[StarVegabond]

Between April 10th till 17th, i had an opportunity to travel to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. The week was very hectic with reviews and meetings with several customers.

I found opportunity to visit to two landmark locations in Taipei viz. famous Shilin Night Market and the Electronics Market. In this post i will share some details about the night market.

As per Wikipedia..

The Shilin Night Market is a night market in the Shilin District of Taipei City, Taiwan, often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in the city. Like most night markets in Taiwan, the local businesses and vendors begin opening around 4 p.m. As students begin returning home from school, crowds reach their peak between 8 and 11 p.m. Businesses continue operating well past midnight and close around 1 to 2 a.m.

for more details,

Shilin Night Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are several photographs that shows the vibrant environment
It is similar to the "Jatra" or "Temple Festival" or "Rathotsava"

The main difference is in our Jatra, iPAD is not sold, where as it is done in Taipei night market

#80 iPad sold in a street shop in the night market.


#81 first view of the iPad for me.


#83 Night market crowd


#84 it appears there is no place for walking


#85 Vibrant environment with lighting, crowd buzz, smell of food etc


#86 games parlours like this add to the fun especially for young adults.


#87 practically everything is sold on the streets here


#88 including Animals


#89 people can buy thier pets including Cats


#90 and dogs

[StarVegabond]

Request to Mods : Please merge this post with the previous one

#97 Taiwnese meat balls


#98 sea food barbeque


#99 meat counters


#100 pan cake counters


#101 dry fruit counter


# 102 there must be in Indian food stall..here it is


#103 Roti-Naan is very famous


#103 irrespective of nationalities, people simply love their food.

[laluks]

The fruits looks yummy, and most importantly hygenic.
And also the Sea food barbeque

[StarVegabond]

Last one week was very hectic, being back from a week long vacation means backlog of e-mails, accumulated actions/tasks at work, june first week means re-opening of schools plus one emergency business travel to Delhi kept me occupied the whole week. So could not make any post to this story

Now re-starting the story...

In the modern society, one is most often known by the wealth one has.
Bank balances often determine the worth of the individual. At least inthe short term.

Countries are no different. Foreign exchange reserves determine the liquidity of a particular country in the global economy. Foreign exchange reserves will help in determining "richness of a particular country interms of their ability to pay thier bills in the international community".

In other words having a surplus for-ex reserves indicate a stronger state of the economy at least in the short and medium term.



Taiwan is one of the top 3 asian countries when it comes to for-ex reserves. Imagine a tiny Island country being head of India when it comes to their bank balance. It also indicates the "smart working ability" of taiwanese people in the international community. Prior to emergence of China as "electronics factory of the world", Taiwan clinched the the same proud positioning from Japan during 1990s-2000.

Foxconn, Compal, Arima, Quanta, Inventec are well known as factories of the world. These companies pioneered the contract manufacturing business model. Many of the world's legendary and iconic products have been (jointly) developed and manufactured by these companies.

HTC, Acer are fast moving to be a original equipment maker and brands in the world.

All these are possible becasue of Hard and Smart working Taiwanese people.

[laluks]

Ah! there you are. I thought for a while where you'd just disappeared.

That's some eye opening data.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

Foreign exchange reserves determine the liquidity of a particular country in the global economy. Foreign exchange reserves will help in determining "richness of a particular country interms of their ability to pay thier bills in the international community".
In other words having a surplus for-ex reserves indicate a stronger state of the economy at least in the short and medium term.
All these are possible becasue of Hard and Smart working Taiwanese people.

I have different opinion on forex matter.

The table posted shows that Thailand have surplus,
remember 2008 world economic crises and Thailand was bitten brutally with other nations and i don't think Thailand had built up those reserves in 2 years.
So, if any country has forex reserves, that does not reflect strong state of economy of that country. Forex reserves is one factor and not only factor.

According to me, plus side in export import trade from that country is signal of sound economic condition of that country in international trade.

In case of India, though we have good forex reserves, our import bill is more than export bill almost every year.
When horses start to run toward India, the real figure of forex reserves will surface and we will know actual state of economy of our country in international trade.

Lately, IT sector export bill is the only area where India have some hopes.

sorry for ot,

please continue home science course.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by laluks

Ah! there you are. I thought for a while where you'd just disappeared.

Lalu, Last week was hectic hence i almost dis-appeared from this virtual world.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

I have different opinion on forex matter.
....
....
So, if any country has forex reserves, that does not reflect strong state of economy of that country. Forex reserves is one factor and not only factor.

