Crazy Taiwan traffic!

Forgot to mention that it was good talking to Lucas and Hannah today, too. Can't believe Lucas is leaving in August for five months!

[00:34:27] Corey: I wasn't even here! we were off at the bike shop :P Jane's dad apparently knows the right place to go for bike work... the shop he used when he was in school 40 years ago :P the old guy at this shop grabbed the bike, started spinning things and fiddling with the shifters, pausing briefly to spend like 2 seconds adjusting things here and there
[00:35:20] Corey: then he pulls out some cutters and cuts the brake cable, yanks it out, and grabs a new one from inside and feeds it back through the tube he pulled it from, squeezes the handle a couple times to make sure it works, and bam, it's done :P fixed the gears and the brakes in like... a minute?
[00:36:37] Corey: the rear brake was completely shot, it barely even worked, and it wouldn't shift to the high gears... apparently, this is a brand new bike (as in nobody ever used it), but it must have been sitting outside for several years or something since it's all rusty (the frame is fine, but all the gears and the chain and every bolt and other shiny metal surface is rusty)
[00:36:40] Flami: hahaha... that's great :P
[00:36:55] Flami: oh dear... I read "shifters" as "shitters"
[00:36:56] Corey: oh, and I didn't see the price, but it looked to be like.... a couple dollars
[00:37:02] Flami: wow
[00:37:19] Corey: everything I read online made it sound like I'd need to replace half the bike, and spend tons of money
[00:37:24] Flami: yikes :S
[00:37:34] Flami: that's probably money you do not have right now
[00:37:46] Corey: well, this bike was free
[00:38:17] Corey: Jane's parents mentioned to a neighbor that they should start looking for a bike for me to use to get to work, and they said: "oh, we won one in a contest and never use it... just take that"
[00:39:08] Corey: I'm kind of afraid to actually try using it to go to work... but I guess I should..
[00:39:26] Corey: there aren't bike lanes, and there are cars and scooters and motorcycles everywhere
[00:40:02] Flami: oh no... do you see many people on bikes there?
[01:20:20] Flami: DAMMIT! It crashed AGAIN! :P
[01:20:42] Corey: I forgot to send my last message....
[01:20:53] Corey: yes, there are bikes, but a lot more cars and scooters
[01:21:48] Flami: well, I hope it's not as bad as downtown traffic
[01:22:11] Corey: probably worse :P unless Chinese people drive like this in Vancouver, too :P
[01:23:08] Flami: well, not having experienced Taiwanese traffic myself, I wouldn't know
[01:23:35] Corey: well, surely you've heard the stereotypes about how Asian people can't drive :P
[01:24:24] Corey: that might be partly true, but if people learn how to drive in a place like this with this crazy style of traffic, and then move to the other side of the world and drive that same way, they'd be maniacs
[01:25:01] Corey: it kind of works here since everyone has the same style, but I think driving like that in my town would cause people to die
[01:32:13] Corey: well, do people drive in the lanes there? :P
[01:32:59] Corey: how do they turn left? do they just go headfirst into traffic so the oncoming cars have to stop or just hit you? :P that's the only way to really do it here... people won't let you in, and there won't be a break in traffic
[01:33:57] Corey: when turning, they switch lanes halfway through the turn and end up in a different lane.. or they turn when they're not in the turn lane... as all this is going on, scooters are going every which way, between lanes, to the side of lanes, once in a while on the sidewalk....
[01:35:54] Flami: that is truly crazy traffic, friend... people drive in the lanes here, for the most part... and most of them wait for the traffic signal before they turn left into the other roads... although I'm sure my sister has seen her share and more of crazy drivers!
[01:36:24] Corey: they don't have left turn lanes here... so the way they do it is really about the only way it works..
[01:37:29] Corey: Chinese people are pushy as fuck, and rude in crowds and in traffic.. complete "ME FIRST ME FIRST" attitude. they won't even wait for pedestrians crossing the street... they won't HIT them, but they will not wait for you to cross before they just go anyway, even if you're just about where you'd get hit :P
[01:38:15] Corey: in other situations, they're overly polite and friendly... but it's like the truth comes out when they're trying to get through a crowd or traffic :P totally different
[01:39:33] Corey: I complain about people driving at home, but at home, people will wave you through and wait for you if you're both trying to turn at the same time, or they'll slow down so you can get into a lane, or whatever... far, far, far more polite on the road. it would be pretty much unthinkable to drive through a crosswalk with people on it
[01:39:52] Corey: mayyybe a right turn after the people were definitely past that area
[01:44:30] Flami: sounds like insanity
[01:47:38] Corey: well, it all kind of works somehow, but I'm kind of afraid to ride a bike in that
[01:47:50] Corey: I'm afraid to ride a bike on the street at home... and we have bike lanes!
[01:47:51] Flami: don't blame you
[01:48:29] Corey: there are KIND OF bike lanes here, in some places... but they're for the scooters (which are like pansy motorcycles), so that wouldn't be great. most places don't have that