Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Air Quality - Portland 1, Taipei 0

Taipei is a great city in many ways, but the air quality here is terrible. It didn't bother me at first, but after being here for two months, I'm getting tired of the always hazy views and the inescapable smell of car exhaust. Many people here cover their mouths with cotton masks à la Michael Jackson when walking around the city and I've been told by locals that the rain here is acidic and will ruin clothes. Much of the pollution comes from vehicles and local industry, but some of it also blows over from mainland China.

Like many Taiwanese, I hang my clothes outside to dry. While I love the idea of drying my clothes in a sunny, quiet backyard, the reality of drying clothes eight floors above a busy street is a little different. I've noticed that my clothes often smell ever so slightly oily, no doubt as a result of the non-stop stream of vehicles passing by. Think I'll be heading to the laundromat from now on.

1 comment:

Jamie said...

You never know when one of those masked men on the street WILL be Michael Jackson. Look for a creepy dude with 2 shrouded kids in tow.