Before even arriving in Taiwan, thoughts of scooters buzzed through my head. I had Frank convinced that a pink Vespa was the only way to go. Once I arrived in Taiwan, things changed a bit. First of all, the traffic wasn’t quite what I imagined it would be. Second, Vespas are very old and not very reliable. Third and finally, pink Vespas are impossible to find. So, like any good wife would do, I compromised.
The first compromise was to purchase a retro style scooter in either pink, vintage orange or yellow. Any three would do. After a few months of searching, I realized this would be a daunting task as well. That is until we stopped by at the scooter shop down the road from our apartment. The used shops here do not carry any particular type of scooter. They take whatever they can get their hands on and usually, inventory goes quickly. So, when I saw an orange Kiwi with cream colored racing stripes, boy was I excited. I knew it was the one I wanted! I asked how much it cost, the guy wouldn’t tell me. He kept telling me it was no good and showed me a super duper ugly scooter with scratches and tape all over it. There was no way I was letting this Kiwi go.
A Chinese speaking friend came to my assistance. It was then that I learned the Kiwi was a ghost scooter. In Taiwan if someone passes away, the scooter remains in their name. Subsequently, the deceased person will continue to get bills, tickets, and anything else relating to the scooter even if someone else is driving it. Ghost scooters are great because tickets will never catch up to. The down side of them is if you get caught, the scooter is immediately impounded. The shop owner didn’t want to mess with selling a ghost scooter to a foreigner, so he wouldn’t even discuss it with me. Okay, no Kiwi for me.
Finally, the guy convinced us that the nasty, icky, tape laden scooter was the one for us. I agreed.. . . on one condition. The scooter was to be repainted in retro orange. I would then add pink sparkly stars to bling it up. With both parties happy, we parted ways.
Frank went and picked up the scooter yesterday and came in saying it wasn’t quite as orange as he had anticipated. I went down and was shocked to see that the scooter was not orange at all-but metallic gold. Yep, that’s right, my high school’s old colors! Go MHS! Ugh! So, I went from wanting a vintage style scooter to acquiring a space age metallic gold scooter. Oh well,