According to me, plus side in export import trade from that country is signal of sound economic condition of that country in international trade.
....
....
please continue home science course.

Ashish you are absolutely right. i also said the same thing.

Foreign exchange reserves will help in determining "richness of a particular country interms of their ability to pay thier bills in the international community"... in the short term

It is same as an individual home. if the Income-Expenses gap is positive, it only shows they have surplus, and in the quantum of surplus indicate how long the house hold can sustain if the income sources drain up.

Forex resources are similar, It indicates the countries ability to pay their bills if their economy stops working..

be it individual or the country, the expenses must be lesser than the income. or income must be enhanced in multifold compared to expense rise.

that is as simple as it can get in the home science gyan, In most cases the better halfs realize this better than the so called inferior halfs.

[StarVegabond]

Often people envy their friends, colleagues who travel to foreign locations, more could be the envy towards frequent travellers.

But from my travel, i can say that everything is not fun on a foreign trip.
One of the most difficult part is business lunch or dinners, especially true for Indian Vegetarians.

I was one of the most rigid, inflexible person when it comes to food. I won't able to eat things that does not look attractive, does not smell nice, is not presented nicely, remotely looking like meat etc etc.

But last about 10 years of frequent international travel has sobered me, made me more flexible, but still China, Taiwan and Korea are places where i generally not appreciate (whole heartedly) an invitation for a dinner/lunch. It is always a challenge to enjoy the food which is not to one's liking.

Fortunately i have colleagues who know my handicap and try their best to make me comfortable and make special arrangements for vegitarian food for me.

#106 Typical Chinese/Taiwanese veg platter, this one comes with egg omlett.


#107 Typically any chinese / taiwanese dinners start by serving Tea. Tea is the most consumed drink in china/taiwan, Chinese/Taiwanese proudly gift Tea bags/boxes to their guests as well.


#108 typical tea cups


#109 typical chinese dinner table, pl note the circular wooden block on which the dishes are placed. people are usually seated on a round table. the guests and important people are made to sit facing the door while the lesser mortals with their back to the doors. the circular wooden block is roated so that the dish is placed as required in front of a person.


People use the spoons or chopsticks to pick the food from the dishes and place it in their respective bowls. Eating rice with the chopstick is the most challenging. Chinese rice is also cooked to be sticky so that it can be easily eaten with chop sticks.

Typically a dinner includes 10-12 courses of food, more the courses depending on the importance of the meeting or the guest.

One can judge how important we are to the hosts based on the way we are treated.

#110 the most loved part of the dinner for me is conversations and deserts. Chinese are adapting more and more of western deserts. Fruit bowl is compulsory at the end of the meal.


if given an opportunity to be a kid again, one thing i would like to change in me is to become more flexible w.r.t my food choices.

but as of now it is slow adaptability.

#111 Never give up, especially w.r.t survival skills

[StarVegabond]

Guang Hua Digital Plaza is said to be the Mecca of gadetary in Taiwan.

I always make it a point to visit to understand where is the common minimum denominator of gadetory world. It is always facinating to see and learn new things w.r.t. the gadets, ways of selling, ways of negotiation etc. I never miss the visit to the local market be it in any part of the world.

This time also i went there some time past 9 PM after the hectic day followed by a dinner.

Good thing is the shops remain open well past 10 PM. People are willing to sell when customers want, that is one of the key success factors.

This was the first time i am taking a photographs as i had some of the previously said 5 MP, 16 GB arrogance in me. I have added some of them here

#112 This is how the building looks (this particular photo is taken the next day when i went there again, a bit earlier).


#113 the reception area for the new visitors


#114 the market has 6 floors, each with its own dedicated shops for different products


#115 Typical floor looks like this


#116 it is rectangle in nature, one can go around the floor.


#117 Taiwan is the Notebook HQ of the world, the cheapest notebook being 2990 NTD ( x 1.42 to convert into Indian Rupees)


#118 an interesting product i saw was design pad, here is an illustration how to draw a picture of the car, i was amazed by the skills of the person



#120 Smart arms for Car PCs


#121 every one knows about the thinner/slicker notebooks, but there is a huge market for the tougher, rugged notebooks


#122 Green PC CPUs, very compact, could be of use in Car PCs


#123 remote controlled toy cars for the kid in me and you


#124 Merc branded lighters


i was one of the last person to step out of the market that day.

