Ben Hakam's Weblog

An “intro” to “duction”

benhakam — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:08:54 +0000

So yeah, I’ve been in this small island called Taiwan for more than 2 years now and god, I’ve seen and lived so many things, good and bad, the shock was huge as the second I got out of the airport for the first time, it was hot, my ears were popping, thanks to the airplane and I was very uncomfortable…

As soon as the cab I took got into Taipei, the capital city, I felt a bit better and was constantly observing everything around me, what caught my attention was all that crowd in the streets, the impressing number of stands selling snacks, fried chicken…etc, and the signs, with flashing lights and the Chinese characters on them, I was thinking, Watching the streets of an Asian country and being in it is totally different and an extremely marking experience.

On 2 wheels in The island!

benhakam — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:44:41 +0000

Riding a bike in Taiwan? I’d have never expected it to be so stressful and full of risks, from the moment when you put the keys in, to the one when you park and turn the thing off, you can never be relieved.

Taiwan roads, to start with, are one of the worst in shape that I’ve ever seen…it’s never flat or when it is, it’s for a short, I’d say really short period of time before you get back on the usual potholes and the, so many, manholes.

For me, riding a bike on Taiwan’s roads feels just like riding a camel but with more speed into it, and your scooter or motorcycle receive the shocks and at the end, even your scooter was bought brand new, you end up spending loads of cash on fixing this and that.

But let’s not forget some other things that makes your scooter riding experience in Taiwan, sort of unforgettable, such as, the Taiwanese drivers, whether they’re riding a scooter, driving a car, a taxi or even a truck, behave in a bad way on the roads, scooters speeding up a zigzagging between scooters and cars, taxi drivers popping from everywhere on the road, sports cars horning n driving at some ridiculous speed with drivers chewing “Ping Lang”, the local drug or drunk and so on…

Another very stressful experience is that when it rains, even softly, the roads become very slippery and on the man-holes, it’s even worse…

So if you’re going to ride your bike anywhere in Taiwan, wear your helmet and maybe the mask, turn it on and hope for the best, because, in most cases, that’s all you can do.

Ben Hakam

Does Santa drop by here?

benhakam — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:29:59 +0000

December already, time goes as fast as always and I’m already gonna be at my third Christmas in Taiwan, well it hasn’t been bad I should say…My first Christmas here, on 2005, was alright I guess, I was still discovering the city of Taipei, its nice and cozy western restaurants as well as the tiny little Taiwanese noodle shops and company.

I remember getting some candy canes and some Christmas cards from friends in Taiwan and my family back home but I won’t deny that it did feel weird, as my birthday is on the 25th of December, I was feeling quite down, knowing that my family was celebrating my birthday even without me there surely got me thinking…

What can I say? Christmas in Taiwan is more a commercial campaign than a christian holiday..

A simple Welcome!

benhakam — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:59:42 +0000

Hi there, the idea of starting a blog about my trip to Asia has been in my mind for quite a while…So I just took the step forward and did it, hope you’ll enjoy reading my articles and let me know your point of view by comments, thanks!