Help! What Taiwan Taboo & No-No You Guard Against In Touring Taiwan?

Taiwan culture shock for you?

Dear traveler to Taiwan, have you:

Ever felt you could have trepassed on taboo,sensitive areas of Taiwan culture and people?

Ever felt not understood or worse, misunderstood when interacting with Taiwan locals?

Ever felt surprised, or even upset, by how the Taiwanese speak and act, especially those behaviours so different from what you are used to back home?

If you had met such traveling experiences as described above, you might have just tasted what is generally known as culture shock in touring Taiwan!

The “stupid tourist” and Taiwan culture shock

No one likes to be a stupid tourist. Or likes one.
Yet at times, we as traveling visitors in Taiwan do act or feel like one.

Like any place rich in history and culture, there are taboos, no-nos and whatnots in Taiwan.

As tourists, we are foreign to the local culture and lifestyle.

So when we (knowingly or unwittingly) trespass on different and sensitive areas of the Taiwan culture and people, we can be misread or misunderstood in what we say or do by the locals, or fellow tourists.

We can feel dumbfounded, embarrassed. Or at worse, ridiculed.

We find ourselves having acted like “stupid tourists”.

How I was once a “stupid tourist” in Taipei

Bring your own bag, traveler!

2 bowl-packs of instant beef noodles and 2 large bottled drinks were in my arms. I had paid for these items and stood facing the 2 cashier gals.

I was dazed in fatigue. I was also defiant. For some full minutes I was staring blankly at the cashiers. The gals looked clueless, unempathetic actually.

“You have a bag for these?” I finally blurted, straining out as much of a smile as I could from reddish eyes which had just experienced the wonderfully scorching sun at Danshui riverside.

To cut the story short, a gal then asked for a Taiwan dollar. She gave me a thick plastic carrier to send me (unhappily) out the mini mart.

Tour Taiwan lesson I learnt hours later..

It was not the cashiers at fault here.

They likely were just as clueless to my situation, as I was totally unaware that they had stopped giving out free carrier bags in many retail stores in Taiwan. Part of their islandwide eco-friendly efforts you see..

And having returned to visit Taiwan after 15 long years, I was clueless of this very interesting change – and was dumbfounded (and quite angry as I’ll admit)!

Help me to help other Taiwan tourists?

Stupid tourists in Taiwan culture shock?
Though no real harm is done (hopefully!), won’t you as tourists in Taiwan like to avoid such dilemma, and likely embarrassment?

How we travelers can help ourselves:
We can know first and learn of such different to shocking ideas, things in Taiwan we want to tour in.

How you can help other Taiwan tourists:
I have gathered a list of things (40 ideas so far!) that are different or done differently in Taiwan that may just give a tourist eye-opening amazement or shock!

Can you,

• Share your “culture shock” or “stupid tourist” incidentin Taiwan, with us?
• Help prevent a fellow traveler to Taiwanfrom acting and feeling like a stupid tourist?

See your contribution printed in my new Taiwan travel E-Book!

Share your story and advice: 2 lines? 2 paragraphs?
It don’t have to be something that caused serious results to your tour. Maybe something you find strange at first, then funny later..

Or simply something you feel a visitor will find surprising – and you wish to highlight it.

I’ll compile and publish your tip(s) in the new Taiwan tour E-Book I am creating now – and launching soon!

Send in your tips by commenting below. Or email me easily in my contact page here.

Thank you for your wonderful help, dear Taiwan traveler!