Before I came to Taiwan, my understanding was that Taiwan was a modern state. Asus and Acer is from here, as well as a lot of your computers (i.e., Macs) and flash memory. Taiwan was built in the last few decades, and had the benefit of a forward-thinking economy. I thought Taiwan, and especially the capital, Taipei, would be a modern and rich city.
And in some parts, such as Taipei 101, it does seem that way. But I was surprised that the majority of the city seems poor, old and dirty. It reminds me like Shanghai, except there is no new Pudong district.
It was like Japan in that the suburban areas were filled with older buildings and metal roofs, but we stayed right beside the main railway/subway station (where there were a lot of malls around) and it felt pretty rundown (maybe we were on the other side of the tracks) and old. The travel guides suggested we visit the Grand Hotel, but after visiting there, I was underwhelmed since it felt like was due for a renovation and upgrade 10 or 20 years ago.
One advantage has over China is that there were very few people on bicycles (even though they have a city bicycle rental system like Paris); because everyone has a scooter. And I mean everyone. You can’t walk 10 steps without a scooter parked on the side of the road. There were cars, but just not that many considering there wasn’t that big of a restriction on space (compared to HK for example).
Another reason I didn’t feel the society was well off was because the standard of living seemed low. Maybe I feel this because the Canadian currency is fairly high right now, but things seem to only cost 50% or 75% the cost in Canada, and there’s no tax or tip. My benchmark conversion calculation is to divide the cost by 100 then multiply by 3. I can buy a BBT for about 90 cents. A small drink at 7/11 costs 45¢. Unlimited subway rides for a day costs $6. I had an 8oz Australian steak with unlimited sides/drinks for $9.
Aside from food, drink, cellphones, clothing and accessories; I didn’t see a lot of other things which people can spend their money on. It’s not like the US where you can spend a lot of consumption money on experiences or expensive toys. Maybe there’s another side of Taiwanese consumption that I couldn’t see, and they’re not poor, but they aren’t as well of as I thought they would be.
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