Is this the laziest job in Taiwan?
Taiwan is full of enterprising people who hold a diverse tapestry of employment positions. Most however are overworked, underpaid and in the face of rising living costs, increasingly struggling to make ends meet.
And then there’s this guy:
You can’t really see him in the photo, but tucked away in that blue truck is a guy sleeping.
Spotted in Jhunan Township down in Miaoli County, typically this blue truck owner rocks up around 11am, sets up his little toys on the side of the road and then has a nap in a hammock set up inside his truck.
I don’t know how profitable this venture is but it seems popular enough that halfway across Taiwan, up in the mountains of Taipei County’s Linkou Township, I spotted the exact same thing:
Since then I’ve come across the ‘guy sleeping in a blue truck selling random stuff’ phenomena multiple times all across Taiwan. I’ve seen shoes, power tools, handbags, $2 shop variety items, seats, picture frames, suits, fruit and vegetables and hell even porn all sold in this way.
Most commonly though, these sleeping blue truck owners seem to prefer to sell childrens toys (and I don’t mean for that to sound as creepy as it does).
Like I said before, no idea how much money is in it but it seems a hell of a better way to spend your day then slaving away in an office or any number of “regular” jobs I can think of.
Here’s to Taiwan’s lazy roadside shop owners!
May 11th, 2012 at 2:05 pm James(Quote)
Ha. I know exactly where that is. You get all over Zhunan and Toufen and, like you say, usually kids stuff – particularly those little cars and the ones with handle that you can push around.
May 11th, 2012 at 3:12 pm TaiwanTeacher(Quote)
I found an easier/lazier job. Tugboat Captain! I wish I could show you the pics of that guy.
May 11th, 2012 at 4:00 pm mike(Quote)
There is a foreign lad in Kaohsiung who only works for an hour or so on weekday mornings – he just walks around the streets selling candy (or what we would call “sweets”) that he made in his own house, and the parents buy it for their kids on the way to school. Hilarious!
He speaks barely a word of chinese (IIRC he didn’t even know “糖果”) but pulls in NT$60,000 to NT$70,000 a month – and the cheeky sod has just bought a small farm out in Meinong! Mind he got that through his wife, who does something with property I think.
May 11th, 2012 at 4:10 pm James(Quote)
Wow, I’ve never heard of anything like this. I do always wonder if there are people like that around. Met a couple with small businesses, stalls in Taitung but walking the street selling sweets: that’s a nice old caper!
He must sell a shitload to make that kind of dough, no?
May 11th, 2012 at 4:53 pm mike(Quote)
It was about this time last year when I met him – he had a walk round with me while I was doing my early hours photography (saturday night/sunday morning: I’d been in the pub).
Let’s say he sells them for NT$100 a bag (I think he said it was about this, but I can’t remember), so you work it out: let’s say he sells a bag a minute for an hour (won’t be that good mind you), then that’s NT$6,000. Over a school week that’s NT$30,000.
He’s right in the downtown area where there’s three or four schools so there must be thousands of kids with parents who just want a bit of shut-ear.
Mind you, he can do it ‘cos he looks the part: tall, skinny with a bird’s nest afro – just needs the daft shoes and a stripy T-shirt to complete the look.
May 11th, 2012 at 8:59 pm mike(Quote)
….
Silence!
So is that the sound of you lot looking up the recipe for peppermint creams is it?!
May 12th, 2012 at 1:49 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
I’ve often thought about making chocolate and trying to sell it at a stall. Chocolate here is buggered but I’ve never looked into it further than an idea.
That and I have no idea how to make chocolate (milk, cocoa…sugar magic?).
If some guy is making a living selling lollies good on him! Wouldn’t count it as lazy though, he still has to make the product and walk around selling it
.
May 12th, 2012 at 4:59 pm mike(Quote)
Half an hour to make them plus a day or so in the fridge, and then an hour standing around with your coolboxes near the school gate. A doddle.
However, there’s bound to be some fat little queen bee squinting at you from off in the distance somewhere. So the only real “work” you’d have to do is getting your papers in order down the local station once you get carted off by Der Polizei!
May 13th, 2012 at 3:27 pm TaiwanTeacher(Quote)
I heard about one foreigner wearing a trenchcoat near a high school in Taichung and trying to sell his lollipop to the girls there.
Despite the complete lack of firm evidence, his business front was soon closed up, and he was quickly deported.
May 14th, 2012 at 2:55 am James(Quote)
Chortle. Trenchcoat in summer is a bit hot, literally and figuratively. I would say I’ve heard of lots of local driveby puppy merchants but everyone knows sexual predation of high school nubiles is the sole preserve of libidinous laowai, eh TT?
May 14th, 2012 at 8:29 am TaiwanTeacher(Quote)
@James – He might have done better with the ladies if he hadn’t adapted to Taiwan scooter fashion by wearing the trenchcoat backwards. However, it does seem that he had attracted quite a “following” of girlie boys and local businessmen. Nyuck nyuck nyuck.