Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cheap and fast haircut in Taipei

How I got my hair cut in no time for almost no money


Few days ago it was time to get a new haircut, because I was starting to grow a mop up there. My girlfriend and I went out to have a look around our neighborhood in order to find a good and affordable hairdresser. I'm actually very particular, when it comes to these things. Being a loyal customer, I usually choose one parlor and visit it regularly. In Taiwan's big cities, there are three things you will see almost on every corner: Food stalls, convenience stores and hair salons. It's amazing how many of the latter are close to where I live. One of them stood out immediately, because there was a big signboard that said: Extremely fast hair cut for 100 NDT (that's only 2.5 eur!). I was a little skeptical at first, I thought the price was too low and was afraid that the final result may not meet my expectations. After some time of hesitation and pondering, I finally gave green light to my girlfriend and we entered the shop.

That's how F100 looks from the outside. It's small and cozy.

And this is something I haven't seen before: A hair cut vending machine?

They ask you to insert 100 NTD into the machine and you get a number. After that you'd have to wait, but since there was nobody waiting before me, it was my turn right away. I sat down and my girlfriend explained to the girl, how I want my hair cut (which is always the same: short and thin). And then she put on her mask and started to snip snip like crazy.

She was very fast and skilled, I was impressed.

In the end, she vacuumed my head and I felt I was like a carpet.

You would not believe it, but in a little more than 10 minutes she was finished! How good was that? I can't stand hairdressers that need too long or those who talk to much. Especially in the small town near my home in Slovenia, where I usually went to cut my hair, they would constantly ask me personal stuff and gossip about other people, which made the whole session a long and unbearable torture (you can read more here).

But not here in Taipei: 極速剪髮 or F100 is a new concept, that came over here from Japan. Their philosophy is to cut hair for the cheapest price and as fast as possible. And they only cut and trim. No dying, no perming, no crazy hairdos... And what's best: They don't talk, they don't waste time. They are the McDonald's of hairdressers and I have to say I really like the concept. Currently they have 85 salons in various cities around Taiwan. There are also some other hair salons with a similar concept and pricing. One of them is QB cut, oftentimes found around Taipei's MRT stations.

I do have to add, that the cut wasn't perfect, but I don't want to nit pick, It's still good enough to make me return in the future and get my hair cut for a bowl of beef noodles. Who can beat that? So far, I haven't seen anybody else. Have you?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Blackout Korea scandal 2011 - A view from Taiwan

And a comparison of foreigners in Taiwan with foreigners in Korea


For quite a while I've been following English language blogs in Taiwan and Korea, because I'm very interested in both countries and I want to be up to date on what's going on in each country. Regarding Taiwan, my primary source of information is my girlfriend, who is born here and so I think I'm very well informed about stuff that goes on in the media, even if I'm not fluent in Chinese. In addition to that, I like to read other foreign blogs to get another perspective on things. As for Korea, my primary source are few popular foreign bloggers such as the Metropolitician, James Turnbull, Roboseyo and some others. I can't really be 100% sure that the reality they see in Korea would be my reality, but I know they back up their claims with solid arguments, they don't just write stuff without giving it some serious thought. But as much as I want to talk about foreign bloggers in South Korea and Taiwan, I would like to touch on the general idea of being a blogger in a foreign country. What has triggered this post was the recent "Blackout Korea blog scandal", that's upsetting local netizens as well as foreign bloggers in South Korea. Let me briefly explain what happened.

1 The Blackout Korea blog scandal 2011

A 20-something foreign English teacher started a blog in 2009, named it Blackout Korea,...

...where he and other foreigners submit photos of excessively drunk Koreans sleeping it off on the streets (later pics of foreign binge drinkers were posted, too). Most photos are accompanied with one or more silly foreigners posing alongside the drunk (read passed out) person. You can be sure that the very moment the first photo was published the blog became a ticking bomb waiting to explode. And that's exactly what happened in recent days. It was discovered by Korean netizens and some media and as Koreans are, they weren't happy about it. If you want to check the blog out, go to: blackoutkorea.blogspot.com. I fear it will soon disappear from the web, so be quick.

