On scooters... A guest post from Dave!!

My darling husband has agreed to write a few more guest posts for the blog. The way we see things are so different sometimes!! He's definitely an adventurer, while I'm a nurturer, so our hobbies can sometimes contrast, but in the end they somehow work out for the best of each other. But I'm starting to ramble. Without further ado, part one!!

Mótuō chē shíjiān – Scooter Time!

Steph and I bought a 125cc scooter for 20,000 NT or around 700 Cdn. This scooter is made by the company Sym here in Taiwan and is one of the largest makers of scooters and competes directly with Yamaha. It is nice having a set of wheels to commute with as Steph works an hour’s walk from our apartment to her branch and I work an hour and 15 minutes away. 

The streets in Taiwan are like a maze- no street runs the same direction even if it has the same name. Fuel is very expensive, like 5.95cdn a gallon, but our little the scooter only uses around 2 gallons a week. Oil changes happen every 300km and costs $5.50 for premium oil and a full checkup. I think I may consider getting my “M” License something that I never really cared for until we moved to Taiwan. Steph and I have talked lately about getting a scooter or motorcycle when we get back to Canada ( big scooter like 250cc or something).  Its amazing how freeing a scooter can be and you can see so much more than being in a car. 

Maybe taking photos in traffic isn't the best idea... but I'm pretty sure we were stopped at a red light!

Taiwan really doesn't have any road rules. Okay, yes, there are traffic signs and lights but no one follows them. On any trip you can expect to get cut off at least once, see 1 scooter accident, get run off the road, have someone drive down the wrong side of the road at you, have someone cross at the pedestrian walk and sometimes don’t stop at all. I have forced to eliminate all defensive driving habit’s I learned in Canada and drive as if everyone around me is either falling asleep at the wheel or just left the bar and is drunk. Speaking of drunk driving there is zero tolerance for drunk driving here in Taiwan. They impound your car or scooter and take your licence plates, Place you on probation and make you pay a fine. I have seen a couple of road blocks where they check peoples breathe for alcohol which is really cool. In Taiwan there is no law about open consumption of alcohol and it is actually encouraged by the local people as it’s a way of cheering people up.

So there you have it! I (Steph) am not the greatest driver yet. I find our scooter heavy, and as Dave does all the driving, I don't get much practice in. But there's still time yet!!

Do you have any tips for me? Maybe you drove a motorcycle and know what it's like. Let us know!