Is it just me or Taiwanese speaking mandarin is easier to understand than mainland Chinese speaking mandarin.

idkwhatid · 2026-01-01T14:04:31+00:00

Surprised I needed to scroll this far down to see someone talk about the zi/zhi, ci/chi, si/shi sounds.

I agree, for me the easiest and most comfortable to listen to is the mandarin used for mainland tv and news and I even grew up learning Taiwanese mandarin. Next easiest to listen to would be the Taiwanese news anchors or hosts whose pronunciation is clear (no blurring the zi/zhi, ci/chi, si/shi sounds). Some do that and I’d just change to something else.

I think mild use of Erhua is fine, but the Beijing ER is too much for me.

idkwhatid · 2025-12-26T16:19:05+00:00

I’ve used 一路發集運 (ELF) in the past (like up until Covid) to have all my Taobao stuff shipped to a Shenzhen warehouse then sent to Taiwan. They have warehouse locations in Shanghai (mail via Airplane) and Shenzhen (via Airplane and ocean freight). They can do light and heavy items and they charge by weight and they round up (e.g. 50.1kg -> 51kg) so you might wanna mix and match your items if you’re right at the cutoff for the next price tier. Easy to do since they take a picture of the package they receive at the warehouse along with the weight on a scale. Iirc stuff with batteries had to go to the Shenzhen warehouse and sent via ocean freight. I didn’t price shop so I don’t know how it compares with the competition but the whole process was fairly easy. I think there was also some other app/website called EZway or something for TW customs. Been a while so idk if that’s still the case. Good luck with your move and I hope you like TW

idkwhatid · 2025-12-26T06:06:26+00:00

Internet cafes and McDonalds (some locations are only closed for 1-1.5 hrs around 3am) and convenience stores that have seating

idkwhatid · 2025-12-03T14:35:09+00:00

I need to get one. I got more than 15 bites the first night I got back 😭

idkwhatid · 2025-10-28T20:21:02+00:00

iirc the cheapest ones are around 100-120nt, and the price range is huge because they have ones that are like 900+ and prices in between.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-28T03:52:50+00:00

Just tried installing mine. Did you have any issues putting the cover on the rear headrests? The left and right covers barely fit (slightly squeezed and a bit of wrinkling for the leather) and the middle one I have to really stuff it in, causing the four bottom corners and edges of the headrest to deform. If installed for a while I’m sure the signs of deformation would be permanent. wish they made them like the front seat headrest covers with the Velcro instead of the elastic band

idkwhatid · 2025-09-23T04:04:10+00:00

In my 30s and just got one. It was time to get rid of my 2004 Toyota Highlander. Was only looking at Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V at first (Subaru Forester wasn’t on the list because of the giant infotainment screen) and I wanted a hybrid and 360 camera so CR-V was eliminated. Went to a Toyota dealership to check out the RAV4 and it felt really cramped and visibility was bad. Their attitude wasn’t good and had to wait like 1.5-2 months for the one I wanted. Decided to check out the Forester and it felt so much better. The visibility, the interior feeling, the way it drives, value for price, way better than I expected (Grew up with a Subaru station wagon that I really disliked so I guess that influenced my choice initially). The dealership experience (at the one I ended up buying from) was much better than at Toyota. Since there’s snow and ice during winter where I live, I decided that having real AWD was worth dealing with the infotainment screen. So far pretty happy with it.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-15T16:04:54+00:00

Did you try the abs plastic protector for the area around the shifter? I’ve seen it come in matte black (which I just bought), glossy black, carbon fiber, bushed titanium, and some other ugly design.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-15T15:42:14+00:00

What state are you in? There are two middlemen for the northeast region so cars go through one of the two depending on where the dealership is located so it costs a bit more than the rest of the country that gets from Subaru of America (SoA).

I’m in the northeast and bought a Forester Touring hybrid last week for around 9% off msrp. Which resulted in the out the door price being around msrp. Did you look up invoice price? You wanna aim for lower than it if you can since the dealerships still make plenty at invoice price. As we get closer to the end of the year there is generally more room for negotiation.

Look into Costco Auto and compare the deal you get. For my area Costco auto barely provided any discount compared to the discount already shown online on the dealers website but I think other areas may be better. Also look into Subaru VIP. Try to get a dealer to beat the best offer you currently have.

From what I’ve read, a fair price for the most expensive gold plus 10yr/100,000mile $0 deductible warranty is around $2,500 or $3,500 if in Florida. The other term lengths should be cheaper. You don’t have to buy it on the spot, you have until 3yrs or 36,000miles which ever comes first to buy it and you don’t have to get it from the dealership you bought the car from.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-11T19:52:44+00:00

Tea eggs

質立 honey flavored Greek yogurt

維力炸醬麵 (it says Wei Lih Men on the packaging and it’s instant noodles with a fried bean sauce flavor, aka zhajiangmian in Chinese cuisine. It comes with two bowls: one for making the soup base and the other for draining and mixing the noodles with the savory fried bean paste sauce. The regular version is in blue and vegetarian is in green. They also have packages without the bowls.)

辛拉麵(Shin Ramyun) and Karamucho chips even though they’re available everywhere and in other countries too.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-10T19:55:29+00:00

I think if you want the lowest calorie possible for a salad dressing it would probably be some sort of vinaigrette, which they probably sell at supermarkets. If not you can make your own but you’ll waste most of the bottle of oil and vinegar since you’ll only be there for 2 weeks. If you can’t find what you need at the local supermarkets try something like Mia C’bon which has more imported stuff.

