I really can't find the right words to describe this place. The city of Taichung is the second largest city in the country, behind Taipei (home of the big bike industry tradeshow in March). It's pretty much everything you hear about it and yet a whole lot more. I was told to be prepared to hate it because it is just so different from "home". As it is, it turns out that I really like this place. It lives up to it's bad reputation (the noise, the smells, the unfamiliar food, etc), but it is such a wondrous world of beauty (sometimes very strange) and amazing people. I can honestly say that I have made friends here during this trip that I sincerely hope I will keep for many years. I have met some of the warmest, friendliest and most sincere people you can imagine. Some of them I will never actually do business with, just because of fit or other things, but they are still amazing people who have been so very welcoming and generous. The bike industry is a very small industry and everybody pretty much knows everybody, so it is a big community of people who are interconnected one way or another. Folks here in Taiwan have been a major part of the bike industry for many years now, so they understand how important relationships are and that sometimes you just don't have a way to do business with people you like and respect. I met many vendors like that this week- people who know that the fit between our companies isn't right, but they are still likely to remain friendly and generous no matter what.
Taiwan has gotten a bad reputation for no good reason. I can honestly say that I have no regrets about coming or coming back. To all of my many new friends here; thank you, sincerely, for your gracious hospitality and friendship.
Ok, on to the pictures...
Anything can, and will be, done via scooter in Taiwan.
This is hands-down one of my favorite buildings I've seen so far- it's a day spa around the corner from the hotel. It's completely covered in bamboo and is really cool.
Probably the coolest big koi pond I have seen in Taiwan, at the Wellgo pedal factory. (That factory tour was amazing too. I will cover that some other time...)
There are two black/grey koi in that pond that look big enough to eat a person (I couldn't get them in the picture because of the black pond bottom).
I am assuming the chicken is good at Chicken Bomb.
The kind of thing that makes a product guy's heart sing! Yep, they're Masi...I'll be back with more... many more... but I gotta get some sleep now. It's 11:00PM Saturday night here and my internal clock still thinks it is 7:00AM.
Tim
3 comments:
masi daughter's blog is very enlightening. I think kids should be in charge for a while and clean up this world.
hey, that is a great picture of you in the factory, you remind me of an ex-president in that picture, what was his name again, willy bobo, something slick like that. anyway i know you's not as dumb as the big grooper from the ozarks....
oh and hiatus - kids are in charge, look at the way the idoits in the middle east act or react, not to mention the jealous types in europe, it is like every school, the cool kids, the successful one that everyone hates, the bullies, the jocks, the soch's, the intellectual ones , the kids that dress in black that want to blow thems up to make a point.... congress is the same way, it would be nice to have some good ol' fashioned mature adults in charge again.
OOh i think I see our team frames behind you. I bet those are actual frames. Seems like you'll need to stay behind and get handy with a paint gun and get a rather large suitcase to fly em down to Macon, GA.
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