A Korean blogger started a counter-blog named Who Teaches English in Korea (englishteachersout.blogspot.com), where he's using the photos from Blackout Korea (even though there's no evidence that the people appearing in them were English teachers) and comparing them with the infamous Abu Ghraib photos of American soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners. Of course this was a ridiculous thing to do, but it shows how careful one has to be about what they put online. All that upset the Metropolitician, who wrote a post encouraging his followers to comment on that blog. And that's what they're doing and the dance continues.

2 The South Korean online community

This is how things look on the surface to someone like me, who does not know a lot about the Korean foreign and local online community: There's a small, but vocal group of expat bloggers, who constantly complain about the country and its people and don't care how it comes across. They vent, they rant and use offensive language, oftentimes purposely, because they want to provoke Koreans for whatever reason. On the other hand there's a vocal group of Korean netizens who reject every criticism of their nation from a foreigner, even if it's constructive and well-argued. Not only are they spewing threats to those who dare to say anything "bad" about Korea, some even go as far as to gather information of a particular foreigner and try to harm them in real life. And then there's a significant part of the South Korean media, that seems to be biased towards foreigners. These 3 fractions are usually the ones, that are the loudest. Many times they start nontroversies, fabricate the truth and reinforce stereotypes. They're the ones that operate with ideas like "English teachers are losers in their own country, dangerous sexual predators, troublemakers" and on the other hand "Koreans are stupid, rude, overly proud and aggressive". Apart from these three fringe groups, there's the silent majority of foreign and local blogs, websites and forums, who keep it decent and non-confrontational and seem to get along fairly well. Of course their stories of peace, love and harmony won't spark as much interest as a scandal involving inconsiderate foreigners, drunk Koreans and unflattering photos (these comments are telling). All this is of course not only typical for Korea, but can be observed in many other countries.

3 The Taiwanese online community

I think, if you're generally not a trouble seeker, you won't find any in Taiwan. Things here are on much smaller scale compared to South Korea, because foreign (read Western) residents are still a very small minority. Hence the English speaking online community remains relatively small and is mostly overlooked by Taiwanese netizens and media. That has it's good and bad sides. If any, it's the political blogs that gained some recognition such as The View from Taiwan. All other domains are fully dominated by Taiwanese bloggers, who are probably one of the most passionate in the world. In comparison with Koreans, Taiwanese seem to be more forgiving to foreigners, who point the finger at some of the flaws of their country. That may partly lay in the fact, that the Taiwanese society is relatively young, greatly divided and still seeking its identity, while Koreans, who throughout history suffered attacks and invasions from China and Japan, had to stick together in order to preserve their language and culture and therefore formed a strong national identity and a strong sensibility to all "attacks" from the outside (or outsiders). With that said, there are always boundaries one should not overstep, when blogging about Taiwan and Taiwanese people. You will hardly find any drunk people sleeping on the streets in Taiwan, so that topic would not fill a blog. I guess the number one reason for Taiwanese to get upset are politics, which is common in many other countries, but I've never seen a democratic nation so greatly divided by political convictions as Taiwan is. Yet, despite all these divisions, the country functions better than many other so called "harmonious" countries out there. That's certainly fascinating and I would surely have a lot to say about it, but I won't. I won't touch Taiwanese politics on my blog other than what I said here in this post. If others do that, it's their choice. I rather stick to fun stuff like food and travel. I would only make an exception, if something really bad happens and I want to share my view from inside. Back to Taiwan's media. As a foreigner you need to be more careful outside the virtual world. Small irrelevant things tend to be reported and sensationalized and there's always someone with a camera at hand, who can take a photo of a "silly" laowai doing something funny or bad or just embarrassing. Not sure how often it happens, but I think my freckled face must have landed on a Taiwanese blog or two... I just hope they didn't write anything mischievous about me.