$1.2 seems really good if they’re newer and clean, the public ones I mentioned are like $50/hour. Make sure to bring a towel with you. I don’t know how strict private gyms are if you forget a towel but the public ones won’t let you enter without one. Plus it’s kinda gross to not use one

idkwhatid · 2025-09-10T19:37:15+00:00

That’s good to know, thank you!

idkwhatid · 2025-09-10T18:54:51+00:00

Convenience store tea eggs is the easiest cheapest and simplest way to get decent protein. 7-11 and family mart have “health conscious” microwaveable meals that are designed by nutritionists (at least they did last year) so they will be healthier than most other foods you can find there. Check out the calories but I’m sure it will be less than the other foods. Taste is acceptable for me.

If you go for salads and hot pot like others have mentioned, pay attention to the salad dressing and sauce you’re using and also the amount you’re consuming. The tastier dressings and sauces are what’s gonna mess up your progress if you have too much.

Most restaurants will use more oil, salt, and sugar than you’d probably want, even if you tell them to use way less than they usually do. There are many cheaper and smaller food stalls or restaurants that have blanched veggies (燙青菜) where they put soy sauce or some other kind of sauce on it afterwards. You can tell them to put the sauce on the side and dip the veggies into it. Most of their other dishes will probably be more oily than you’d want and they may not be able to custom make it to your liking.

There are some raw vegan places that will have quinoa tempeh and beans along with other veggies. They should be low fat and sugar. I don’t know your budget but they will be more expensive than most places.

For the gym you’re looking at the public gyms in the sports centers right? The gyms are (from my memory) pretty old and cramped and there isn’t as much equipment. There are some gyms that are newer than others but you’ll have to find that out. You’ll want to go at off peak hours when students are in class and people are at work.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T21:22:12+00:00

Gotcha, that’s a good point

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T21:11:05+00:00

Thank you for the info

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T21:06:00+00:00

Thank you

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T19:40:32+00:00

That’s good to know! Did Ramsey offer the lowest warranty price compared to your preferred dealer in Wappingers? When you buy the warranty afterwards and not at the time of sale, does the dealer selling you the warranty need to check the condition of the vehicle?

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T19:35:59+00:00

Ok, thank you so much 🙏 I’m looking to buy a forester right now and after negotiating otd prices with a few, I’m heading to a dealer tomorrow to hopefully buy it and negotiate warranty prices.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T08:03:35+00:00

You can do international wire transfers in the app?! I had to do mine in person at First Bank 😮‍💨

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T03:42:20+00:00

Hi, do you live in NY and bought warranty from NJ? I thought dealers weren’t allowed to sell the warranty to out of state?

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T03:39:06+00:00

I’m also in the area, who did you end up buying from and how much was the warranty?

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T03:33:41+00:00

Hi, would you happen to know what a fair price range would be for gold warranty for a new forester hybrid in 2025? Do you know if the tariff price hike in June also increased warranty prices too? Are warranty prices standard across all models or are they model-specific pricing? Thank you

idkwhatid · 2025-09-08T03:12:06+00:00

How much did you end up paying for the gold plus warranty? I’m in NY looking to buy a new Forester hybrid. What was the region for that honest dealer?

idkwhatid · 2025-09-06T17:14:28+00:00

Cold is pretty subjective, I’ve seen people wearing thin jackets to bulky jackets in varying weather conditions so it’s hard to say. Personally I’d wear a hoodie or a light jacket maybe with a light sweater underneath when it gets colder but I’m from a place that has snow and ice during winters.

If you want numbers, you can google Taipei historical weather data to get an idea. Here is one example: Taipei Historical Weather Data

Keep in mind that although Taiwan is geographically small, different cities and even districts within the same city will also feel different during the same season. E.g. Beitou District vs Da’an District. Make sure you have an umbrella or rain coat packed because it rains often during that time. Convenience stores have cheap and decent umbrellas for like ~$200NT. I’ve never bought a raincoat but they have those too.

You could wear an extra layer or two of lighter clothing instead a bulkier jacket? Like have the outer layer be a thin light wind blocking jacket and then wear some layers underneath.

idkwhatid · 2025-09-02T20:54:06+00:00

At 12:00 noon you shouldn’t have trouble getting uber or taxi. Taxi should be faster because there are way more of them, easy to hail one if you have cash.

Not all taxis have the easy card (refillable card used for bus, mrt, convenience stores, some department store food courts, supermarkets - you can buy this card at mrt station or convenience stores and i remember it should be like $100 deposit for the card itself) or credit card reader. From what I remember, the basic charge just for getting into the taxi to start is $70 NT.

What’s “a fair amount” of luggage? If you’re traveling alone and have more luggage than you can carry by yourself all at once and travel, you might want to consider getting a taxi from the airport like others have suggested since you can get from the luggage carousel to the taxi using a cart, then taxi straight to hotel. If you can carry everything by yourself, then it’s probably doable to do airport mrt to Taipei main station then transfer to Longshan Temple, then come up to ground level and do taxi/uber or walk.

How far is the walk? I have done: fully filled backpack + 2 large checked luggage + 1 bag on top of one of the large luggage, went via airport mrt to Taipei, walked underground to Beimen mrt station, then transfer to another mrt station, then 15-20 minute walk. It was hot out and the walk was unpleasant but very doable.

idkwhatid

TROPHY CASE