Just flew in from a year in Shanghai a few weeks ago. Any 2p2ers in Taipei?

This city is fkn awesome.

More on Taipei yo!

Yeah, more info. Nightlife? Hot girls? Language barrier? Fun stuff to do?

Malkas, thanks for that post.

Are you a native Shanghainese?
Does Taiwanese Mandarin sound different from Shanghai Mandarin?
Why are hookers so expensive? Are they in low supply?
I'll be in Taipei in late March. What are must-see attractions?

Very good post Malkas. I'm in Thailand now and I noticed that I can get roundtrip tickets for like $250 so I'll probably be there sometime this summer.

How much does a nice apartment cost in a good area?
Any restrictions on poker sites?

We live in the "Beverly Hills" of Taipei. 1500 sq. feet, 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms living room dining room kitchen and awesome view for $900USD/month. We also got a really good deal so for a ballin pad in a nice area expect something around $1000 for the multi-bedrooms.

Taipei is expensive. During our research for homes we came across a 3 story, 5 bedroom MONSTER of a house for 300$USD/month in a medium-sized city just 50 KM northwest. The prices you pay for big city life ...

I play on FTP and no problems at all. And by no problems I mean I have absolutely zero delay at all times of the day.

Paul B.,

Where in the Philippines are you?

I'm in Makati, Metro Manila.

Are you saying you already speak well after one year in Shanghai? Or did you know how to speak before that? I ask because I just started getting Mandarin lessons and I wanna gauge how long it will take for me to become competent.

Does it get chilly at all?

Do you know about other sites? I think I've played with you on FTP, SSNL right? Anyways, thanks again for the info. Will definitely be going there soon.

Cool thread. I'll be there in about 10 days. What's the weather like?

Also what's the typical foreigner dress like? Do I need to dress 'proper' for going out, KTV or whatever? Or are just shorts/sandals fine?

Let me know if you wanna go out for some drinks. My girlfriend apparently knows you since you always 3-bet her at FTP.

nice
looks like we can fire up a home game sometimes
i will be at taiwan in march.

If you like hiking you should check out the Toroko Gorge, it's a pretty cool place. I really liked the zoo there as well, they had a cool indoor nocturnal animals exhibit.

I host a weekly holdem game at my place. Feel free to e-mail and check. 3000-5000nt buy in, blinds are 25/50. I live in Taipei near Breeze center off of Bade. mountian_maddness@hotmail.com

Hey,

Thanks for the post.

I sent you an email. Is the "mountian" in "mountian_maddness@hotmail.com" supposed to be misspelled? I'll send to both just in case

Cheers,

-- MG

How much does a normal night out cost? Dinner at a nice restaurant? Cover charge at clubs, average drink price, bottle service, taxis, etc. I guess if you could just give a breakdown on everyday things that you might spend money on. Thanks again for doing this.

+dress code again

Can't start this thread and then abandon ship man!

Check out www.tealit.com and www.forumosa.com both of these websites have a lot of infomation on Taiwan and what to expect along with a lot of links to different subjects. There are lots of good things about Taiwan that you can do. Take a look there and see if those sites can help you out.

Okay I've just spent 3 complete days dealing with hectic Visa issues. If you have any specific questions about visas here and/or teaching English illegally, ask away.

Have you been to Angeles City before? If so can you describe your observations.

I'd say my spoken Chinese is at about lower-intermediate. I have never taken official Mandarin classes and it was just after 1 year of casual language exchange and self-teaching that I got to that level. I learned probably 85% from www.chinesepod.com / www.nciku.com and 15% through extensive travel. I know next to zero characters and I would'nt suggest studying them unless you plan on investing many many years. Not to mention you won't need to use them if you can speak and ask questions fine.

My advice is to download the ChinesePod Beginners torrent and listen to 1 audio/PDF combo once a day. The things they teach (for the most part) are practical and people actually say those things. You can probably find some Taiwanese girl on Skype to practice speaking with. Once you know the beginner's vocab/pronunciation and have a general understanding of the grammar (very easy) you can get by extremely well and the locals will love you for speaking the language.

If you study 1 hour a day for 2-3 months you'll be in v. good shape.

Sub-tropical climates rarely get very cold. I'd suggest having a jacket for the months of December - March (Wikipedia) but that's it. I've had to throw on a jacket maybe 10 times so far since December. Lots of 25C blue sky sunny days this past month.

Sorry, only know about FTP. I dont think you'd experience problems with other sites though. There is no global firewall like China has.

Hey, when are you guys getting here? Will you only be in TPE? I'm traveling from 07 - 16.

I wouldn't try shorts/sandals on a night out. I can't say if security would deny you entry but most people seem to dress up here. It can get hot during the day though so I'd still suggest bringing a pair.

Expensive for Asia.

If I don't eat cheap street food I spend almost as much on food as I do in Los Angeles. Nice restaurants here expect to pay the same prices as most majors cities if not more. It's SO much cheaper in other cities.

Typical night out:

Decent/nice restaurant - $15-30
Drinks: $15 (all u can drink clubs) or a 20$ cover charge + std drink prices for upscale bars/clubs
Taxis: $3-6

Total: 40-50$ on the low end

Most clubs/bars don't get busy till 11. In most you can buy a table that seats 10 for $60-120 with a bottle and sometimes finger food. Check http://www.taiwannights.com/ for special events.

Ah bad timing. We're getting there the 7th, headed out the 11th.

yes, how? I assumed u got a visa from English teaching job, but you say teaching illegally?! Do you mean on the side of your "real" teaching gig, or do you ONLY teach illegaly, then how do you get a long term visa? do you just make visa runs on a tourist visa? get a 60 days visa and bull**** your way into getting extentions, but that only works for 180 right?

I thought Taiwan was like Japan or Korea; u can't just stay there "because you want" for more than 2 months or so, u need to be a (eg language) student or get a real job.

How easy is it to get an illegal teaching job there right now? Has the ****ty economy affected the industry?