4 Taiwanese are tolerant, but...

...there are of course limits to everything. I just don't get people, who come to East Asian countries to live and work and behave like they are back home and even want to apply the same standards to the country they have moved to. Coming from a small less known country like Slovenia, I can relate to Taiwan's situation well. And the small yet unique Slovenian culture helps me understand Koreans and Korea. Well, to a certain extent. I feel that, if you're a blogger, you're putting yourself out there and people will judge you. It's impossible to please everybody, when writing a blog, of course, but there can be a difference in tone and manner. So many bloggers just keep on criticizing without even offering any ideas, how they could make it better. They don't take an effort to try and figure out why something is different than in their world and just bash and trash continuously. I usually unfollow these blogs instantly, I don't want to waste my time by reading someone's personal frustrations all the time. And there are a few blogs about Taiwan, who hate everything about the life here (I wonder, what keeps them here). I always tell my girlfriend, that foreigners see reality with different eyes. I can spot every dirty spot or every weird thing someone does, while walking to the MRT station, but my girlfriend would not see a thing. It was interesting to see the reversed situation last year, when she visited Slovenia and Europe for the first time. She saw so many things I haven't noticed before and caught every person staring at her. It was like seeing my own country with completely different eyes. That's of course great and very insightful, but it's totally lame, if you use it for ridiculing people, making fun of traditions or mocking the way of life, just because you have some personal issues with that. You're not doing anyone any favors by behaving this way. In relation to Taiwan, I've found this odd blog post from 2008, written by a female English teacher nicknamed imaniou:

Cranky Laowai... having an "I hate Taiwan" night (rated R version)

"As I mentioned before, I lost my cellphone in a taxi two weeks ago. I finally broke down and bought a new one tonight for $2500 NT (a little over $80 USD) at the Tong Hua St. Night Market after dinner. As I rounded to climb the pedestrian overpass, I saw two high school kids copping a smoke on the steps, completely blocking the path save a narrow space between them. When I got close, they started saying something about the "heiren" (black person, literally). As if those two shits had any room to talk. After a surreal night last night, bad service at dinner (I'm not even sure why I bother thinking the waiters will do their jobs despite smiling politely and looking into their eyes to say thank you every time they do what they are paid to do...which rarely happens) and only a few hours of sleep, I was in bitch mode and not to be trifled with. As I passed, I "accidentally" kicked the shit monster on the right's box of milk tea down the filthy stairs into a mucky puddle below and pai sei'd him (the untouchable word for absolving fault in Taiwanese). Gosh. If he hadn't been sitting there making it hard to maneuver around him, it probably would have never happened.

"Ni kan, hei ren" must have been the theme at the night market as every tai ke scumkin made it a point to turn, point, whisper, and stare as I walked by in search of a phone. I stopped into one store to be violently ignored before I muttered "fuck this" and walked out. I stepped into another store where the two dribbling xiao jies giggled and pointed. I waved the money I had planned to spend there, put it back in my pocket, and said that it was no wonder they had no customers. Then I cranked my MP4 player up and moved along. From the toothless hag selling polyester beaded clothes on the street to the betel-nut chomping creep in the stained wifebeater dribbling red betel nut saliva into the greasy sausages he was grilling, I was a source of entertainment. And then I realized why the street was so dead. Most of the decent people in this country wouldn't touch this place with a 20-foot pole and a gallon of disinfectant. Now Taiwan in general is a filthy, repulsive place to walk with dog shit, blood red betel nut spit and chewed up pulp, litter, human waste, and prolific cockroaches everywhere you look whether you are in the city, in a small town, or even in the national parks. The Japanese tried to civilize the originals (the ones that most of the taikes are comprised of) and CKS's people tried slaughtering them and both groups tried to get them to drop their culture and assimilate to their conquerors. And yet they still persisted to spread all over the country, bringing their ignorance and taike-ism with them even into the cities. The bid for the UN is laughable at best and pathetically oblivious at worst and voiced the loudest by those who would discard a half cup of milk tea into a bush, make their kid piss next to the slide at the playground, and not even blink when dumping the dog they bought because it's no longer tiny and its bad behavior is no longer cute. Even the Philippines does not treat every inch of its country as a public toilet/dump/temporary home the way the Taiwanese treat their land and still have the audacity to think not only are they better than the rest of the world, but that they deserve a place in deciding what happens to it when they can't even get people to stop dumping their domestic garbage into (or rather, on and around) street litter bins.

Buildings are filthy, covered in dirt when they are covered with tiles that are easy to clean off if someone actually cared enough to clean them. Wires hang all over them, off them, across rooftops weaving in and out of windows and air conditioner holes. The little bit of green on the ground is crabgrass and weeds, but mostly algae growing on congealing puddles of dead land where people couldn't be arsed with walking on the actual sidewalk. Or couldn't walk thanks to the thousands of parked scooters and illegal carts of clothes, food, and cheap plastic shit clogging the already narrow walkways.

