As I mentioned earlier, Hsinya and I are traveling overseas to Taiwan by bringing only carry-on luggage. It’s an experiment in minimalist travel to help us save money, time, and the environment. Hsinya and I landed at Taoyuan airport around midnight on Sunday. It was a cramped, 14-hour international flight, but Hsinya’s family was overjoyed to see us when we arrived. Thanks to our minimalist luggage, we didn’t waste any time claiming baggage, so we checked out an hour earlier than other passengers. Her parents were confused about our minimalist luggage (That’s all you brought?), but they were definitely glad to leave the terminal so quickly.
A total of 4 bags will last us for 3 months.
My wife’s hometown, Taichung, is in the center of the country. Like other cities in Taiwan, Taichung has an aura different from any city I’ve seen in the United States. Taiwan is an industrialized nation, and Taichung is a vibrant commercial center. Of course, the locals import foreign brands like Pizza Hut or 7-Eleven, but even more impressive is their ability to adapt and create their own local versions of stores. Last night I visited Save & Safe (literally “Big Buyer” in Chinese), a multi-story shopping center triple the size of my local Walmart. At night, Taichung becomes a city of lights, since many stores–and their shoppers–never seem to sleep.
Trains run through the city.
Being a Greenimalist in Taichung will be a challenge, but I think the challenge is what makes living here exciting. In Irvine, it was easy for me to buy organic food or to ride a bicycle. In Southern California, sustainable living has entered into mainstream consciousness. Sustainable living, however, lags behind in poorer parts of the world, since the priority of rapid economic growth trumps everything else. But Greenimalist living should be universal; it should be just as practical for someone who lives in downtown Mexico City as it is for someone who lives in Irvine, California. Now that I’m in Taichung, I get a chance to experiment.
Like other international cities, most of Taichung is accessible only by roads, which are often dominated by fast cars and motorcycles. Trees are scarce, and fresh air is scarcer. Smog in Taichung is a serious health issue, and based on my experience, it’s much worse here than in downtown Los Angeles. I definitely won’t go cycling without a gas mask, but I probably won’t go biking at all because I’m afraid of getting flattened by a reckless driver.
At the same time, there are new opportunities here in Taichung. The farmers markets are more lively here because Taiwan has preserved part of its traditional food culture. It’s also very easy to live without a car, since the public transit system is excellent. There are trains, buses, and high speed railways that can take us practically anywhere in the country. Lastly, since Taiwan is a tiny island with scarce resources and space, water and energy conservation is stressed here far more than in America. Failure to recycle is punishable by fines.
So while green living hasn’t become popular just yet, I’m encouraged to discover it’s at least possible here in Taichung. If Greenimalist living is possible on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, it may be possible wherever you live, too.
Is it hard to be a Greenimalist in your city?
Hello Aaron and Hsinya!
Hope you guys are enjoying Taiwan. The city is really exciting, despite the smog and crazy drivers. I think it will definitely be a challenge to try to minimize waste and such because a lot of items are packaged in plastic and I highly doubt anyone really cares about environmental things over there.
I think it is extremely hard to be greenimalist anywhere besides a third world country. Plastic packaging is everywhere, and asia is starting to catch on to these habits. We will wait and see how you guys manage to be environmentally friendly in Taiwan. This should be quite interesting :)
Hey Jebbo,
Back at California, people liked to talk about being green, but in practice, we tended to pollute more than people in Taiwan. Californians as a whole aren’t ready to give up their wasteful lifestyles to be green. In Taiwan, while there’s a lot less green marketing, the culture encourages conservationism more.
As far as packaging is concerned, you’d be surprised. It’s much easier to live without plastic packaging in Taiwan than it was in the US. In California, I had to hunt and search for farmers markets. There are farmers markets everywhere in Taiwan; all you need to do is bring your own bag.
SoCal is a lot different than NorCal, but I speak mainly in terms of San Francisco and Berkeley.
It’s actually really easy to be Greenimalist here.
-Public transportation
It’s still not perfect and can double commute times if traveling by car. But it’s still better than LA and while Berkeley’s bus system frustrates me, I’m sure the SF Muni is better due to higher volume of people.
