Taiwanese mafia infiltrating cement industry?

Sometimes, when I walk around new or old Taipei, I'm noticing some strange things. On the photo above you can see how a Taiwanese construction company fixed a stretch of a sewer. The asphalt was torn up, a big hole was dug up, new concrete sewer pipes were laid in and the complete hole was filled up with concrete. That's definitely something I have seen for the first time. In my country they would fill the hole with the soil they previously dug up and use a roller to compress the surface. And I'm not sure, what is the purpose of those steel pillars sticking out there, but maybe some of you readers can enlighten me.

Btw, my friend told me that he heard about Taiwanese mafia being connected to the cement industry. If that's true, then it's no wonder that so much of Taipei is flooded with cement: Roads, streets, sidewalks. In some parts you won't find a single stretch of grass, which is pretty sad. Taipei needs more parks!

[My TAIWAN LIFE page][TAIPEI page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwan life 4 months later

My thoughts and observations 4 months later

Life in Taiwan is tough.

Time flies in Taiwan. I'm four months here, living the fast-paced life of Taipei City and it's killing me. The first month was cold, rainy and I needed a lot of time to figure out whether it was good to leave everything behind and move to the other side of the world. I came for love and for new valuable experiences, for an investment in the future, that would benefit me, my wife and our future family. And when I came, I got a job very fast - I was finally able to do exactly what I always dreamed to do: International business. I knew it will be tough, it's always tough when millions are in play and faces need to be saved, but this is beyond my wildest expectations. I learned so much about how it is to work in a big Taiwanese company, I could write a book about it already: After only 3 months! But I won't even blog about it, because "the internets" are a very small place and I don't wanna feed the rats.

Life is tough and stressful in Taipei. The noise and air pollution are amazingly high for someone, who was used to be surrounded by fresh air and chirping birds. The population density is one of the highest in the world and the problems related to that are seen on every corner. It's almost impossible to go a popular place in Taipei and not encounter huge crowds. That's awesome, when you are a visitor in Taiwan (and traveling in Taiwan is one of my favorite hobbies), but when you live and work here, you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle as far as possible. With all that said, I would not want to return back home, I am not a quitter. I'm starting to get to know people I would never had the chance to meet in my previous life. I am meeting new real friends and I am gaining a lot of experience in this very new field of work. I'm not sure, whether I will burn out in a couple of weeks (it's possible!) and change the job to something less demanding (like teaching) or whether I will toughen up, learn more and aim for something higher. This year is the most challenging year in my life and it can go either way with me. And it has nothing to do with Taiwan, it has everything to do with me.

I wish that one day I can write a post like Jenna here.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwan's electronic megaphone noise pollution

Read the same post in Chinese here>>

One thing that really surprised me in Taiwan (especially in and around Taipei) is how Taiwanese accept noise pollution without ever complaining. Garbage trucks, cars, scooters, fire crackers, religious parades, shouting vendors, all of these noisemakers are seen as normal here, nobody (except me) seems to be bothered by them. But the worst of them all must be the electronic megaphones, which are usually put next to tea shops, sometimes on night markets. If I stand next to one for half a minute, I'm almost going nuts. But you Taiwanese just accept that. How come? In my country, if someone would use these megaphones for "advertising", people would call the police on them.

See the video below of one of these annoying megaphones I took in Xinzhuang:

I wonder how can the tea shop owner listen to this every day over and over again?

This is where Taiwan (the big cities) and I are worlds apart. I grew up in a house surrounded by a forest, where chirping birds woke me up every morning. I think, if I return home one day, my ears will need some time to adapt to the noiselessness and tranquility. I wonder, if they can.

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN post][Photo and video by MKL, 2011]

"Dream Heaven" AV shop, Banqiao

Imagine this image in USA

This is a photo of a Japanese porn AV shop in Banqiao named "Dream Heaven", located near Nanya Night Market. And nearby is a small playground full of children and parents playing around. The boys in the photo are playing some video games very close to the shop. Imagine something like that in America? Is it possible?

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwanese are obsessed with smartphones

This is an image you can see in Taipei every day: People standing still and completely losing themselves in their smartphone universe. Apple's iPhone is so popular here, it looks like everybody's having it. And Nokia, Samsung, BlackBerry and HTC are not lacking behind a lot. I do plan to get me an iPhone, too. It's not yet 100% confirmed though, but I'm very strongly leaning to one. So I guess you'll be seeing me standing like these two beautiful statues girls. In case I become like them, tap me on the back and wake me up, I will be grateful to you.

Do you lose yourself in your smartphone?

[My TAIWAN life][UNIQUELY TAIWANESE][Photos by MKL, 2011]

Getting a custom-made suit at EZ Collezioni in Taipei

If you are looking for a custom-made suit in Taipei, read further...

