The Luscious Landscape along Interchanges

(Photo: Tobie Openshaw)

Have you ever been attracted to those beauties in sexy and appealing dresses? If you get a chance to experience, you are sure to be surprised by Taiwanes Betelnut Beauties.

One of the features in Taiwan appealing to international media and foreign tourists is our “betelnut girl”. Sprinkled with numerous transparent boxes with twinkling neon lights and alluring shop names, the interchange in Taiwan is known as a display for betelnut girls. As a stall, the showcase displays these betelnut beauties in sexy outfits.

Formerly, people selling betelnut are from diversity of ages and could be males or females but, gradually, for the sake of attracting customers, the boss of betelnut stalls came up with an idea to hire young and beautiful girls in fascinating outfits as clerks. Obviously, it is such a successful business strategy that betelnut girl has become a burgeoning industry in Taiwan. You may wonder why most stalls are located on interchanges and that’s because truck drivers are the chief customers who support the betelnut industry. In order to keep alert and energetic, truck drivers like to chew betelnuts while they are on a long-way driving. Accordingly, situated on interchanges, betelnut shops are sure to earn more businesses.

Even though the business strategy is so successful, it incurs overwhelming judgments on those girls. With so many beauties dressed little clothes on the street, it is regarded as indecent exposure. Chinese culture doesn’t encourage women dress exposurelyat all, especially in public; moreover, it is believed that making money by the advantage of appearance is definitely a moral wrong.

Serving as betelnut beauties, those girls are the same as showgirls in car exhibition or super stars dancing lusciously on TV programs. Apparently, most of us take wrong attitudes toward them. Instead of doing something legally wrong, they are dedicated to their career by entertaining customers and taking their career seriously.


Visit Tobie Openshaw's gallery of betelnut girl photos, taken over a five-year period:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/sets/72157594581621891/