Now that it's summertime, and the temperature here in Texas seems to get over 100 degrees (42C) every single day, it's great to have easy access to a swimming pool. Just about every apartment building I looked at in Texas had a nice swimming pool.
Taiwan, on the other hand, doesn't seem to even know about the existence of swimming pools. Virtually every apartment building I ever lived in or looked at in Taiwan did not have a pool. Even the more high end, expensive apartments didn't have one. It's just not very common there. However, one of the apartments I lived at in Hsinchu did have a swimming pool, but it was only open for about one month out of the entire year. And to use the swimming pool, you had to purchase a ticket (which cost about 50 NT dollars - US $1.50). Yes, we had to pay money to use a pool in our own apartment complex.
I went swimming in that pool twice, and that was it. Both times, after I used the pool, I got sick. It wasn't well maintained at all. It didn't really even look like a swimming pool. The shape and design was bizarre. There were giant cement columns going through the middle of the pool, which really prohibited you from swimming laps, if that's what you wanted to do.
It's not fun to swim at the pools in Taiwan hotels, either. There is always some security guard telling you to put a cap on your head (if you don't have one, you have to get out), and most of the other swimmers are there just to exercise, not for fun. I always thought it was a bit of a contradiction that the Taiwanese go to great lengths to prevent people from putting their hair into a swimming pool, yet when you step outside onto the streets, it's as dirty as a cesspool.
So now that we're back in the US, it's fun to go swimming again. I wish the pool was deeper than 4 ft though, but the kids love it.
(Pictures: Sara and Kyle having fun in the swimming pool at our apartment complex.)
Taiwan, on the other hand, doesn't seem to even know about the existence of swimming pools. Virtually every apartment building I ever lived in or looked at in Taiwan did not have a pool. Even the more high end, expensive apartments didn't have one. It's just not very common there. However, one of the apartments I lived at in Hsinchu did have a swimming pool, but it was only open for about one month out of the entire year. And to use the swimming pool, you had to purchase a ticket (which cost about 50 NT dollars - US $1.50). Yes, we had to pay money to use a pool in our own apartment complex.
I went swimming in that pool twice, and that was it. Both times, after I used the pool, I got sick. It wasn't well maintained at all. It didn't really even look like a swimming pool. The shape and design was bizarre. There were giant cement columns going through the middle of the pool, which really prohibited you from swimming laps, if that's what you wanted to do.
It's not fun to swim at the pools in Taiwan hotels, either. There is always some security guard telling you to put a cap on your head (if you don't have one, you have to get out), and most of the other swimmers are there just to exercise, not for fun. I always thought it was a bit of a contradiction that the Taiwanese go to great lengths to prevent people from putting their hair into a swimming pool, yet when you step outside onto the streets, it's as dirty as a cesspool.
So now that we're back in the US, it's fun to go swimming again. I wish the pool was deeper than 4 ft though, but the kids love it.
(Pictures: Sara and Kyle having fun in the swimming pool at our apartment complex.)
Ball & Chain's old apartment had a swimming pool. I don't think I ever saw any water in it. She lived there for over 10 years and never used the pool.
ReplyDeleteOur apartment has a good pool. It is large enough to have lanes for laps and an area to swim around. There is even a smaller pool for children.
We've never used it.
It never really gets that hot in Taiwan. You might get a couple of days out of the year where it might hit 40 C. In Texas, it's obscenely hot for about 3 to 4 months straight. Just walking outside feels like you're in an oven.
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