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On my first trip to Taiwan and on the first night I noticed quite a lot of metal bins out side shops. Inside the bins was smouldering ashes. As time went on I learnt that the bins was for burning God Money. God Money is not real money but a kind of childs play money...the money is symbolic rather than of value. You will see people burning huge amounts of this money. The idea is the money is burnt to feed the spirits and keep the demons away bringing the shop and people with in the shop good luck. This is widely seen and not just a one off. Also near the bins you may see tables draped in red cloth full off fruit laid out for the spirits.
I could be wrong on this but I beleive this happens every full moon. Leave a Comment
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When entering some ones house it is polite for you to take your shoes off before you actually go inside.....some people will say it is ok for you to leave on.......best thing is to take them off. Your host will usually provide you with some flip flops or slippers to wear in the house.
The same rule applys to a lot of temples too.....if you are not sure best thing is look to see what others are doing rather than risking offending anyone. Leave a Comment
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 Temple In Kaohsiung,
Taiwan by Arm-Chair-Hero
The people are so freindly and understanding, even if theyhave no idea what you are saying, they will allow for mistakes that you might make and have a huge understanding that we do not fully realise the meaning behind the customs and traditions.
This is pretty good when you consider how very few people there are as tourists or from other lands working. Leave a Comment
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 food by Arm-Chair-Hero
When you think you have eaten a respectable amount, more food will arrive and more and more and more......
Be prepared for this....the Taiwanese are extremely generous when it comes to food and drink....when you look at their slender bodys it just doesnt make sense. Leave a Comment
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In Taiwan, karaoke bars are very popular and very common. (We didn't go to one, though.)
The Chinese for `karaoke' is `kalaokay'. Not too surprising.
However, it is spelt
# * O K
Where `#' and `*' represent ideograms pronounced `ka' and `la', resepctively.
Sometimes the sign is printed from the other side, as it were, so that it reads
K O * #
instead.
You can also go to a KTV or an MTV place. At a KTV (#*OK TV) you sing along with a video, or you get to be in the video yourself, Leave a Comment
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 Long (=dragon) by WeiLong
In addition to Chinese dialects, anyone over 70 who has been educated or served in the Japanese army may well speak Japanese fluently. Nine aboriginal languages also spoken. The aboriginal languages are generally considered to be Malayo-Pacific (Austronesian) in origin. The people are thought to be of Malay stock and related to the people of the Philippines although two tribes to the north may have a Japanese origin. Then there is English! Well there's a lot of work to be done. It's compulsory in high schools and for many University subjects but some of my students struggle to put two words together. Often reading and writing skills are at a higher level than basic conversation skills. Currently there is a debate over whether English or Taiwanese should be made an official language in Taiwan. I don't see why they can't adopt both, Maori has official status in NZ and is probably spoken by less than 10% of us. Perhaps they worry that if Taiwanese is made official they will have to do the same for Hakka and aboriginal dialects.
Incidentally Chinese is written in Taiwan (as in Hong Kong) using traditional characters, not the simplified characters used in mainland China. Leave a Comment
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 by keeweechicLeave a Comment
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Betel-nut: Fairly common across S.E. Asia and known locally as Taiwanese chewing gum. "Bin-lang" is a mild stimulant which used excessively leads to red or black stained teeth and can lead to cancer of the mouth. I tend to stick away from it and many of the locals consider it to be fairly low class.
However, I have found it to be very useful on motorcycle trips for keeping you warm. You also get a chance to talk to the sexy girls they get to sell the stuff.
I had a picture here of some pretty bin lang girls, that I got from the Taipei Times, but they said I should remove it. So, soon as I capture a betel-nut beauty on film I'll post it. Leave a Comment
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 Dragon Boats, Tainan by WeiLong
Dragon boat races have become popular in many countries now including my native New Zealand. The Dragon Boat races occur on the fifth day of the fifth moon which this year (2003) will fall on the 4th of June. It's also they day to eat sticky rice dumplings (zong4zi) which are quite tasty. The boats are quite colourful and it's a fun day out. Leave a Comment
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 From The Taipei Times by WeiLong
The temples at Luermen (Tainan County) are very busy at this time with fireworks displays and lantern building. The lanterns have prayers written on them and when lit are sent to the heavens. Where they all land is anyone's guess! Leave a Comment
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