Scooterama

This week (last Wednesday to be exact) my Taiwanese girlfriend Meng Yao came back from Paris. We've spent the last few days together, and she has been showing me around on her scooter (after buying a helmet of course).
Scooters are big in Taiwan, as you can see from this video of morning rush-hour traffic I made within the first few days after arriving in Taipei. One could be forgiven for mistaking such a sight to be an impromptu scooter race.

It is not unusual to see families of four (two young children and their parents) all piled up on a scooter. It's also common to see furniture tied to the back of a scooter. And if you pass by a police station, don't be surprised if you see a row of police scooters neatly lined up on the sidewalk outside, replete with flashing lights.
Taiwan has even made special lanes for scooters on some high volume roads, as well as boxed areas at traffic intersections where scooters go to make left turns (the logic, I imagine, is that it is too dangerous for scooters to turn left in one go). Some people, like my friend Jean-Robert, does not like the phenomenon, calling it an 'infection'. I guess the fact is that there are too many advantages to using a scooter (rapid transit time, doesn't take up much space, efficient engine, etc).

At the same time, this weekend I've just finished the 'boot camp' for new reporters of the Campus newspaper. It was pretty demanding, but now will come the real challenge- writing articles!