Three Fascinating Weeks in Terrific Taiwan
Dec 4th, 2023, 12:49 PM
#42
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Yes, I am still onboard! I don't always comment. Your report and photos are fascinating, and I know we (especially Eddie) would love to go to Taiwan some day. Your photos have made me more interested than I was initially.
Dec 4th, 2023, 01:30 PM
#43
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Thanks, everyone, for letting me know that someone out there in cyberspace are following along.
Oct 23 & 24 On our second full day in Kaohsiung we dragged ourselves out early hoping to beat the heat and even took a taxi to find some street art. Off we went to Weiwuiying this morning-it was incredible! Located in Kaohsiung‘s Lingya district where many of the buildings are covered in larger-than-life murals and street art bursting with color. Really it's a treasure trove of street art. In addition to the fabulous street art, I loved the life on the street. Museums and monuments etc are great when traveling, but what I really enjoy the most is everyday life. And this was a terrific area to photograph it in this am. After spending several hours wandering the street and admiring all the street art, we had it with the heat and pollution. It was so miserable out and my coughing continued so we headed back to our hotel and hung out there for the remainder of the afternoon. Fortunately they had a lovely spa and onsen with a steam room etc.
Unfortunately despite trying to beat the heat, what I learned is that it's not just the heat, but terrible air pollution. I'm not one to follow AQI generally, but I looked and was shocked at how bad it was in Kaohsiung - way into the red area for AQI. When I had mentioned the pollution to locals they blamed mainland China. Then I had to google and found that per a Brookings Institute article on pollution in Taiwan - industries and factories dispose of industrial wastes “with impunity” because of no national pollution control laws. Taiwan is considered a “safe haven” for them. It’s a shame as it’s a nice city.
So sadly our excursions in Kaohsiung were severely limited as my eyes & respiratory system just couldn't take the heat coupled with the terrible smog. I imagine having been sick in Taipei contributed to the irritation I was feeling it in my eyes, chest and throat. We limited ourselves to indoor activities and wandering a little in the evenings. I was so disappointed as Kaohsiung was one of the places I was most looking forward to visiting. But C'est la vie.
Day 3 Once again it was a hot, humid, smoggy morning in Kaohsiung. We ditched our plans for a visit to kitschy Lotus Pond and went directly to our planned second stop in the air-conditioned comfort of a taxi cab. The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts is an immense building. We spent the better part of two hours checking out the exhibits. The first floor was devoted to the touring Anthropocene exhibit, a collaborative work of three photographers/videographers detailing the impact of human activity on the environment.
That evening we took the tram out to Pier 2 again to see the place with all the lights and that was it for our time in Kaohsiung -- sorry to have been so limited in what we saw, but even with the limited time we spent outdoors I still liked the city.
Those N-95 masks sure helped
A look out our room from the 25th floor
Street life
Everyone waits for the trash truck
Motorcycles and scooters are everywhere
Fish truck
Street life
Stretching at the museum
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
Lovely grounds of The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
I am a Maryland crab person -- the crab I had in Kaohsiung was as delicious as Maryland blue crabs
Bright lights, big city
Pier 2 at night
Piere 2 at night
Looks like poor AQI all the way up the coast...ugh!
Oct 23 & 24 On our second full day in Kaohsiung we dragged ourselves out early hoping to beat the heat and even took a taxi to find some street art. Off we went to Weiwuiying this morning-it was incredible! Located in Kaohsiung‘s Lingya district where many of the buildings are covered in larger-than-life murals and street art bursting with color. Really it's a treasure trove of street art. In addition to the fabulous street art, I loved the life on the street. Museums and monuments etc are great when traveling, but what I really enjoy the most is everyday life. And this was a terrific area to photograph it in this am. After spending several hours wandering the street and admiring all the street art, we had it with the heat and pollution. It was so miserable out and my coughing continued so we headed back to our hotel and hung out there for the remainder of the afternoon. Fortunately they had a lovely spa and onsen with a steam room etc.
