Eyes on Asia: Taipei & Seoul

Saturday, February 4, 2012

ASIA is a really nice place, but we only know about it through books, pictures, and those movies where the actors’ lines don’t sync with their lips.

I was fortunate enough to get to know a couple of natives from Taipei and Seoul – who agreed to share what they really loved about their hometowns. Their English wasn’t so good, so I took the liberty of correcting their grammar and sprinkling a few words in…

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Arthur is from Taipei, Taiwan, and has this to say about his hometown:
Taipei isn’t really important to the world, but it’s very important to me. I was born there, and it’s probably where I’ll die. There are a lot of interesting and entertaining things about Taipei, like the night market, where you can find all kinds of snacks like xiang sam (pork hotdog), jipai (fried chicken), fish balls, cold noodles and smelly tofu.
Foreigners hate smelly tofu because, like its namesake, it smells – very bad. But it tastes delicious just the same. Taipei is also home to Taipei 101 – which used to be the tallest building in the world. It has recently been overtaken by the Burj Dubai. I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve seen the fireworks that light up the building during New Year’s.

Strangely enough, nothing happens to Taipei 101 on Chinese New Year. But my favorite place to go is still the night market – it’s full of things to eat, stuff to buy, and games to play. You could almost say it’s like a giant outdoor mall. You could almost say it’s like a longer version of Lacson Street during the Chinese New Year festival. We have karaoke bars just like Bacolod, and they’re really fun to go to because I have really nice voice – before I start drinking. And I drink Johnny Walker – every time someone screws up during karaoke night, he takes a shot. Taipei is a modern and convenient city, full of excitement, friends and family. I love Taipei more than any other city on earth.

Jasmine and Victoria are two Koreans from Seoul.

Seoul is a very busy city, it’s very large and full of a lot of people. It’s a good city, but it has its quirks – like flashers, for example. These guys walk up to you when you’re minding your own business and simply open their coats and flash you with all that God gave them. There aren’t a lot of flashers, actually they’re kind of a microscopic minority, but when they approach you they kind of ruin your day. A lot of people love the city, and during the winter time, it’s a very common sight to see couples hugging in the snow. Myungdong is a nice place to go to in Seoul if you’re looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It’s where all the university students go to hang out. Seoul’s usually very busy though – everyone is working all the time. And the students usually go to after-school academies when their regular classes end. School tuition is free during grade school, but the tuition rate goes up when you get into high school, and university level tuitions are just murder. Seoul has a night life, but it’s limited to people who are 20 years old or above.

Drinking is also limited to people aged 20 and above. For you prospective tourists, there is a 63-storey building called…well, the 63 building. It’s got restaurants and an aquarium, as well as a lot of other tourist-friendly amenities. In closing, I can say that Seoul is a busy city, but it can be fun when you get used to the daily grind.