touristy trip

In the afternoon got assigned to follow Ming Le for a news on an local entrepreneur.

Took a 30 mins ride to the outskirts of Taipei called San Xia - a retro tourist spot.

The story was about a obasan who sniffed out a the potential business opportunity in ㄍㄚ ㄐㄧ bags (roughly pronounced as ga ji)


Formerly associated with aunties, (according to) Madam Zeng says these are the new IT bags.

Designs of all kinds and sizes hang on the wall of her quaint little shop, forming a colourful sight that would attract the eyeballs of customers. Specially decorated with antiques and fitted with retro wooden furniture and items like an old rusty bike, stepping into the shop you feel as if you're transported back in time.


Starting from scratch, she sold her wares riding on a bicycle on the streets of Ying Ge. Seeing how the sales for the cheap (NT50=S$2.50 each) and uniquely Taiwan bags were good, she decided to invest in creating her own brand. From the design, manufacturing (in Taiwan she insists to show how it's truly a Made in Taiwan product) to selling, her family helps out in every aspect.

Besides the classic red, green and blue netted bags, to attract the younger crowd they made bags with modern designs like leopard prints and skulls. (These designs do look like they can be found on the shelves of shops in trendy Ximending)

We got interviews from customers young and old. The old woman said how nostalgic it was to see the bag she carried in her younger days, two young teenagers said how they would not hesitate to buy the once thought to be unfashionable bag and that it was cool coz it was really "tai". (Note: they said all these while the lady boss was standing next to them..... )

Anyway the lady boss was one spontaneous interviewee. Asked to shout to promote her wares, ride a rickety old bicycle down the brick road... nothing was too embarrassing for her. Really admire her tenacity. All the ups and downs she has went through to get to this point in her life. Before her successful venture into these uniquely Taiwanese bags, she mostly dabbled in selling souvenirs. Albeit many not-so-successful tries, she finally struck gold :) It helps that her bubbly personality would make her a media darling. And did I mention that it's a family business. It's so heartwarming to see her son and daughter pitching in to help their mum.

Covering lifestyle news was a great respite from the usual dry financial news that I usually have to cover. I wonder what's install for the next few days.

P.S: Oh no... I "modelled" the bag for our competitor TV station and got caught by my supervisor. Imagine your full Chinese name shouted across the cubicles...