Unfortunately despite trying to beat the heat, what I learned is that it's not just the heat, but terrible air pollution. I'm not one to follow AQI generally, but I looked and was shocked at how bad it was in Kaohsiung - way into the red area for AQI. When I had mentioned the pollution to locals they blamed mainland China. Then I had to google and found that per a Brookings Institute article on pollution in Taiwan - industries and factories dispose of industrial wastes “with impunity” because of no national pollution control laws. Taiwan is considered a “safe haven” for them. It’s a shame as it’s a nice city.
So sadly our excursions in Kaohsiung were severely limited as my eyes & respiratory system just couldn't take the heat coupled with the terrible smog. I imagine having been sick in Taipei contributed to the irritation I was feeling it in my eyes, chest and throat. We limited ourselves to indoor activities and wandering a little in the evenings. I was so disappointed as Kaohsiung was one of the places I was most looking forward to visiting. But C'est la vie.
Day 3 Once again it was a hot, humid, smoggy morning in Kaohsiung. We ditched our plans for a visit to kitschy Lotus Pond and went directly to our planned second stop in the air-conditioned comfort of a taxi cab. The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts is an immense building. We spent the better part of two hours checking out the exhibits. The first floor was devoted to the touring Anthropocene exhibit, a collaborative work of three photographers/videographers detailing the impact of human activity on the environment.
That evening we took the tram out to Pier 2 again to see the place with all the lights and that was it for our time in Kaohsiung -- sorry to have been so limited in what we saw, but even with the limited time we spent outdoors I still liked the city.
Those N-95 masks sure helped
A look out our room from the 25th floor
Street life
Everyone waits for the trash truck
Motorcycles and scooters are everywhere
Fish truck
Street life
Stretching at the museum
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
Lovely grounds of The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
I am a Maryland crab person -- the crab I had in Kaohsiung was as delicious as Maryland blue crabs
Bright lights, big city
Pier 2 at night
Piere 2 at night
Looks like poor AQI all the way up the coast...ugh!
Last edited by yestravel; Dec 4th, 2023 at 01:39 PM.
Dec 4th, 2023, 02:44 PM
#44
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Love all the street art. Was the pollution significantly worse in Kaohsiung compared to Taipei or elsewhere in Asia from your other trips? How did it compare to the smoke we received in DC over the summer? When I think of my own travels, I think my worse was in Cairo; I was able to smell and taste the smog but it didn't bother me.
Dec 4th, 2023, 03:28 PM
#45
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Love all the street art. Was the pollution significantly worse in Kaohsiung compared to Taipei or elsewhere in Asia from your other trips? How did it compare to the smoke we received in DC over the summer? When I think of my own travels, I think my worse was in Cairo; I was able to smell and taste the smog but it didn't bother me.
As I wrote I suspect I was more vulnerable having had some sort of respiratory issue in Taipei. Alan only had the eye irritation. We had no pollution in Taipei or anywhere on the east coast. And as I checked it daily once we encountered it in Kaohsiung, they never had any. The west coast is far more developed with lots more factories, as well as more people and cars etc.
I wasn't in DC when you all had the smoke issue. We were in Egypt this past January and I didn't have a problem -- you could see the pollution flying in & out, but it never bothered me. Years ago in Mex City when MC had no controls on pollution I felt it in my sinuses. Thats the only other time I had an issue and at the time I had some serious sinus issues. Will be there again this winter and hopefully it won't be a horrible problem.
i remember BKK having some pretty bad pollution but it never bothered me. I have avoided traveling to oarts of Asia that burn fields when it’s that time of the year.
Last edited by yestravel; Dec 4th, 2023 at 03:51 PM.
Dec 5th, 2023, 04:17 PM
#46
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Your photos are awesome! The street art, street life, the Museum of Fine Arts! All so unique! I love street art, and one of my fondest memories of our trip to Marseilles last year is the unique street art in the Le Panier district. I took TONS of photos!
Xian in China is where we experienced the worse smog/air pollution. I remember, as soon as we disembarked from our plane, the air pollution hit us with its denseness and horrible smell. The whole city was blanketed in foul-smelling pollution. This was about 20 years ago. I don't know if it's been cleaned up since then.
Xian in China is where we experienced the worse smog/air pollution. I remember, as soon as we disembarked from our plane, the air pollution hit us with its denseness and horrible smell. The whole city was blanketed in foul-smelling pollution. This was about 20 years ago. I don't know if it's been cleaned up since then.
