Before I decided to travel to Taiwan, I would have struggled to place it on the map. Oh sure, if you asked me to, I could have faked it; scanning the Asia Pacific region hoping to spot it quickly. I probably would've had as good a shot as anyone.
What did I know about it? I was aware there is a pretty serious dispute over the sovereignity of Taiwan, that it considers itself a country in its own right while China considers it a breakaway province; that the rest of the world is a bit nervous about it because no one wants to piss off China but everyone wants access to both economies (probably rear access); that not so long ago George Bush stirred the pot by selling some sort of equipment of war, planes I think, to Taiwan. I also know 'Made in Taiwan' by which I mean I am aware it is a major outsourcing player. Not that it helps me know where it is. I heard of 'Made in Indonesia' too but I must confess I had little to no idea where that country was until after 9/11 and the Bali bombings and the media urged all Australians to be very afraid of the world's most populous Muslim country just to the north. Where is this political snidery coming from?
Truth be told I wasn't really sure whether it was a city, a country, or another city-state like Hong Kong and Singapore. So when I zero in and say I decided to travel to Taipei, I'm sure even fewer students will raise their hands to come to the front.
Why, then, Taipei? One of my oldest and best friends, Andy, has recently made it his home; in my words (he is at least as eloquent but considerably more subtle in his own words) answering a long-delayed calling of his heart to live in an unfamiliar land and learn its language, in this case spoken Mandarin and written Traditional Chinese, to live simply and truthfully in the moment. And so I am here to see Andy, to see Andy's Taipei, and to see what else might be here just for me.
From the beginning I have been impressed. Taipei seems strange and wonderful, far less English spoken and on display than Hong Kong, less architecturally and people-vibe claustrophobic and stressed as well. Taipei has been immediately welcoming; the people are incredibly friendly and the city feels completely safe; crime-wise that is, definitely not pedestrian-wise.
There seems to be a sort of hive-mind telepathy at work in traffic, a wireless network I have not yet learned to fully join, swarms of scooters everywhere, swarms of scooters anywhere, including the footpath, assuming there is one, even other areas that by all visual cues with which I am familiar should be pedestrians only, scooters happily carrying whole helmetless families complete with infants and or pets and or shopping bags; no Taiwanese person, be they on scooter, in car or on foot seeming to take notice of each other yet somehow able to negotiate. There are some spectacular exceptions however, as a quick search for "scooter accident" on YouTube will demonstrate, the lion's share inevitably Made in Taiwan. It's definitely not as packed and outwardly crazy looking as some images I have seen of India for example, but Taiwan seems to give just enough space to build up a good speed.
Some of my comfort is doubtlessly to do with having Andy for a guide and anchor. Like almost all places in the world I have been so far (oho I've been to sooo many), there are enough global mega icons to remind me I'm still sometimes thankfully sometimes depresingly within reach of the western world, I'm still on McPlanet Earth (though on my first trip to Mars I'm sure there will be a Starbucks and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
Unavoidably, my introduction to Taipei has been filtered through Andy's experience and preference. Most of the cafes and bars I have been to would be right at home in San Francisco; the decor, the music, the ambience. Less so the food and reading material. The coffee however has been surprisingly excellent. My only complaint would be that smoking is permitted everywhere, and indulged in enthusiastically. I am surprised Taipei hasn't been overrun with French Canadians and Central Europeans. For some, I'm sure this is a piece of the appeal. For me, it's been a while since I had to contend with coming home from a night out smelling like smoke.
We are often the only expats in these places. That said, there are also places with an unmistakable expat patronage. This is neither good nor bad, it seems expats naturally coalesce in all metropolitan cities, though I'm told more noticeably so here.
On my first night, I was told that six months in Taipei infallibly turns nice guy expats into bad boy expats. I didn't understand immediately. Later, when taking recommendations (from some females) for places to check out, the pattern was: "You should go to (insert club name)." "Oh yeah? What's that place like?" "Oh I hate it but you guys would like it." "Why would we want to go to a place you hate?" "Because you're guys." A what is that supposed to mean shrug. "Oh come on, a lot of expats go there, the Taiwanese girls who go there know lots of expats go there, that's why they go there." I pretend I still don't understand...
Andy's pre-filter aside, there is definitely a something else that makes Taipei incredibly appealing to me. Something I haven't fully identified just feels good, creative, genuine, in touch, soulful in a way that resonates with me. I have the gut feeling there is an abundance of creative and vibrant and spiritual people here. Perhaps this is partly driven by my impression that many of the artists, musicians, thinkers from China make their way here for its comparatively freer open-minded culture. Taipei is simulatenously more expressive of Traditional Chinese culture, being somewhat out of reach from China's Cultural Revolution. Everything just kind of seems perfectly acceptable here, welcome even. Maybe I am just feeling the cultural impact of Buddhism. The explanation is not really what is important. The point is, I have been pleasantly surprised to discover how much I enjoy it here. Better, the point is simply how much I enjoy being here.
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