Taichung is a larger city than we realized. The population in 2024 was around 1,040,725 which might explain why we’ve had difficulty trying to figure out what’s where. We are staying in the “old” section of the city, so on Saturday, we set out to explore the “newer” part of town. Along the way we found pretty parks;
a pot of lotus flowers;
And some very tall buildings.
Not all of the newer part of the city is shining…there are still some gritty areas too.
In spite of this, we are amazed by how clean the streets and sidewalks are. The puzzling thing is that there are very few trash cans around. We’ve learned this and take a small plastic bag with us for any trash we might accumulate during the day.
A beautiful Botanical Garden is in the new part of town with lush tropical plants;
and a giant glass dome that encloses a rain forest environment.
The public transportation system isn’t great here so we walked over seven miles on Saturday. At the end of the day, we felt that we’d earned some ice cream at the famous Miyahara shop. The ice cream flavors are exotic and the historic building that was formerly an ophthalmology clinic is an elaborate and beautiful space.
The shop is already decorated for Christmas, and holiday music plays while people shop for beautifully wrapped packages of chocolates, cookies, pineapple cakes, and oolong tea..
At the end of the day, the sun is setting and our weary legs remind us that it’s time to return to our hotel. It was a very nice day.
