On buying shoes in Taiwan

Yesterday, my slippers snapped.‘Slippers’, in Taiwanese English, are better known as ‘sandals’, ‘sliders’, or ‘slides’ in other countries.(Confusingly in Taiwan, indoor slippers are also just called ‘slippers’. But despite routinely removing my shoes when entering homes, hotel rooms, and some other businesses in Taiwan, I rarely encounter indoor slippers. Which is a good thing, because they rarely fit my US size 13 feet.)So back to yesterday: at 10:30am, while walking outside in my socks and slippers (a combination that’s normal in Taiwan, but which, in New Zealand, is exclusively reserved for 20th-century retirees and science teachers), I heard a snap.I looked down and saw the upper coming loose:Walking barefoot’s considered wildly uncivilized in Taiwan, so luckily I made it home with the slipper narrowly intact.Then, last night, I found a replacement pair:This made-in-Taiwan brand is called G PIGEON. Yo.This wasn’t the first time I bought shoes from a made-in-Taiwan brand.In New…