Taipei is certainly a city that grows on you.
That is the conclusion reached after chatting to my fellow 'overseas chinese' classmates. And it almost certainly mirrors the sentiments felt by my own Dad when we were living here about 18 years ago.
Why? Well upon first impressions, Taipei certainly doesn't have the charm of other big asian cities such as the more familiar Hong Kong or Singapore. I remember when I went to Hong Kong 2 years ago for the first time in many years, I thought it was just an amazing city. Somewhere I belong. Somewhere I can live and just fit in even though I don't speak Cantonese.
I was expecting the same feeling...or sensation to happen when I arrived in Taipei. No. It was somewhere familiar yet foreign at the same time! I was rather conflicted. In fact, to be totally honest with myself, I didn't like it when I first got here. The heat, the pollution, the traffic, just how the city is organised (or not) really frustrated me! I just wanted to desperately like it because well, I am stuck here for 3 months+!
But now that I have been here for almost a month, I can say that it is a city that grows on you. You will not like this place immediately like you may with the fancier and more glamorous cities like Hong Kong, but somehow you do find this city 'charming' in other ways. Having said that, I can't see Taipei reaching the 'top holiday destinations' any time soon, but as a place to live in Asia...I think you get a good deal here!
I am trying to 'word' how Taipei grows on you, but I am struggling. I think maybe you just learn to love its faults as well as the good that is in this city. Maybe it's just the little things you discover in the city as time passes...Something that can't be found in guidebooks on a fly-in holiday visit...Maybe by the end of these 3 months I will be able to articulate what exactly makes Taipei an attractive asian city...
But so far I can say...I am loving it!
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