Driving

Hm, where to begin in attempting to describe the phenomenon of driving here in Taiwan? I think “phenomenon” is a good way to put it. I’ll have to do a video someday. But you still may not understand. If anyone ever rode with me in the States and said I was close to the car beside me, baby you ain’t seen nothing! Every little inch is used here. On main roads, half of the road is for scooters, and the other half is for cars. On little 2-lane roads scooters stay to the right and cars just go around them. But, like in Thailand, the painted lines are more like suggestions. On one taxi ride, my driver got into the left turn lane but went straight through the intersection. And horns. They use them so much more than we do in the U.S. That same taxi driver used one hand to steer and one for the horn. They use it to let other drivers know they are cutting in or to tell scooters to move out of the way. My Dad says, “Close is when mirrors touch.”

Even after reading this, I don’t think you’ll quite grasp what it’s like. Well, come to Taiwan (or Asia) and experience it yourself!!

One last story that made my Mom laugh hard. My Dad and I went to a department store (their version anyway) and found some plastic shelves for my room. We also found a laundry basket, a tall mirror, a hair dryer, and a lamp. The problem was transportation. We had 2 scooters with 2 people on each. My Dad thought he could have gotten it back to my apartment if I wasn’t riding with him. Then he and I decided I would ride in a taxi with all the stuff and he would drive the scooter back. But Sarah, Scott’s wife, said, “No, no. We can do it.” And we did. They took the laundry basked with the small stuff inside. My Dad put the mirror between his legs while I just held on to the drawers. That moment made my Dad and I feel so Asian. And I wish we would have gotten a video. At least we have pictures!!