Dec 5th, 2023, 07:33 PM
#47
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Thanks, Karen -- we love street art. And I took so many photos. I remember that area in Marseille. It was quite nice.
The pollution you describe sounds dreadful. This was just unhealthy air -- wasn't stinky just irritating. And as I have said, I think it bothered me more because was still recovering from whatever I got in Taipei.
The pollution you describe sounds dreadful. This was just unhealthy air -- wasn't stinky just irritating. And as I have said, I think it bothered me more because was still recovering from whatever I got in Taipei.
Dec 6th, 2023, 12:18 PM
#48
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This is a wonderful report, yes travel! And such great pictures as well. The Taiwanese govt needs to hire you. We’re all learning so much and clearly you’re peeking the interest of others to add Taiwan to travel bucket list….ourselves included! Keep it coming!
Dec 6th, 2023, 01:54 PM
#49
Original Poster
Dec 6th, 2023, 02:24 PM
#50
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Sorry - photos got out of order and I cant seem to edit the labels.
Time to move along to our next destination, Tainan. It’s not very far up the coast. We walk from the hotel to the metro and transfer to the TRA station. Easy peasy and so cheap. About $3 per person, cant beat those prices. Train seems new, comfortable and even has braille on the seats for the numbering. We arrived in no time and took a taxi a short distance to our hotel.
Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and the ancient Capital. "Tainan is the birthplace of Taiwan and the oldest city on the island. In 1661, the Ming loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung drove the Dutch from Taiwan and established his administration in Tainan. At the time, mainland Chinese immigrants were coming to Taiwan in droves, helping the young city to grow.
After the Qing pacification of Taiwan in 1683, the Taiwan Prefectural Capital was established in Tainan. In 1885, Taiwan became a province and Tainan's position changed to that of Tainan Prefectural Capital, from which its current name derives. Tainan remained the political, economic and cultural center of Taiwan up to the late nineteenth century. As a result, Tainan is home to many famous historic sites. It also is the city with the longest history and earliest cultural roots in Taiwan."
We took another taxi about 30 minutes outside the city to visit the National Museum of Taiwan History. It’s sort of the companion to the wonderful museum we visited in Taitung last week. It’s huge with 4 large floors and well signed. It comprises more than 100,000 items. It focuses on both historical and contemporary issues to tell the stories of the people from a multi faceted, cross cultural perspective. I think I learned more about Taiwanese history than I know about the USA history.
Tonight the air finally cleared & it was cooler. yay to that! That evening we walked to Shennong Street -- what an adorable, charming street with lots of shops and a few places to eat and lots of lanterns. Shennong St is one of the most preserved historical streets in Tainan & immensely picturesque.
It was once the entrance to the Tainan Five Channels in the Qing Dynasty. There were canals where many people shipped and exported goods making Shennong Street a densely populated city. After walking up and down the street and marveling at all the lanterns and bright colors we realized we were starving. We couldn't find any place to eat so we wandered away from Shennong St and soon came upon a Thai restaurant. At dinner we reflected again upon how one walks everywhere in Taiwan without a thought to crime. So foreign for us coming from a big US city. More wandering after dinner - like every city in Taiwan lots of neon to light the way.
Low rise bldgs
Museum - great buildings for museums in Taiwan
Japanese and US fabric became popular
Shennong S
King-kài name given by Han Chinese to the structures where Pingu makes resided or where people gathered for meetings.
King-kài name given by Han Chinese to the structures where Pingu makes resided or where people gathered for meetings.
Shennong St
Shennong St
Halloween is BIG on Shennong St
Time to move along to our next destination, Tainan. It’s not very far up the coast. We walk from the hotel to the metro and transfer to the TRA station. Easy peasy and so cheap. About $3 per person, cant beat those prices. Train seems new, comfortable and even has braille on the seats for the numbering. We arrived in no time and took a taxi a short distance to our hotel.
Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and the ancient Capital. "Tainan is the birthplace of Taiwan and the oldest city on the island. In 1661, the Ming loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung drove the Dutch from Taiwan and established his administration in Tainan. At the time, mainland Chinese immigrants were coming to Taiwan in droves, helping the young city to grow.
