Tuesday, May 13, 2008

men and shopping (simply taiwan 5)

Men waiting at Dream Mall

Some things--like men waiting at a shopping mall or women giving "the look"--seem to be universal and transcend culture.

I saw this scene when I was riding an escalator at Dream Mall in Kaohsiung City.  I thought it was so funny because these guys were doing the exact same thing their counterparts around the world do at malls--wait on their women. :)

Dream mall2 by yuankuei on flickr
Dream Mall (夢時代) is one of the largest malls in Asia--and opened about a year ago.  It is HUGE!!  And, there is even a Hello Kitty ferris wheel on top of the mall.  Including the "roof" (where the ferris wheel is) and the two basement levels, this mall has 12 floors in all!

Malls--as we know them in America--are not common here in Taiwan.  Instead there are "department stores."  So, Dream Mall is actually very special.

dream mall Dream mall at night by Michael Mozzarella on flickr
May 13, 2008 10:34:00 PM | culture, life in taiwan, my photos, simply taiwan

1 Comment

Deb

That mall is really something!!! Even though I'm not much of a mall goer, I'd love to check this one out! I guess I've always thought that foreign countries don't rank up there with America as far as technology or the "better life." But, my goodness, I guess I've been thinking wrongly if y'all have shopping areas like this.

By the way, I hope you enjoy your time away with your family!

Posted by: Deb | Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 02:13 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
taking out the trash (simply taiwan 4) There are very few things I don't like about Taiwan. But, I seriously hate tossing the trash in Taiwan (and I consider hate a very strong word, so I'm not using it lightly here). At different times though out the day a trash truck will drive through every neighborhood. Each trash truck announces their presence by playing an electronic version of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise," which to the unknowing American sounds like an ice cream truck. Each neighborhood/city is a little different, but each has their own trash truck traditions. At my old house, people from two apartment complexes all gathered along the alley in front of the buildings, the trash truck stopped and literally about 100 people tossed trash into the back in about 5-10 minutes each night. We all knew that the truck would arrive at about 7:30, so at about 7:20ish people started heading downstairs and gathering out front to wait. I, however, lived on the 2nd floor near the front entrance, so I would wait till I heard the tinny melody to grab my trash and head out the door. The nice thing about that neighborhood was that about 30 minutes later another truck drove down a side street, so if I missed the 7:30 trash truck, I could meet the 8:00 trash truck. Now, the 8:00 trash truck didn't stand still. People would stand outside their "townhouse-like" homes with their trash, and as the truck slowly drove by they would toss in their trash. This phenomenon is something that can't be captured by words and photos alone, a video is necessary to help you experience this. So, without further adieu, here is a trash truck I got stuck behind while on my moped one night. I always wondered what in the world I would do if I always worked nights and could never be home to take out the trash between 7:30 and 8:00. In some neighborhoods, the trash truck comes during the day . . . and I do wonder what people who don't work from home do about their garbage. Hmmm . . . Ok, now let me just take a second to further justify my hatred for tossing trash. It is not just that I have to be responsible for taking out my trash and tossing it myself. That's ok. But is the fear that I've done something wrong and will have to dig in the trash to undo my mistake. You see, they have strict mandatory recycling polices here. And, if you throw out something that should be recycled, the garbage guys (aka trash nazis) will tear open your bag, and make you take care of it the right way. Once, right after my neighborhood started to recycle food scraps, I included egg shells in my food waste pile. I thought egg shells were supposed to be good for compost piles. Except, I later learned food scraps collected on the back of the trash trucks in blue barrels are not for composting...
PREVIOUS POST
men at work (simply taiwan 6) No time to comment tonight, so I will simply give you a photo of one of my all time favorite signs in Taiwan!! I love that the construction worker is wearing a pointy hat! :) And, these guys below who are cleaning the street . . . I just love that their pointy hats are covered in bight-can't-be-missed reflective material! Classic!

amanda p. wu

Ali Edwards
Molly Irwin

Search

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments