JYSim for jobless-yokel Sim

Taipei is one of the largest and most modern metropolis in Asia, and maybe even the world. Yet there’s so much about Taipei which makes it special and yet not that special. Taipei is in the twilight zone between existence and non-existence. And there are still lots more irony and contradictions to be discovered in Taipei, one of the biggest, busiest but least noted cities of Asia.When people speak of Asia they imagine exotic places like Hong Kong - port of the spices, Singapore - the port named after the lion (singa), Kuala Lumpur - The muddy banks of Klang, and Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul. Seldom do we notice a Taipei on the south-westerly of Asia, partly because the name itself is a little too short, and it’s overly Chinese in a Caucasian sense.
Nevertheless, walking in the streets of Taipei day before yesterday I came to notice how big and yet how small Taipei is. It is as if you can just shrink Taipei into a piece of land measuring only 5 by 5 km - half of it would be occupied by Taipei 101 Tower, and the other half is filled with 7-11, Giordano, Bossini, an MRT station, unorderly streets and Eslite bookstore, and viola! This is Taipei. The current Taipei is actually more or less a copy-and-paste replica of the model above (except the 101 Tower of course). Taipei is so big and yet so small because every junction has at least a 7-11 (or Family-Mart etc), and on every street there’s certain to be a Giordano (or Bossini etc) and on every not-more-than-3 blocks there’s almost always an MRT station. There’s nothing much left of Taipei of these companies chose to close down all at once one day.
Nevertheless, being an older city than both Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Taipei has one of the most historical yet dirty buildings in it’s bowels. Imagine Campbell street of Penang - now, replicate it a few hundred times, and shade it with 40 years of air pollution, dust, rain and uncertain weather - this is Taipei, with it’s brown, grey and colorless buildings (and most modern ones have tile walls now). And the alleys - hidden behind every nook and corner of a huge street you’ll always find somebody selling something, may it be noodles (not sanity-certified), betel nut or daily knick-knacks. This is Taipei, where people can earn millions selling drinks in a 3 by 3 feet shop beside Taipei 101. This is Taipei, where hundred thousands of people are jobless, and some would rather be jobless than to take up the toil and labor of a blue-collar.
Not more than 3 MRT stations away (each is only about 30 seconds apart by MRT), you can start spotting the difference. Taipei City Hall boasts of a wide boulevard, huge skyscrapers reminding how once Taipei was the 3-dragons of Asia, and vintage brands in Taipei 101 - Versace, Prada, Gucci, Omega - shops you only have the courage to step in if you have more than ten thousand in your wallet and you dress like James Bond. 3 stations away - Long Shan Temple starts off with a nightmarket with people jammed in between the stalls selling goods not worth more than 500 dollars. Rows and rows of hawkers selling seafood, and occasionally one or two selling ‘toys’ (note the quotation marks). This place was a legal nightclub with hundreds of prostitutes weaving in between no more than 50 years ago, and it’s only 90 seconds away by MRT from 101.
Irony is what describes Taipei best. Here you’re in Taipei 101, walking in the wide piazza style building with white marble and glass panels, walking beside you was a man dressed so smartly you’d think he was one of the 007 gangs too, and just then a Dad and her daughter popped in from your opposite direction wearing shorts and slippers, screaming their lungs off chasing each other. This is Taipei.
So, to summarize, Taipei to me is 30% of Seoul for its untidiness, 25% of Tokyo for its Asian sophistication, 15% of Chicago for its elite, clear-cut buildings, 10% of Kuala Lumpur for its ‘amazing discoveries behind every back alleys’, and 20% of Beijing for its roadsigns, preservation of historical sites, tourist traps and being naturally so Chinese in style.

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