After the Qing pacification of Taiwan in 1683, the Taiwan Prefectural Capital was established in Tainan. In 1885, Taiwan became a province and Tainan's position changed to that of Tainan Prefectural Capital, from which its current name derives. Tainan remained the political, economic and cultural center of Taiwan up to the late nineteenth century. As a result, Tainan is home to many famous historic sites. It also is the city with the longest history and earliest cultural roots in Taiwan."
We took another taxi about 30 minutes outside the city to visit the National Museum of Taiwan History. It’s sort of the companion to the wonderful museum we visited in Taitung last week. It’s huge with 4 large floors and well signed. It comprises more than 100,000 items. It focuses on both historical and contemporary issues to tell the stories of the people from a multi faceted, cross cultural perspective. I think I learned more about Taiwanese history than I know about the USA history.
Tonight the air finally cleared & it was cooler. yay to that! That evening we walked to Shennong Street -- what an adorable, charming street with lots of shops and a few places to eat and lots of lanterns. Shennong St is one of the most preserved historical streets in Tainan & immensely picturesque.
It was once the entrance to the Tainan Five Channels in the Qing Dynasty. There were canals where many people shipped and exported goods making Shennong Street a densely populated city. After walking up and down the street and marveling at all the lanterns and bright colors we realized we were starving. We couldn't find any place to eat so we wandered away from Shennong St and soon came upon a Thai restaurant. At dinner we reflected again upon how one walks everywhere in Taiwan without a thought to crime. So foreign for us coming from a big US city. More wandering after dinner - like every city in Taiwan lots of neon to light the way.
Low rise bldgs
Museum - great buildings for museums in Taiwan
Japanese and US fabric became popular
Shennong S
King-kài name given by Han Chinese to the structures where Pingu makes resided or where people gathered for meetings.
King-kài name given by Han Chinese to the structures where Pingu makes resided or where people gathered for meetings.
Shennong St
Shennong St
Halloween is BIG on Shennong St
Last edited by yestravel; Dec 6th, 2023 at 03:07 PM.
Dec 6th, 2023, 03:11 PM
#51
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Tainan and much of southern Taiwan is also the heart of Taiwanese Taiwan in contemporary times. It's where there's a higher use of the Taiwanese or Minnan language than Mandarin Chinese. Politically speaking, Tainan is where support for the leftist Democratic Progressive Party is strongest while areas in the north and sometimes east show highest support for the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party.
Dec 6th, 2023, 06:11 PM
#52
Original Poster
Tainan and much of southern Taiwan is also the heart of Taiwanese Taiwan in contemporary times. It's where there's a higher use of the Taiwanese or Minnan language than Mandarin Chinese. Politically speaking, Tainan is where support for the leftist Democratic Progressive Party is strongest while areas in the north and sometimes east show highest support for the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party.
Dec 7th, 2023, 07:43 AM
#54
Original Poster
progol -Thanks! fascinating would be the word I use to describe Taiwan.
Oct 26 -- Thursday was a sunny and hot day with moderate AQI (I was able to go to a KN 95 mask rather than a N95 mask which was much more comfortable in this heat.) We hit the sightseeing trail intending for a full day see all the sites we could fit in.
We started in Anping.
“ Anping Old Street (安平老街) in Anping District of Tainan City is sometimes called “Taiwan’s First Street”, as it is the center one of the oldest merchant areas in the country. It is one of the most fascinating places to visit in Tainan for foodies and those interested in the early history of Taiwan.”
Quite an atmospheric and charming area. There are several sites to visit, but as usual I found the daily life and side streets more compelling. I especially liked the lions with swords in their mouths. In the past, each house would hang a Sword-Lion. It also became the identification of the resident since the address was not available at that time.
After several hours and as the morning heated up we left and went indoors at the Tainan Art Museum, bldg 2. Every museum we have been to in Taiwan has had incredible architecture often as interesting or more interesting than the art itself. After cooling down, enjoying the museum cafe and exploring all the exhibits, we went back outside with the intent of finding a couple temples that intrigued me. We had trouble finding one. On-line mapping wasn’t particularly helpful and the heat made us a tad befuddled. We requested human intervention from friendly Taiwanese twice. The second intervention I translated it into Chinese with google translate and went into a store, showed it to the sales guy who proceeded to lead us several blocks to the Temple. Such nice people here, I wish I spoke Chinese. Alan said sticking to Feng Shui we should just see three temples in the afternoon, The City God Temple, the Temple of Hell (Dongyue), and the Lady Linshui Temple. After visiting those three we went back to the Tainan Art Museum bldg 1. By the time we completed that museum it was time to head back to our hotel. We are staying in the West Central District which is within easy walking distance of many sites here.
I am going to do a separate post with photos from Anping District of Tainan City
We started the day with the famous Tainan noodle soup -- very good!
They train them young to do the "V" sign. Adorable kid
Bldg 2 Art Museum
Bldg 2 Art Museum
Many photo shoots in the museum
View from bldg 2 Art Museum
Manhole cover
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Scary guys!
Temple
Oct 26 -- Thursday was a sunny and hot day with moderate AQI (I was able to go to a KN 95 mask rather than a N95 mask which was much more comfortable in this heat.) We hit the sightseeing trail intending for a full day see all the sites we could fit in.
We started in Anping.
“ Anping Old Street (安平老街) in Anping District of Tainan City is sometimes called “Taiwan’s First Street”, as it is the center one of the oldest merchant areas in the country. It is one of the most fascinating places to visit in Tainan for foodies and those interested in the early history of Taiwan.”
Quite an atmospheric and charming area. There are several sites to visit, but as usual I found the daily life and side streets more compelling. I especially liked the lions with swords in their mouths. In the past, each house would hang a Sword-Lion. It also became the identification of the resident since the address was not available at that time.
After several hours and as the morning heated up we left and went indoors at the Tainan Art Museum, bldg 2. Every museum we have been to in Taiwan has had incredible architecture often as interesting or more interesting than the art itself. After cooling down, enjoying the museum cafe and exploring all the exhibits, we went back outside with the intent of finding a couple temples that intrigued me. We had trouble finding one. On-line mapping wasn’t particularly helpful and the heat made us a tad befuddled. We requested human intervention from friendly Taiwanese twice. The second intervention I translated it into Chinese with google translate and went into a store, showed it to the sales guy who proceeded to lead us several blocks to the Temple. Such nice people here, I wish I spoke Chinese. Alan said sticking to Feng Shui we should just see three temples in the afternoon, The City God Temple, the Temple of Hell (Dongyue), and the Lady Linshui Temple. After visiting those three we went back to the Tainan Art Museum bldg 1. By the time we completed that museum it was time to head back to our hotel. We are staying in the West Central District which is within easy walking distance of many sites here.
I am going to do a separate post with photos from Anping District of Tainan City
We started the day with the famous Tainan noodle soup -- very good!
They train them young to do the "V" sign. Adorable kid
Bldg 2 Art Museum
Bldg 2 Art Museum
Many photo shoots in the museum
View from bldg 2 Art Museum
Manhole cover
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Scary guys!
Temple
Last edited by yestravel; Dec 7th, 2023 at 07:47 AM.
Dec 7th, 2023, 09:49 AM
#55
Original Poster
Anping Old Street (安平老街) in Anping District of Tainan City is sometimes called “Taiwan’s First Street”, as it is the center one of the oldest merchant areas in the country. Anping is the historic harbor area of Tainan and home to the Dutch-built Anping Fort (Fort Zeelandia), Anping Tree House, and Anping Old Street.
We took a taxi there and spent hours just wandering the street.
The remains of a Dutch-style brick wall were discovered in the 17th century stratum, which is speculated to be the living pavements and architectural structures of the Da Yuan town at that time. According to the existing literature, the town ruins discovered belong to the south side of the overall street outline, and should be the southernmost part of a street house. The owner of the house may be an overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia or a European
These guys were watching basketball. Did a dribble then shoot motion and they laughed and invited us in. A commercial is on the tv right as I the photo.
Peanut brittle wrapped around cilantro -- not my fav. Its get the "I" word, interesting
Morning beer - around 10:30am
Jerky is popular
Coffin bread
We took a taxi there and spent hours just wandering the street.
The remains of a Dutch-style brick wall were discovered in the 17th century stratum, which is speculated to be the living pavements and architectural structures of the Da Yuan town at that time. According to the existing literature, the town ruins discovered belong to the south side of the overall street outline, and should be the southernmost part of a street house. The owner of the house may be an overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia or a European
These guys were watching basketball. Did a dribble then shoot motion and they laughed and invited us in. A commercial is on the tv right as I the photo.
Peanut brittle wrapped around cilantro -- not my fav. Its get the "I" word, interesting
Morning beer - around 10:30am
Jerky is popular
Coffin bread
Dec 7th, 2023, 12:11 PM
#56
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Having grown up on Taiwanese movies, I've always pictured Tainan to be quaint and historic, sort of what Anping (which, by the way, means peace and tranquility) Street suggests. Never entered my mind it would be home to a building that is contemporary as the art museum.
Dec 7th, 2023, 01:28 PM
#57
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Having grown up on Taiwanese movies, I've always pictured Tainan to be quaint and historic, sort of what Anping (which, by the way, means peace and tranquility) Street suggests. Never entered my mind it would be home to a building that is contemporary as the art museum.
Given the tourism, I'm not sure about Anping St being true to its meaning "peace and tranquility"
Dec 8th, 2023, 02:33 PM
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All of your photos are so interesting! The Art building 2 is so unique! Love all the photos of temples, statues, etc. You've done an awesome job of capturing every day life, architecture, food, etc. I don't think I would like the peanut brittle wrapped around cilantro, either. Odd combination! I particularly like the photo of the men drinking beer at 10AM! My husband would LOVE the noodle soup!!!!
Dec 8th, 2023, 04:50 PM
#59
Original Poster
All of your photos are so interesting! The Art building 2 is so unique! Love all the photos of temples, statues, etc. You've done an awesome job of capturing every day life, architecture, food, etc. I don't think I would like the peanut brittle wrapped around cilantro, either. Odd combination! I particularly like the photo of the men drinking beer at 10AM! My husband would LOVE the noodle soup!!!!
Dec 10th, 2023, 06:44 AM
#60
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October 27- Today is our last day in Tainan and we had a volunteer guide for half day. I had told him we didn’t want to rush around and see a lot of sites..too hot and not our style. So we devised a 1/2 day of places he thought we might like. Peter, our guide, is getting his Masters in Transportation and graduates this coming year. He has already finished his mandatory time in the military. One of the aspects I enjoy about the volunteer guides is talking to a local and learning about their perspective and what they like. It’s always enlightening and enjoyable.
We started at one of the 100’s of sidewalk eateries for a delicious bowl of fish soup with noodles. Cost for three soups was ~$1.80 per bowl. Again such a deal and a great breakfast. Peter chatted about the area and Tainan being the foodie capital of Taiwan. His friends in Taipei come down for the weekend just to eat.
After a filling breakfast we strolled along the streets through some nice, small, quiet alleyways and ended up at the Tainan Confucian Temple or Quan Tai Shou Xue, It was built in 1666, it was the first Confucius Temple, before the end of Manchu Dynasty, it was the location of the highest official institute of higher learning in Taiwan. It’s the only place we have really seen any tour groups…all Asian.
After wandering the lovely grounds we continued our morning, with BLUE skies and hot sun, again through some of Peter’s favorite areas of the city. Along the way we had enjoyable conversations with Peter. We made a stop for tea for Peter, iced coffee for Alan and some really good ice cream for me. We passed by several of the places we visited yesterday and ended up at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, a surpassingly interesting museum in an old building. This museum details the development of Taiwanese literature from the time of the pre-Han indigenous peoples to the modern era. Once again I learned more about Taiwanese history than I know about US History.
Peter had to run back to school for something so we met up with him in the cafe. First lunch of the trip. I had an incredible sweet potato. Should have been ordering them all along.
After lunch we headed with Peter to the Hayashi Department Store. Because it’s an art deco bldg we were quite interested in exploring it. “ built in 1932 during the Japanese Colonial Time. It was a very busy part of Tainan, but after the end of the Japanese Colonial Period, the owner returned to Japan, and the Hayashi Department Store was left empty, leaving people to eventually forget about its former glory. In 2014, its status as a department store was restored, with a great many limited edition Hayashi goods on sale inside. In addition, there are some important points that must not be missed: The elevator's floor indicator is the old style dial type, now probably the only remaining one in Taiwan, which preserves the authentic feel of the place. The Torii shrine on the top floor is also one of a kind, be sure to go upstairs and have a look. A hole in a wall from the bombing by US Forces during World War II is a link to the building's past.”
After wandering through all 6 floors, it was time to head back to our hotel, wash today’s clothes and pack up for our departure Saturday to the mountains.
That evening we had a great Japanese meal. The owner was intrigued as to how we found her small store on some unknown street in Tainan. We then did our usual night wandering taking more photos.
Delicious fish soup at a sidewalk stall
Tiles on the sidewalk
Tons of markets with tons of food
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Common sign in Asia. First one I have seen this trip.
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
Hayashi Department
Peter at Hayashi Department
Hayashi Department
Torii at Hayashi Department
Hayashi Department
Japanese restaurant for dinner
Nightime
Nighttime
Nighttime
The Hayashi Department Store at night
Night time- Art Museum Bldg 2
- Art Museum Bldg 2 at night
We started at one of the 100’s of sidewalk eateries for a delicious bowl of fish soup with noodles. Cost for three soups was ~$1.80 per bowl. Again such a deal and a great breakfast. Peter chatted about the area and Tainan being the foodie capital of Taiwan. His friends in Taipei come down for the weekend just to eat.
After a filling breakfast we strolled along the streets through some nice, small, quiet alleyways and ended up at the Tainan Confucian Temple or Quan Tai Shou Xue, It was built in 1666, it was the first Confucius Temple, before the end of Manchu Dynasty, it was the location of the highest official institute of higher learning in Taiwan. It’s the only place we have really seen any tour groups…all Asian.
After wandering the lovely grounds we continued our morning, with BLUE skies and hot sun, again through some of Peter’s favorite areas of the city. Along the way we had enjoyable conversations with Peter. We made a stop for tea for Peter, iced coffee for Alan and some really good ice cream for me. We passed by several of the places we visited yesterday and ended up at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, a surpassingly interesting museum in an old building. This museum details the development of Taiwanese literature from the time of the pre-Han indigenous peoples to the modern era. Once again I learned more about Taiwanese history than I know about US History.
Peter had to run back to school for something so we met up with him in the cafe. First lunch of the trip. I had an incredible sweet potato. Should have been ordering them all along.
After lunch we headed with Peter to the Hayashi Department Store. Because it’s an art deco bldg we were quite interested in exploring it. “ built in 1932 during the Japanese Colonial Time. It was a very busy part of Tainan, but after the end of the Japanese Colonial Period, the owner returned to Japan, and the Hayashi Department Store was left empty, leaving people to eventually forget about its former glory. In 2014, its status as a department store was restored, with a great many limited edition Hayashi goods on sale inside. In addition, there are some important points that must not be missed: The elevator's floor indicator is the old style dial type, now probably the only remaining one in Taiwan, which preserves the authentic feel of the place. The Torii shrine on the top floor is also one of a kind, be sure to go upstairs and have a look. A hole in a wall from the bombing by US Forces during World War II is a link to the building's past.”
After wandering through all 6 floors, it was time to head back to our hotel, wash today’s clothes and pack up for our departure Saturday to the mountains.
That evening we had a great Japanese meal. The owner was intrigued as to how we found her small store on some unknown street in Tainan. We then did our usual night wandering taking more photos.
Delicious fish soup at a sidewalk stall
Tiles on the sidewalk
Tons of markets with tons of food
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Common sign in Asia. First one I have seen this trip.
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
Tainan Confucian Temple
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
Hayashi Department
Peter at Hayashi Department
Hayashi Department
Torii at Hayashi Department
Hayashi Department
Japanese restaurant for dinner
Nightime
Nighttime
Nighttime
The Hayashi Department Store at night
Night time- Art Museum Bldg 2
- Art Museum Bldg 2 at night
