It was the day after Thanksgiving. I barely slept the night before because I was up all night, trying to figure out what kind of clothes I should pack for a long weekend in Shanghai.
My flight was scheduled to depart at 10:30 in the morning. I walked out of my apartment at 8:30 and headed toward the MRT station across the street from where I live. The airport was exactly six stations away from where I boarded and it only cost me NT16 (roughly USD$0.5); from my door step to the airport check-in counter I spent no more than 20 minutes! Before I knew it my bag was checked in and my boarding pass was handed to me before the clock hit 9 am. I had one hour to kill before boarding. Then I realized that I forgot something at home. So I jumped on the MRT again and went home to get my thing. I was at the gate by 9:45 but found out that the original boarding time had been delayed ‘til 10:30. The flight took no more than 90 minutes. By 1 pm I already dropped off my luggage and was sitting pretty at a café inside of Tianzifang Art Street, having a bowl of caffè latte. This is the lifestyle I’ve always dreamed of and it’s happening everyday!
When speaking about the U.S.A. we usually think about how advanced it is comparing to the rest of the world. Well think again! The States, as a developed country and superpower is falling behind in infrastructure.
I remember the day when I moved back to Taipei from San Francisco. Not that I care much for Starbucks but it was nowhere to be found. After all it’s an indication and symbol for internationalization. I remember how I used to pack cereals and salad dressings into my suitcase before returning to Taiwan from the States. It’s no laughing matter because at the time I could only find corn flakes and thousand island dressing in local supermarkets. 10 years down the road Taipei is a very different city now. I first moved to San Francisco in 1992 and it really hasn’t changed much. Something just doesn’t change over time!
For developing countries such as Taiwan everything was constantly changing because it’s still growing. There’s always room for improvements. People look for ways to better their lives in every way possible. Taiwan is like a late boomer, taking awhile to move up the ladder and once it’s moving there’s no stopping.
A developed country is like a person stuck in a comfort zone, very set in a way that nothing will ever change. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all good really. It’s just that when everyone else has broken free and begun to make waves the comfort zone remains in the Stone Age.
With the completion of Taiwan high speed rail that connects from Taipei to Kaohsiung I can travel from northern Taiwan to the southern tip in 90 minutes. That’s efficiency! With more and more city subway extensions in Taipei I can go across town in less than 30 minutes and spend no more than USD$2. That’s convenience!
At dawn I walked out of my friend’s apartment in Shanghai to get a cab to head to the airport. It was a quick 15 minute cab ride and the cab fare was RMB$40. As I wondered around the airport before boarding I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of arriving in Taipei by 9:30 am just in time for the hair salon to open for business cuz I was desperately in need of a good hair wash. I wanted to look good for my 12 o’clock lunch!
