While traveling in Taiwan it is hard not to notice the brightly lit, single room storefronts inviting you in on almost every street corner. What is even more peculiar is the sight of alluringly dressed young women seated behind the counters of these luminescent structures. These are the sellers of one of Taiwan's most peculiar vices, the chewing of betel nut. Popular throughout Asia and around the Indian Ocean, betel nut (Paan in most South Asian Countries) is a mixture of various ingredients including the Betel leaf combined with the areca nut. Together they form a mild stimulant, about as powerful as coffee. It is polpular with truck drivers in Taiwan, as it helps keep them awake during long trips. Fighting for the lucrative market, the shops began employing pretty young women to further tempt the mostly male clientele. As competition heated up the women were encouraged to expose more and more, putting themselves on display in front of plate glass windows.

The colorful shops, with their scantily clad employees make for a startling contrast against Taiwan's often drab urban landscape. These are glass and neon jewels, beckoning the customer with the high of not only the betel nut, but of the interaction with the betel nut girls.