[StarVegabond]

Moving on to some snaps of Taipei... they are self explanatory

#125 A hotel room is said to be the frequent traveler's second home


#126 a veiw of the busy street down from the hotel room


#127 Taipei has lots of 2 wheeler drivers mostly drive scooters, but very disciplined unlike the ones in Bangalore for example.


#128 Taipei 101, used to be the tallest tower in the world till some time back, but i wonder why people are facinated by the tallest structures ? One can find the answer in the novel "The Da Vinci Code"


#129 Everyday i had to cross this bridge to reach my office


#130 over bridges and under passes are way of life


#131 the traffic management is very organized, most of the people follow the rules.


#132 most of the traffic police are senior citizens


#133 A busy commercial street


#134 some residential areas



#136 some business districts


#137 The Grand Victoria Hotel, one of the oldest in Taipei, I had an opportunity to stay there in sept 2009.


#138 the Ferari shop, it is closer and walkable distance from my office, i plan to visit there next time during lunch time.


#139 the Smart Car for the "smartcat"


#140 The sun is looking to set, but he will not get any rest, he has the duty to perform in some other time zone.

[MX6]

I agree on the food part Starvega. It's even more difficult for me as I don't eat eggs either. But still, I've always found some place or the other! And I cook and that helps!

[jacs]

Star, i believe you are now busy playing with gadgets (read Elctronics is cheap there). Food galore is looking amazing, many a varieties but somehow I am not attracted (may be the way they present food). Veggies would have a touch time, but lots of fruits varietes?

Not found so many hot wheels. Most of them are Corollas, Jazz, Lancers, Civics etc. But Smart Roadster looks amazing.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by MX6

I agree on the food part Starvega. It's even more difficult for me as I don't eat eggs either. But still, I've always found some place or the other! And I cook and that helps!

I learnt to eat eggs during early part of my career (1994-1996) when i was located at Dehradun for several weeks x 3 times over 1 year. I was part of some defense project from my company, the only choice i used to get there in the morning was Omlet-Toast, Alu Paratha and Imarti (=elder sister of Jalebi)

Still, eggs are the last option if i do not get any other veg stuff.

Originally Posted by jacs

Star, i believe you are now busy playing with gadgets (read Elctronics is cheap there). Food galore is looking amazing, many a varieties but somehow I am not attracted (may be the way they present food). Veggies would have a touch time, but lots of fruits varietes?

Not found so many hot wheels. Most of them are Corollas, Jazz, Lancers, Civics etc. But Smart Roadster looks amazing.

I also do not like the way chinese food is presented. i am not talking about the cutlery or ambience, but the food itself (looks, smell etc)
for that matter, i love the indian-chinese food, which is much better for me than the china made chinese food.

After 5 days, i started to crave for Indian food, so visited the Tandoor Indian resturant and had RS 500 worth Dal Roti. The food is not worth the money, Dal does not taste like Dal, Service sulks, the staff is mostly taiwanese, the sole owner is very grumpy. i tried to speak to him but his response told me that he is not very comfortable continuing the conversation. i learnt that he is in Taiwan since over 20+ years.. The only advantage of this hotel is it is in walkable distance from where i was put up.



RS 500 worth Dal Roti


While walking to the Tandoor, i found a small resturant offering RS 4500 worth set menu dinner.. it is branded as Warren Buffet set menu.

I think, only warren buffet can afford it, i fact i heard some where that he loves simple single course lunch/dinner instead of luxury.

[StarVegabond]

After spending a busy week in Taipei, i was back in Taipei airport,
Imagine whom did i meet..A 43 year old beauty (err sorry...smarty)

#144 The Famous Harley Davidson 1967 M-65



#146 Biodata of the 43 year old


#147 the profile of 400 year old rider


Even though i am not a die-hard biker, but i still remember my first so called semi-bike Bajaj M80, i owned (in fact my father owned it, but i used it) it to travel to my Diploma and later on to Engineering college during 1989-1994.

I wish i had some photographs of that vehicle, Our family at that time did not had a camera. I had bought my first camera in 1994 after i started working. any way..past is past..

[arindamray]

Bajaj M80 was my first ride too. Used to beg/borrow from my uncle during my 11th and 12th.
Though my area of operation was restricted by him/parents, at those ages breaking the imposed restrictions were more of a norm