I was never really a "suit guy" before I came to Taiwan. I would avoid wearing it at all costs. Besides, in my home country there weren't many occasions where wearing a suit would be the norm. If you're not in politics or big business, wearing a suit is pointless. Of course there are some posers and wannabes... But once I came to Taiwan and got the current job, wearing a suit more frequently was inevitable. Taipei is a global city full of important people. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world, you need to have a proper formal wear. So far, I'm not as rich to fly to London and pay £3,000 for a bespoke suit at Savile Row, but I have a great mother-in-law, who followed the Taiwanese tradition and treated her new son-in-law a custom-made suit.

Where did I get my suit made?

I went to Ximending, to the EZ Collezioni shop. They have several branches in Taiwan and they specialize in custom-made suits. I have not known about them before, but now that I do, I have to say that they are really good. I was pleasantly surprised at their professional attitude, friendliness and good service. Let me stress, that they did not pay me or give me discount for writing this post, I am only doing so, because I want to help those like me who need a customized suit at a decent price somewhere in Taipei. This is purely my personal recommendation.

The shop is very small, but was quite full with people every time I passed by. All employees are wearing customized suits (including a female) and you can immediately see, that they offer a very fine product. I had my wife with me, who handled all the details, I am not sure, if they speak English well enough to serve you. I think it's better you bring someone, who speaks Chinese with you.

This is how the shop looks like from outside.

In order to get a perfectly fitting suit, you will need to give them your measurements. But not only that, they will ask you all kinds of questions in regards to the look of your new suit. You choose the materials, patterns, colors and some additional design elements. They will fill out a form first and later ask you to try on a generic jacket and pants and take your measurements.

Samples on display for your reference.

The very skilled female employee taking measurements.

The most interesting and partly awkward part was when a very lovely young lady took my body measurements. She was of course very professional and careful, but I did feel a bit embarrassed, when she put the tailor's meter around my too roundly shaped belly. In a normal situation, where a beautiful woman would be so close to me, I would of course pull my belly inside, but what's the point in doing this here? In the end the suit would be too tight and would need to be altered to my tummy's reality. There was no way to escape her perfect measuring skills and I just had to let her do the things she had to do. The toughest part was, when she went down on her knees in front of me and measured some very private parts. I won't go further into this, but if you're a guy, you probably understand the tricky situation. However, if you want a perfectly fitting suit, that's just part of the bargain. And she's really very fast and accurate. Later I was thinking about how she sees men. Since she has measured so many male bodies, she must see a guy and already know all his sizes. Kinda scary in a way, as if she has some kind of super powers.

On the photo on the left you can see the suit I've chosen. They needed about 1 month to make it (I guess it's because they have a lot of customers) and it cost me 9500 NTD together with the shirt (that's around 225 Euro or 330 USD). If you want only jacket and pants, it will cost you 7700 NTD, the shirt is 1800 NTD. The tie is for free. Their cheapest suit will cost you 3800 NTD (90 Eur or 130 USD).

I have to say the suit fits perfectly, the materials are great, I couldn't be more satisfied with what I got for my money. Adding the good service with a lot of tips, I have to say that EZ Collezioni in Ximending is really a great shop and I will definitely return, when I need another excellent suit. And next time I don't need to be taken measurements again, they saved them in their database. Of course If I get fatter lose weight, they might need to take the yellow tailor's meter out and take few measurements again. But next time I am ready for it.

Show bigger map

You'll find the shop at the northern part of the Kunming Street 昆明街 in Ximending (click here for a detailed map), very close to the intersection with Hankou Street 漢口街. Use the Google Street View above for your reference.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

How Taiwanese shake hands

An interesting thing so different in Taiwan is the way Taiwanese shake hands. In my home country it's normal, when you meet a new person, to shake hands. Be it a man or woman, shaking hands is a must. The usual procedure would be following: Let's say I'm introducing a person to a person, I would say something like "This is XXX, my colleague. This is XXX, my old friend." I would do so by pointing at each person with my palm and then they would briefly shake hands (medium firm) and say something like "Nice to meet you" to each other.

In Taiwan however there are two types of introducing or meeting people: The casual one, where you get introduced to friends or relatives and the formal one, common in the business world.

In the case of casual encounters, Taiwanese will either shake hands or not. For me it's sometimes very hard to read, whether a person is a hand-shaker. I feel that especially women don't really like to shake hands at the first meeting, they would usually just smile and nod, say "Hello!" or wave at you. Guys are half-half on this, it really depends. And some of them, who do shake, will do it in a very soft way, as if they are shy o awkward doing it. I used to extend my hand a lot, when I came to Taiwan for the first time. But now I'm usually holding it back and just nod, smile and say hello. I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable.

When it comes to business, the picture is completely different. I was a bit surprised, when I had the chance to shake hands with some Taiwanese business men for the first time: Their shake was strong and long. They hold you firmly and don't let go for like over 5 seconds... sometimes even longer. Of course not everybody is that way, but it's definitely common, especially among older people with higher positions. My wife said, that a firm long shake means a person is sincere.

I can't really give good tips on how to do these things the right way, just be prepared for everything and try to read the person's way. If they are they shy type, hold your hand back. If they are open and talkative, extend your hand to them. If you meet a boss of a company, shake it firmly and wait for them to let go.

How do you shake hands?

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]