Twenty years ago, my mother said to me that travel broadens the mind and 69 countries later I firmly believe this. Think for a second; has the UK government or media ever said anything positive about China, Belarus, China or Iran? I cannot think of anything, and I have spent time in Belarus so can tell you there are many positive points to the negatively viewed country. China, I have only transited through twice, so it is hard to judge the country however one thing I noticed is the pricing of food & drinks in the airport. Socialist pricing is what comes to mind and well the country is run by the CCP! 60p for a bottle of water in vending machines whereas in Western airports you could be looking at 6x the price.
In May, I spent two weeks in Republic of China (better known as Taiwan) and R.O.C is an advanced country by Asian standards. When I travel, I like to explore properly by car and speak to locals, as I did, to see the pros and cons of a sovereign state. Taiwan is not left leaning and is Western unlike People’s Republic of China (better known as China).
Let’s look at the prices and issues of the United Kingdom before looking at two other countries I have spent time in – Belarus and Taiwan:
- Council tax: is mandatory in the UK and costs from £90-500 a month depending on the property size. What do you get for this? Rubbish collection, street lighting, libraries and not much else. Yearly the price will be raised
- Petrol prices: in May 2026, a litre of normal petrol costs around £1.60 and around half of this is taxes to HMRC
- Petrol prices on motorways: it seems petrol stations on motorways have ultra-high rents, so they need to charge you 30p more per litre since you have no choice but to use them
- Taxes: up to 60% depending on your salary and then there is value added tax, corporation tax, inheritance, stamp duty, capital gains tax, national insurance…
- Rents: a tiny two-bedroom flat not even in central London could be £1600 a month to rent and a similar cost for a mortgage. This is solely for the mortgage or rent and there are a tonne of other costs as well to pay per month
- Buying/selling a property: expect to pay to buy the property, expect to pay taxes if you sell and made a profit, money to the bank for the mortgage fee, surveyors fees, legal fees, search fees and money to the freeholder if applicable
- Tolls: are luckily not ultra common here and are sometimes affordable but forget to pay and pay up to 120x the original cost – Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel
- Utilities: with the highest gas/electricity bills in Europe or the world, I pay £170 for a tiny two-bedroom flat. Water/sewage costs me £33/month. Internet costs me £40/month. Mobile phone for a SIM only £20/month. VoIP landline rental £12/month
- Public transport: long distance train tickets can cost more than an international flight. Local bus and train tickets in London cost £23.60 for a zones 1-6 travelcard per day
- Food prices: have gone up by say 33% since Corona and the UK government blames the Iran war for future hikes. During Corona one firm would increase the prices and others would copy; not since they had to but because of greed. In Lithuania and Latvia for instance prices are oddly more expensive than in the UK despite lower wages
- Parking: free parking in cities, towns, airport (no chance) are rare and expect to pay from £1.50 to £15/hour. Fail to pay the charge, you will be fined £40-£120 per offence
- Visas/government services: UK family visas cost anything up to £5,500 if you include various charges for a 2.75-year visa. The Home Office previously charged me £330 to update my wife’s name and print a new BRP ID card
- Airport drop offs: from about £7.50 for 15 minutes and yearly the price increases. Stay over 15 minutes and pay a lot more. This year in February I paid £15.50 for 59 minutes and cross the hour mark at London Heathrow and it creeps to £20
- Congestion/ULEZ: want to drive in central London or the outskirts in a normal or “polluting car”? That will cost you £18 or £21 per day for CC, and £12.50 ULEZ per day
- Speeding fines: fix cameras, police van cameras and average speed cameras are not there to make you safer but create a business income for police forces, councils and central government. Do not want points? Pay £90 for a speed awareness course which is outsourced of course
- Bus lanes: are bus lanes really to give buses an easier ride or really to make cash? Hmm, I would say the latter. Enter the bus lane for five second accidentally and you will be fined. Some bus lanes are for five metres only and some make zero sense like when there is a bus lane and car lane merging
- Red light fines: the same as speeding fines and you can opt to go on a course rather than get points which most people do and hey presto, they earn
- Yellow box junctions: I have had one or two of these in my time. A camera with a human operator is watching you and you get a postal fine day afterwards
- Bus stop fines: this year for 55 seconds I was parked 2-3 feet in one not harming anyone and a man or woman is watching you in a car to issue you a fine. It includes the time you entered the area, my wife getting out, getting in and driving off
- Tourist tickets: entry tickets are the highest in Europe or perhaps the world in my view. London Zoo, a charity is £37 per adult and Tower of London another top location run by a charity is the same
Here, blighty low level corruption is not a thing, i.e. you do not offer a policeman/woman a bribe or bribe someone in a government office. We have greediness instead which you will not find too much in the 2nd or 3rd world. That said, I am sure “polite” corruption exists in the UK. Just look at Crossrail, HS2, Corona contracts and Ukraine. I bet kickbacks are happening; contracts are going to friends or families of politicians or the politicians themselves have shares in these firms.
We keep hearing that the NHS is poorly funded and I don’t buy it. Corruption, fraud, wastage and mismanagement is what I think explains the poor service. In June 2026 you will see about poor funding for the UK military and the resignation of Secretary of State for Defence & Minister for the Armed Forces. The UK military is number six in global ranking for global expenditure, yet it is small and has problems. With $89bn spent a year something is up.
Now, let’s look into what I have seen or heard in Taiwan or Belarus:
- Council tax: is non-existent yet the municipalities to me look well maintained
- Petrol prices: up to 50% less than here and the price is not inflated on motorways
- Taxes: 10-25% and less non-income taxes than in the UK
- Rents: in Belarus rents can be as low as £80/month
- Buying/selling a property: faster, easier and in Belarus there is no equivalent to SDLT
- Tolls: less common than in the UK and often fixed prices
- Utilities: up to 5x cheaper and Taiwan sources its gas/petrol from the same places the West does
- Public transport: local bus/train/tram tickets are between 20-50p per journey and the system is often cleaner and more modern than in the UK
- Food prices: in Belarus they are up to 4x less and Taiwan is more affordable than the UK. In Taiwan you can eat out at a street food stand or village restaurant from £1.50!
- Parking: often free in many places in Belarus and in Taiwan from 75p per hour regardless of where you are
- Airport drop offs: free with no real time limits. In Kaohsiung Airport I parked in unreserved parking for 49 hours and paid under £20 instead of £15.50 for 59 minutes at LHR!
- Congestion/ULEZ: non existent
- Speeding fines and red light: less cameras and no average speed cameras, with the average fine being £12 in Belarus and £29 in Taiwan
- Bus lanes/yellow box/bus stop fines: non-existent in my experience