Taiwan: What Surprised You ONLY After You Got There?
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A lot of that is just nonsense. You can find tea-leaf eggs for 10 NTD. And it's not that mobile payments aren't mature; it's partly to accommodate elderly people who aren't comfortable using smartphones.
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It's more accurate to say mobile payments aren't universally adopted; many small food stalls don't offer them.
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Please stop spreading misinformation! ❻ Mobile payments are available almost everywhere unless you're in a really remote area. ❾ Peanuts are 'huasheng'; I've never heard them called 'tudou' (when referring to peanuts). ❶❶ Crayfish seem like a hassle to eat; in Taiwan, we usually go for Boston lobster. ❶❷ Phone bills are paid monthly; we don't really 'top up' credit. ❶❹ It's not that people don't like eggs; high egg prices are due to price gouging. Adding an egg to your toast at a breakfast shop costs an extra 15-20 NTD. ❷❷ Public phones are mainly for tourists or foreign workers to make calls; Taiwanese people rarely use them.
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There are indeed quite a few inaccuracies.
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In Taiwan, service staff address men as 'xiansheng' (Mr./Sir) and women as 'xiaojie' (Miss/Ms.). They generally don't call customers 'fuwuyuan' (attendant).
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I didn't understand what you said.
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Why do I find reading traditional Chinese characters so easy?
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It's because you see them in context (connected). If you saw them individually, it might be a bit more challenging.
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Why is 'Qilixiang' (common jasmine orange / chicken butt) called that?
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So, does that mean crayfish are relatively scarce in Taiwan?
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Are Jin (Gold), Mu (Wood), Shui (Water), Huo (Fire), Tu (Earth), Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding all actual surnames? I've never come across them.
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Yes, they are. I had elementary school classmates with the surnames Jin and Ding.
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Taiwanese streets? Chongqing Road? Which city or county in Taiwan actually has a Chongqing Road? Does anyone know?
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Banqiao.