Advice for Americans visiting Taipei for the first time
I moved to Taipei three years ago, and I've compiled a list of important things to tell my friends who visit here. Some dangers for clueless foreigners in Taiwan Dangers for pedestrians: Bikers and electric motorcyclists in Taiwan tend to sneak up and pass you from behind at a distance of inches, so a careless step in an unexpected direction without looking can get you run over even if you remain on a sidewalk . The rules of the sidewalk are much more like the rules of the road in the USA: If you're going to move sideways or change direction then look behind you to make sure there isn't a biker or motorcyclist ( motorcycles sometimes come up on the sidewalk ) about to run you down. Another thing to avoid is stepping out from behind a post on the sidewalk, because you can get run over by a biker or motorcyclist. (Buildings often overhang sidewalks, so there are lots of posts around supporting them.) My first week in Taiwan I was standing at a fo...