Most days, I can look beyond the filth of both the landscape and see the beauty of many things here. Sitting in the classroom with my students and having a rare glimpse into the fact that the kids I am having engaging conversations with are all Taiwanese non-native speakers who, for some, have only been learning English for four years. I know how badly I sounded like after four years of French and I had a lot more class time than they do.

But for tonight, I feel that Taiwan is making itself easier to not miss when I leave this fall."

Post: Source

I'm not saying, that bad things don't happen in Taiwan (or Korea) and I'm not saying one should not vent, but some things are better not to be published, after you write them down. I rather vent to my girlfriend or send emails to family back in Slovenia. It's not like the cyberspace needs to store every thought that pops up in your head. Just know that words and photos have consequences and it's better to be overly sensitive than overly insensitive. I try to walk a fine line between being funny, entertaining and informational and now and then critical and analytical. Sometimes I go too far, but I have no problem to correct myself, if necessary. The important thing is, how you do it, not if you do it. If you write controversial stuff, be man (or woman) enough to sign your real name below.

In regards to the above topics, my questions are:
  • Are those photos of drunk Koreans going too far?
  • Is that blog attacking English teachers in Korea going too far?
  • Which topics do you personally avoid to write about on your blog?
  • How should a Westerner in East Asia blog about the things he sees?
  • How did you find that rant of the "cranky laowai" about Taiwan?
Very interested to read your opinion on these issues. More about Taiwan here>>

Monday, February 21, 2011

Prohibition in Taipei Public Parks

Culture specific prohibitions


While walking around Zhongzheng, Taipei's old center, I went to a small park and came across these park rules and regulations. What was interesting to me were the culture-specific bans, such as "no gambling", "no vendors" and "no fireworks". I can hardly imagine these things being listed in public parks in my country Slovenia.

Do you have any specific bans in your country?

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Taiwan, 1 week later

How I'm feeling so far

It was last Saturday, when I packed my bags and left my home, my home country Slovenia and my native continent Europe to move to the other side of the world: To Taiwan. Even though I am an experienced traveler and even though I've lived in Asian countries for a year before (including Taiwan), it's like none of this really matters these days. Leaving the place where you're one of them, where you speak their language is very different from being the exact opposite of that. I'm a foreigner and that's obvious everywhere I go. Maybe the biggest challenge for me is the change of roles I play in the past days: From being the son, the brother, the friend, I've become the boyfriend, the foreigner, the English speaker... And I will need some time to feel comfortable being the new me. Interestingly, I don't have the same issues I had last year, when I came here for the first time. I remember being annoyed by the scooters and the crazy traffic in general, the masses of people, the staring... This time I feel I have some inner struggles that are not caused by the new environment, they're rather amplified by it. It's a big step for me and it's a lot to digest in a very short time. And on top of it, I just got sick. I have a runny nose and a sore throat. It's raining almost nonstop for the past week and all this has taken its toll on me and my body. I hope I recover soon and strengthen up. I have to.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Xingnan Night Market, Zhonghe

The biggest night market in Zhonghe


Taiwan
For our second night market visit this year, we went down to Zhonghe (中和), one of the most densely populated districts in the world. It's part of New Taipei area and accessible by the Taipei MRT. It will take you about 15 min from the Taipei Main Station to the Nanshijiao Station (Orange line, last stop, see a detailed map here). The Xingnan Night Market (興南夜市) is right there. The name "Xingnan" could be translated as "Prosperous South", but I think the name is a little flattering. Compared to the Lehua Night Market in Yonghe, this one doesn't look as fancy and as clean, but it has a certain indefinable charm. It's probably not meant for tourists, but for locals. With that said, I would still recommend it to foreign tourists, because the food was yummy.

MY IMPRESSION OF THE XINGNAN NIGHT MARKET: The night market is very close to the MRT station, which is a big plus, it's impossible to miss it (unlike Lehua). The market covers a big area of two parallel streets and some other small ones, that are connecting them. Aside from that, there's a busy road nearby, which is also full of shops and restaurants. So if you decide to visit, you will need some time to explore the area. The market is not so clean and the scooters are pretty common here, so you need to watch out how you walk. Aside from food, there are many shops selling clothes, shoes and other things, probably cheap Made in China stuff.

WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS COMMON: Same as in the Lehua market nearby, the Xingnan is full of steak shops 牛排 (niúpái). Not sure, why the steak is so popular in the southern part of Greater Taipei, but if you're a steak lover, this is the place to be for you. Aside from the usual night market food (oyster omelette, tofu, salty chicken), you will also find a lot of foreign food, such as Korean and Vietnamese dishes and the famous snack from Osaka takoyaki 章魚燒 (zhāngyúshāo), which are filled with cheese. There's also a Mongolian barbecue 蒙古烤肉 (ménggǔ kǎoròu) restaurant, which we went to. I also spotted the fried sandwich 營養三明治 (yíngyǎng sānmíngzhì, also called "salad submarine") and a Taiwanese styled chicken döner kebab 沙威瑪 (shāwēimǎ).

MUST-TRY FOOD AT XINGNAN NIGHT MARKET: I highly recommend the cheese takoyaki and the roasted chicken parts. The dry tofu together with pig's blood cake are very yummy, too. And the main dish we had was Mongolian barbecue, I highly recommend it, especially if you like vegetables. I think I will have to return and try some other snacks, there's a lot of good food available.

This is the entrance to the Xingan Night Market.

The entrance of the market. We're already inside.

The main promenade is just like a normal road.

Some impressions from the market: Shoes and jeans in abundance.

POPULAR SNACK: MARINADE 滷味

滷味 means marinade and these stalls sell dry tofu, pig's blood, chicken feet and more...

All the food is marinaded in soy sauce (hence the name). It's very common food here.

The dry tofu and pig's blood come in a bag, you eat it with sticks. Very yummy.

This is a side lane, which is also part of the market.

Fried sandwich, famous snack from Keelung. On the right: Chicken Döner kebab.

A steak shop like many similar ones in the area. Steak lovers would like it here.

And that's the end of one market. We went back to look for food.

On the way back we saw this Korean restaurant, nearby was a Vietnamese.

POPULAR DISH: MONGOLIAN BARBECUE 蒙古烤肉

This restaurant is interesting. You pay 100 NTD per person and then you can scoop as much as you can on one plate. You can choose from various veggies, tofu and meats. See, my girlfriend grabbed a lot of salad.

Rice, soup and tea are included in the price. If 2 people eat from 1 bowl, you pay 150.

The dish was very yummy and fulling. And it's very healthy. Thumbs up! My 1st time.

POPULAR SNACK: TAKOYAKI 章魚燒

And then it was time for some yummy Japanese balls: takoyaki!

These are very hot at first, so be careful. But the cheese is top, so tasty.

POPULAR SNACK: BARBECUED CHICKEN

This aunty had all kinds of barbecued parts of chicken. Very yummy, must try.

The stall is at the entrance of the market, you can't miss it.

XINGNAN NIGHT MARKET IN CONCLUSION: I have to say this night market may not be famous for being famous or for being clean, but it's certainly a decent night market. There's a lot of good food to discover and the accessibility is a big plus (Lehua lacks behind in this regard). I think, if you're pleased with tasty and affordable food and don't mind scooters and general noise, you will like Xingnan very much. If you want a famous touristy night market, I recommend you Shilin or Lehua. The choice is of course yours.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Lehua Night Market, Yonghe

One of the cleanest and neatest night markets in Taipei


Taiwan
Lehua Night Market (樂華夜市) in Yonghe (Southern part of New Taipei) is a big and popular night market in the Greater Taipei area. I was very eager to see some night markets I haven't seen yet during my 2010 Taiwan adventure, so I suggested to my girlfriend to visit some in New Taipei first, because last year we mostly focused on Taipei City proper. The Lehua is not hard to find. You need to take the MRT train to Dingxi MRT Station (Orange line) and then walk 10-15min south to Yongping Road (check this map and don't use others, too many are inaccurate). The name 樂華夜市 (lèhuá yèshì) would be roughly translated as "Happy flourishing night market", a very flowery name (no pun intended).

MY IMPRESSION OF THE LEHUA NIGHT MARKET: The market is very clean and neat. Especially the paving stands out, because it reminded me of Europe. There is one main road, but it's not too long. If you walk slowly without stopping, you can reach the end in 5-10 min. But there is a longer side road, where you also have some food stalls and that's part of the night market as well. The main road is wide and that day (it was a rainy Monday), it was easy to walk, there were not so many people and scooters, it was pleasant. But I guess it may be a little crazier during the weekend. This night market is probably half about food and half about clothes ("Made in China" jeans are sold there in huge masses). Lehua seems to be more suitable for young people, while Guangzhou Street is better for older folks.

WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS COMMON: The most common food here is steak 牛排 (niúpái). All kinds of restaurants with steaks on hot plates are seen all over the market. These steaks are not like the ones in the West, but I guess foreigners who live here or just visit would still like them. The rest of the food is pretty diverse. You have your standard bubble tea shops, oyster omelette and stinky tofu stalls as well as various finger food such as the cheese potato 起士馬鈴薯 (qǐshì mǎlíngshǔ), chicken thigh roll with cheese 起司雞腿捲 (qǐsī jītuǐ juǎn), fried sandwich 營養三明治 (yíngyǎng sānmíngzhì, also called "salad submarine"), pork thigh with rice 腿庫飯 (Taiw. tuiko), deep-fried twisted dough stick also known as youtiao (油條) with almond milk (杏仁茶) and the coffin sandwich 棺材板 (guāncái bǎn, a Tainan delicacy).

MUST-TRY FOOD AT LEHUA NIGHT MARKET: If you ask me, this is what I would recommend to you: Try the chicken thigh roll with cheese, fried sandwich and the coffin sandwich, these were very tasty. I would not recommend the youtiao with almond milk. Actually I don't like almond milk that much, the dough stick is not bad, though. Once I visit the Lehua again, I may add some other must-try foods to the list.

Let me show you some of my photos and videos of Lehua Night Market (Feb 2011):


This is the entrance to the Lehua Night Market.

Impressions of the main promenade.

You can buy all kinds of jeans products here.

A bubble tea shop.

They're selling Pork thigh with rice 腿庫飯 (Taiw. tuiko), a Taiwanese delicacy.

The main street again.

Fuping steak shop.

This shop makes all kinds of deserts, from shaved ice to sweet soups.

This stall sells stinky tofu.

POPULAR SNACK: CHICKEN THIGH ROLL WITH CHEESE 起司雞腿捲

This stall sells a dish, which looks like a fried sausage.

But inside is real chicken meat with cheese. It's very yummy, costs 35NTD (almost 1 eur).

POPULAR SNACK: FRIED SANDWICH 營養三明治

Fried sandwich is a famous snack in Keelung. This one was good, too.

This one will make you full and it's very tasty. Only costs 40NTD (around 1 eur).

POPULAR SNACK: YOUTIAO 油條

This shop was visited by a female politician Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the opposition (DPP).

The youtiao comes with almond milk, which you use to dip in.

This is the shop from inside. The lady offered us a traditional Taiwanese drink.

It's called rice and peanut milk. I didn't like it and my girlfriend, too. Not recommending. We did drink it until the cup was empty out of politeness. Luckily the cup was small.

This stall was visited by the current president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou.

While walking back, we went the other way (small lane on the right).

POPULAR SNACK: COFFIN SANDWICH 棺材板

And we decided to try the famous dish from Tainan: Coffin sandwich.

We had satay pork (that would be impossible in Malaysia). It was yummy and very fulling. The bread tastes a little sweet, but I recommend it. Price: 50NTD (1.2 eur)

LEHUA NIGHT MARKET IN CONCLUSION: I like this night market a lot and would recommend it to anyone, who visits Taipei. Maybe it wouldn't be the one I would visit regularly, but now and then I would certainly drop by. The market is clean and well maintained. The food is very diverse and some snacks are very special, they're surely worth a try. The prices are affordable, that means if you're European, American or Japanese, you will feel you can eat a lot of tasty food for relatively small money. Check the video on the left, you will see two skilled Taiwanese cooks and a little bit of atmosphere of the night market.

My Kafkaesque life © 2008. Design by :Yanku Templates Sponsored by: Tutorial87 Commentcute