On our last full day in Taichung we walked to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and visited the current exhibitions; bought a Sun Cake, a flaky pastry filled with honey; and checked out a nearby street market. We liked Taichung but we found the city complicated to navigate. While we found many interesting things to do and we were grateful to find a safe, comfortable place to hang out during the storm, it was time to move on. Monday morning we packed up and walked to the train station for the 1.5 hour trip to Tainan.
Our first stop when we arrived in Tainan was the Tourist Office. A helpful young woman pointed out the bus stop and wrote down the name of the stop closest to our hotel.
Down the street, a lady who was about to get on a bike-share noticed that we were looking for the bus stop. She then stopped what she was doing, told us she wanted to practice her English, and carefully told us which bus to take, and exactly where to catch it.
From then on, a whole host of people helped us get to the right stop. Passengers on the bus asked us where we were going and then made sure we got off at the right stop. Even the bus driver called out to let us know when we arrived. The people we met were so helpful and kind… it was like we’d fetched up in Lollipop Land! With the help of the good people of Tainan and Google Maps, we arrived safely at our hotel.
Our first impressions of Tainan are very positive. It’s a larger city than we expected and very clean.
Tainan was one of Taiwan’s early capitals and it’s known for its culinary culture. While this photo wouldn’t make it in Food and Wine Magazine, it was a decent lunch with chicken, rice, and vegetables for $2.50.
Today we visited the Tainan Confucius Temple also known as “Taiwan’s First Institute of Learning” built in 1665.
Young couples come to have photos taken on the temple grounds. The couple below is in the Hall of Ethics. We learned from the brochure that the calligraphy on the wall was intended to encourage scholars to be worthy and virtuous people.
We’ve never seen an orange hibiscus but we think that this one looks pretty against the the rose colored wall.
We’ve met some interesting people today; a couple from Texas who were raised in Taiwan and a Scottish man, Charlie who’s traveling alone around Asia. It’s nice to meet fellow travelers and many people ask us about the upcoming Presidential election – everyone seems to be watching.
We like Tainan and plan to spend the rest of the week here as there is still much to explore.
Sharon and Larry