Category: Life in Taiwan

  • Vibram FiveFingers spotted in Taiwan!

    Went to Costco in Taichung on Saturday. I was very surprised to see that they were selling Vibram FiveFingers! Unfortunately, they only had the Women’s Bikila model. However, they were very cheap. I’ve never been more happy (that VFF were available in Taiwan) and disappointed (that they had no men’s sizes or other models) at […]

  • Baby in Car

    Spotted this on the back of a scooter the other day. I think the fact that they make these plaques for scooters says something (not good) about Taiwanese society. The sad fact is, many people do take their children and infants on scooters, often without helmets (Why buy them helmets? They’ll grow out of them […]

  • Rescued another kitten

    There really is no end to stray cats and dogs in Taiwan. Most I see are perfectly healthy, however, and I am happy to let them live their lives. They seem to be doing OK without me. However, just these past few days, Mrs. Expat and I found out that there were several kittens stranded […]

  • Random kindness

    I’ve always been amazed by the random kindness of Taiwanese people. This is something that I did not often come across elsewhere… or, at least, I do not have distinct memories of it (this may be due to not noticing such things in my youth). The other day I was out hiking in the mountains, […]

  • Bicycle security

    Snapped this picture last November. This person really doesn’t want their bike stolen.

  • Where the Wild Things are

    One thing you must absolutely get used to when living in Taiwan is the bewildering amount of stray cats and dogs. It’s rather heartbreaking, really, and the Taiwanese government doesn’t seem in the least bit interested in doing anything about it. As far as I know, all Humane Society/Animal Protection organizations have been started and […]

  • Harsh winter

    It’s early December, which means Taiwan is frozen over. All the Taiwanese people have donned their thick winter jackets to protect themselves from the cold. There is already ice on the ground and forecasts call for more snow. No, actually, I’m just kidding. One of my absolutely favorite things about Taiwan is the weather. When […]

  • Getting married in Taiwan

    Been a while. I’ve been busy. However, I did find time to turn Miss Expatriate into Mrs. Expatriate and thought I would write about the process of doing so here. Like most things involving government in Taiwan, getting married is a very simple process that is muddled in bureaucracy. The process of getting married I’m […]

  • Online banking woes…

    Even after having lived in Taiwan for quite a while, I’m still surprised every now and again at the sad state of things. How can a country that is, quite possibly, the world leader in manufacturing computing technology, be so behind when it comes to computers? Every foreigner knows how horribly antiquated and un-foreigner-friendly Taiwanese […]

  • A day in Taichung

    Miss Expatriate and I decided to spend the day in Taichung and had quite a bit of fun. For once, we actually did something and I got the photos organized and am blogging about it (I’m usually too busy to put the photos up until months later when it’s too late). We started off with […]