-Food
There are hundreds of organic, vegan restaurants around here that buy locally. My campus has a mini-farmers market and the Berkeley farmers market ain’t too far. The SF Farmers Market is just across the bay and open twice a week.
-Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Everywhere I go, there is definitely a recycle bin and even a composting bin. Sometimes I literally have trouble throwing away trash because there’s more recycling and composting bins than trashcans. Even the trashcans and composting bins sometimes have charts to tell you what you can and can’t recycle.
People are also always trying to reduce unnecessary waste. People are always giving away free reusable bags. Everyone uses reusable bottles too.
I even notice a difference at Walgreens here and in SoCal. In SoCal, they automatically bag your items, even if there’s not a lot. Here, they often ask me if a need a bag when it’s just a few items.
Even at the dorms, the paper towels we use to wipe our hands in the bathroom are composted.
I don’t necessarily think its just Berkeley, maybe other college campuses are just as green. I just can’t compare because I’ve visited other campus long enough.
And living in an apartment, I definitely have a harder time being green since my apartment complex doesn’t have composting or as many recycling options. But I’m trying to make sure I do.
I’m glad I’m subscribed to this blog because every time I get a new email, it is like a reminder: Have I been living greenimalist? I do get lazy time to time and because I can get so busy, I might drive to campus unnecessarily or use paper plates because I’m so tight on time.
Hey Armand,
Thanks for sharing about the Bay Area! I had no idea what it’s like on other campuses until you shared your experiences. From the sound of it, Berkeley has put a lot more effort towards Greenimalist living than any city I’ve been to.
At Irvine, I couldn’t find any composting facilities at all within 20 miles, so I started one myself. I have never seen a public composting bin, ever, in my life.
We do have a few farmers markets, but it’s difficult to eat a 100% organic diet without buying food from outside of California at a supermarket.
Man I love how you are sticking to the greenimalist lifestyle anywhere you travel. Change can start with one person ^^ Enjoy your vacation =D!
Hey Joey,
Great to hear from you. I’ve been so used to living in Irvine that I forgot how tough it is to be Greenimalist in a big city. So I’ve been trying to figure out how to exercise in the city without any money or fitness equipment, even if there’s smog outside. Hopefully I’ll post it soon.
Hey Aaron,
It’s been a while! I don’t know if you remember me, but we had few classes together in high school. I’ve been reading your blogs and find this “greenimalist” movement very intriguing. It helps me reflect upon my personal life, and see how I can improve it towards green and somewhat more minimal. Taiwan is definitely much different from US, and drivers are extremely reckless (much worse than LA). I agree with you about the public transit. When I went back to Taiwan last summer, it was super convenient for me to go to places, and I didn’t have to drive a car! Although they do have supermarket in Taiwan, but they also have these market on the street; I guess it’s somewhat similar to the farmer’s market here in US. You can get the fresh produce from them, and the merchant are really friendly and down to earth. Few of them actually actually chatted with me and asked me about my family. Anyway, I just want to tell you that I think this is a really wonderful blog. Enjoy your time at Taiwan!
Hey Nancy,
Yes, I still remember you–we took Spanish 4 and English 11 honors together a long, long time ago!
Last Sunday, Hsinya and I visited an organic farmers market, but it was quite small. They only sold vegetables, so I’m feeling kind of hungry and I think tomorrow we’re going to check out a conventional farmers market.
Where did you stay in Taiwan last summer?
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AAron,
Hi I am from Portland Oregon a place that I feel has done a great job in organic farming and education. We currently have one of he only, if not the only, city garbage compost pickups. Every other week we send off compost and then the city reuses it for organic farming etc. The next week back to garbage. They are making people aware of what we can save and keep out of our trash. Pretty cool. Anyway I might be relocating to Taiwan with my family and I am wondering if you have been able to find any places that have organic vegetable, meet, and dairy products? This is a very large part of our food here in the states and I just want to have an idea if it would be at least possible to find some things organic. What is your experience with any of this? Thanks, Kerri