Taiwan is so friendly, safe
I honestly should have written this a long time ago.
I visited Taipei in 2013 to attend an academic conference and can honestly say that I love Taipei and its people.
Although Taiwanese only speak a little English, they are very generous and willing to help. On one occasion, I needed to take a taxi to go to an electrical shop nearby to find an electrical adaptor. The taxi driver was old, but friendly and he took me to the nearest shop. Unfortunately, that store had recently closed. The driver kindly waited for me while I looked for the store and then returned me to my hostel.
A report by the Taipei Times in 2005 said that foreigners have a good impression of Taiwanese. Based on a survey by the former Government Information Office, Taiwanese are seen by tourists as friendly and diligent.
Even on the official Taiwan Tourism Bureau Web site, the first thing one is likely to notice is the description of “the friendly people of Taiwan.”
This opinion is often shared by backpackers traveling alone, who usually do not expect to find anything special about Taiwan. Based on my observation from various travelers’ blogs, most of them would agree that Taiwanese are probably the most friendly people on earth.
One blogger wrote: “I’ve never found a single Taiwanese person who was unwilling to talk with me. I can’t say that about other countries I’ve visited. You can walk over to a person and just butt in and ask them about what they are doing. If they are not too busy, you’ll find them more than happy to answer your dumb questions. And they will smile while doing so.”
Another blogger wrote: “Wherever I went in Taiwan, I experienced people approaching me just to say hello and see where I was from. At any time where I was walking around completely lost with a map, people would come up to me to see where I needed to go — and if they couldn’t explain in English how to get there they would take me there themselves. I was invited to my hostel owner’s grandmother’s house one evening to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, so that I wouldn’t be alone.”
The friendliness of Taiwanese is often a main factor for foreigners wanting to move to Taiwan. A friendly environment makes tourists feel safe to enjoy the various attractions the nation has to offer. Expatriates generally consider Taiwan to be a very safe nation where violent crime against foreigners is rare.
In 2012, a US news channel ranked Taiwan as No. 1 in a list of the top 10 safest nations in the world. Based on my own experience, I truly agree with this.
Siti Suriani Othman
Malaysia
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