos:

Streets full of shops are common here.

A river flowing through the old Xinzhuang.

If you want to see more of rainy Xinzhuang, check my photo blog here>>

Related: [My TAIWAN page][My TAIPEI page][Photos by MKL, 2010]

Taiwan: First impressions

All this will certainly be rebutted within a month

I thought I knew a lot about Taiwan by what my girlfriend has told me and from everything I've read online before I went on this trip. I was so wrong. Taiwan has to be experienced in real. You have to see it, feel it and smell it.

Now people may have all kinds of first impressions, depending on where they come from and where they have been. Most of the time compare all the things I see here with what I've seen in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong before. Taiwan has many similarities with these three countries, but many things are uniquely Taiwanese here. Let me list some things that made an impression on me in these first 5 days and if you're new on my blog, please know I see everything with the eyes of a Westerner:

Taoyuan International Airport: That's the first thing you see in Taiwan. It's a very modern airport. It doesn't seem so big at first, it certainly feels smaller than the ones in Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong, but I'm not too sure. The walk from the plane to the arrival hall was pretty long. But there wasn't so many people. I guess that may be because of Chinese new year (CNY from here on).

Chinese new year in Taiwan: I always think that the best part of CNY is the time before the actual holidays, when you anticipate that first day with the reunion dinner and the first visits the next day. I arrived here at the 3rd day and it was raining all the time. It didn't feel very festive. Most people were inside, shops were closed, so I couldn't really experience the CNY the same way I did last year in Malaysia. Because I've been anticipating it with my ex's family, we cleaned the house, decorated it, we ate the reunino dinner together, visited family and friends. That's the real CNY. This time I just spend time with my girlfriend, but we celebrated the beginning of our love and life together. I must say that I've said "新年快樂" (xin nian kuai le or) "happy new year" few times to some people and everytime they smiled and replied "红包拿来" (hong bao na lai or) "now give me a red package". Haven't experienced that in Malaysia.

Taiwanese people in general: Very friendly and polite! A bit reserved at first, but they're willing to help you. Everywhere you go, be it a store, 7 Eleven, hawker, café, they will always say 謝謝! (Thank you!), which sadly wasn't always the case in Malaysia and Singapore.
And I've noticed that Taiwanese are not really kiasu, when it comes to public transport. The MRT (subway) has marks on the ground to show where people have to stand while waiting for the train to arrive. Nobody's pushing, everything goes smoothly, people alight in the middle, those who want to go in, stand on the side and wait. I like that. But then when there's food, Taiwanese can be very kiasu! Be it night or day market, especially in places where there's many food stalls at one place, there was always someone pushing me, while waiting for the food, there was no order. If the hawker demands a line, then people will stand in line. It depends. There's also tourists from China, who don't stand in line, but I can't really distinguish so far who's Taiwanese and who's from the mainland.

Taiwanese girls and women: They seem a bit quieter than their "cousins" in Malaysia and Singapore. Because it was raining all these days, most of them would wear boots, stockings and jackets. They dress up very well, use good make-up and take good care of themselves. I know many say Taiwanese girls are very beautiful, but for me there was not such a big difference from Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese girls. But I guess I haven't seen the cutest girls yet, since it's new year. Of course beauty is very subjective, but trust me, I have a good eye :-P You have all kinds of girls and sure, now and then a girl, that looks stunning passes by and you think: Wow! She's hot! That happened to me many times. Then I realized it's my girlfriend :-P

Taiwanese boys and men: The first thing I noticed is, that they don't take care of themselves as much as the girls here. And my Taiwanese girlfriend said the same. I'm talking about clothes, hairdo... Some guys wear very casual clothes here (jogging suit and sandals). Of course that doesn't apply to everyone, some guys here really look good and cool, remind me of some Tokyo street styles. You see that a lot when you go to Xinyi or Ximending. My area is located near factories, people who live here are workers and don't earn as much as the educated elites in the city center. I definitely need to explore more areas to allow myself a more comprehensive statement. So take all this with a pinch of salt, please :-)

Couples: I must share two funny instances. While I was on the bus, I saw a couple, where the guy would sit and the girl would stand beside him. I asked my girlfriend "Ain't that funny?" She said it's normal here sometimes. I thought it's no wonder the men here have a bed reputation. But then I saw a totally different thing on some other bus: The girl was sitting and her boyfriend stood beside her and caressed her hair. That was so cute, haha. Aside from these two extremes, most couples seemed pretty normal here, like everywhere else I've been. I definitely need to see more couples.

Food: is everywhere! Seriously. I thought Malaysians and Singaporeans are crazy about food, but in Taiwan, food can be smelled and seen everywhere. Every corner would have a small hawker frying some traditional pancakes or steaming dumplings, at least in my area. And even though it's not on every corner, the famous stinky tofu can be smelled almost everywhere (more about that one soon).

I must say the food is very diverse and generally delicious. Of course I'm a Westerner and some things are not really my favorite, but I've tried everything so far, yes, even the stinky tofu and duck's blood. I think for Malaysians and Singaporeans this food tastes far better than to Westerners, so it's no wonder, that Taiwan has become one of their favorite destinations.

Traffic: Is running smoothly. The roads, especially where I live, are cramped with motor bikes, the sidewalks are narrow, hawkers are squeezed in between. Sometimes you have to walk on the road, but the cars always mind the pedestrians, so it's safe. It's somewhat like Singapore, but let's rather not mention Malaysia here :-P There's many crosswalks with an animated cute green man, typical for Taiwan. There's also many crosswalks, where you can cross diagonally (the so called pedestrian scramble), which is very convenient when you cross those wide roads, especially near Taipei 101.

Transport: Let me tell you how I see the transportation in Taiwan.

- I should start with EVA Air, the Taiwanese airways, that brought me here. The flight was smooth, the stewardesses were really nice and the food tasted great. Before I used to fly with Qatar Airways. I must say EVA is at least as good as them, so thumbs up.
- Once we've left the airport, we took a bus. That one was great, but there's also a different kind of buses in Taipei county. The ride with them may be a little bumpy, but it's ok, since they're the cheapest way of transportation here.

- I also had the pleasure to take the high speed train. It's really impressive. It's long, slick and dynamic. Inside it's very quiet and it runs smoothly, as if you were on a plane. We went 255km/h, but I haven't felt the speed at all.

- All cabs here are yellow. The drivers are polite, they drive safely and don't talk to you.

- The Taipei MRT is excellent. Comparable to Singapore and Hong Kong. I will write more about the transportation in a separate post.

Architecture: You have all kinds of buildings, it's a real mix. Apart from Taipei 101, I haven't seen anything comparable that would blow my mind. I live in a typical traditional Taiwanese neighborhood, with hawkers, cramped motorbikes, narrow streets, where people hang clothes everywhere (something I will do, too). Let's be honest: It's not the cleanest here, but I'm ok with that. My apartment is very nice from the inside, I have internet access, water heater, a TV, a big cupboard, couch and a big bed. And the landlord is nice. I don't need more. But the building looks old from the outside, the stairs and walls have some cracks, maybe because of typhoons and earthquakes? I don't know. But aside from my area, I've only been in the city center and that part is totally different: New modern buildings, but not really skyscrapers as seen in Singapore's or KL's downtowns. The roads are wide there, almost like boulevards. It's clean and neat. I definitely need to see more of Taipei and Taiwan.

Entertainment: I've only been to a night market and besides food, they have all kinds of games there. It's not really my cup of tea. I hope I can experience more than that and go to a pub or club some time in the future.

Prices: Are quite high. Most of the things like food and drinks are between 50-150NTD, which is between 1-3€ (5-15RM). The hawker is the cheapest of course, but it's more expensive than the Malaysian. Here are some of the prices for you to compare (as on 20. Feb 2010):
(NTD: New Taiwan Dollar - €: Euro - RM: Ringgit Malaysia - USD: US Dollar)

A bus fare for a certain distance: 15TWD (0.34€ - 1.6RM - 0.46USD)
A MRT train fare: 2oTWD (0.45€ - 2.1RM - 0.62USD)
A high speed train fare Taoyuan to Taipei City: 160TWD (3.65€ - 16.9RM - 5USD)
A cinema ticket: 270TWD (6.15€ - 28.5RM - 8.4USD)

Coffee (Latte): 50-90TWD (1.15-2€ - 5.3-9.5RM - 1.55-2.8USD)
Traditional pancakes at the hawker: 35TWD (0.80€ - 3.7RM - 1.1USD)
A portion of stinky tofu: 45TWD (1€ - 4.75RM - 1.4USD)
Instant noodles in supermarket: 20TWD (0.45€ - 2.1RM - 0.62USD)
Bubble tea: 25TWD (0.57€ - 2.6RM - 0.77USD)
Ice cream: 20TWD (0.45€ - 2.1 RM - o.62USD)
A menu in McD: 110TWD (2.5€ - 11.6RM - 3.4USD)
A pack of cigarettes: 65TWD (1.5€ - 6.9RM - 2USD)

Life in general: Life's fast-paced here, Taiwanese seem to work hard and don't complain about it. Everything's well organized, seems to be running smoothly. But that's the case in every modern country. Once I know the system from the inside, I will be able to tell more about it.

Mindset: I have no observations in this regard, haven't gotten to know many Taiwanese so far. Been introduced to few, but we didn't go beyond a small talk. I will need a lot of time to understand that better.

There's so much more to see and experience here in Taiwan. First impressions are mostly deceiving, but there is some truth in them. I try my best to be as objective as possible, but I have flaws and I know that some things will be rebutted soon. I'm surely gonna blog about where I was wrong, where I got a wrong impression of something.

What do you think about all the things I've shared with you here?

Ximending: Taipei's trendy district

Awesome spot for young people

The famous and popular Ximending.

Ximending [西門町] is a popular district in Taipei City. It's called the "Harajuku of Taipei". My first impression was good, but I couldn't see much, because it was raining a lot. There were many shops, cafés, theaters, vendors, hawkers and street performances and I mostly saw young people there. Please read more at my Ximending introduction post.

Here are some photos we made on the evening of February 16, 2010:

Ximending billboards.

Ximending: Rain doesn't scare people away.

Ximending's main street on a rainy evening.

Sausage or 香腸 is very commonly sold in Ximending.

People queueing for a famous noodle, some eating it already. What kind are they?

It's the famous 阿宗麵線 (Ah Zong's noodles thin as a line). Read about it here>>

Those 麵線 or "line noodles" are so yummy. That meat is pig's intestines and it's not bad.

[XIMENDING][My TAIPEI page][My TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2010]