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Taiwan Diary: Taichung City
Oct. 4th, 2023 08:25 amTaiwan Diary: Moon Festival and Double Ten (Taiwan National) Day
Since I plan to leave Taiwan at the end of next school year, I’ve been trying to do more on the island while I’m here. We had a three-day weekend last weekend due to the Moon Festival on the 28th. I took a trip down to Taichung. Taichung is surprisingly hard to get to if you don’t have a car. It’s halfway down the west coast of the island, and it seems like reserved train tickets sell out quickly. I tried to go last year, but I didn’t plan ahead and ended up losing out on a hotel because the trains were totally sold out. I booked ahead this year, and it’s lucky that I did, because return tickets north on Sunday were totally sold out, and there was a two-hour or more wait for standing room tickets!
My friend at work, Jane, is from Taichung, and she kindly met me on Friday afternoon and showed me around. We had ice cream at Fourth Credit Union, a bank turned ice cream shop. The ambience was nice and the ice cream nicer on a hot day. Then we walked over to Miyahara, a sweet shop with an amazing atmosphere. The building dates back from the Japanese colonial era. It was an ophthalmology clinic that changed hands after Japanese colonial rule ended in the 1940’s. When I first walked in, the decor reminded me of a combination of Hogwarts and the library of Trinity College in Dublin. The snacks for sale range from shortbread to chocolate covered fruit to Japanese-style cheesecakes. I spent more than I care to admit on some shortbread and almond cookies. I’m very glad this business isn’t in my town because I would spend so much money there. I hope to go back before Christmas to get some gifts. After lunch, we went to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. There was an exhibition of art from some national contest. I can’t find the link to the exhibit, but there were several categories such as ink painting, calligraphy, seal carving (like the official seals carved in stone, not the animal!), photography, sculpture, and new media.
After the museum, Jane helped me get the right bus and then walked me back to my hotel. It was so hot, and I was sweating so much! And just one block from my hotel, we were stopped by an old man. He was a very sweet and kind old man who saw a foreigner and stopped to welcome me (Jane translated). He wished me a happy moon festival and was saying a lot of things about the friendship between Taiwan and the US. I was busy trying to be polite while not getting too much sweat in my eyes. He invited us to have dessert at a restaurant across the street, which was truly so kind, but I was drenched in sweat and the dessert was this bowl of stuff that is really popular here that I don’t care for. The base is (I think) shaved milk ice, which isn’t bad. But then it’s topped with tapioca balls (like in bubble tea), red beans, fruit, and jelly. It’s a mess of textures that I find off-putting. Thankfully, his wife and daughter came out of a nearby shop and rescued me from having to decline. We did talk for a bit longer. He reminded me a lot of my Gramps, who could make friends just about anywhere. His daughter spoke English, so I could do a bit more than smile and nod, but they finally left, and I could finally get a shower!
On Saturday, I had planned to go see the Baguashan Buddha, but I woke up with cramps, and it was still hella hot. The Buddha complex is outside of Taichung, roughly an hour away on public transportation. I decided to leave it for another time. I decided to check out Nantian Temple, which has a giant 146-meter tall statue of Guan Yu, a martial god, on top of the building. I got on the wrong bus and got lost and sweaty again, so after taking a peek at the temple, I headed back to my hotel, stopping at Miyahara again for snacks. After a shower and a nap, I got a cab and went to the Museum of Fiber Arts. It’s a pretty small museum, but there were some amazing exhibits. There was a quilt that was at least three meters long and a meter and a half wide with the most detailed sea life pattern. It was astonishing!
I had to go back relatively early Sunday morning as it was the only time I could get a ticket, but I enjoyed my visit and would like to go back again.
Since I plan to leave Taiwan at the end of next school year, I’ve been trying to do more on the island while I’m here. We had a three-day weekend last weekend due to the Moon Festival on the 28th. I took a trip down to Taichung. Taichung is surprisingly hard to get to if you don’t have a car. It’s halfway down the west coast of the island, and it seems like reserved train tickets sell out quickly. I tried to go last year, but I didn’t plan ahead and ended up losing out on a hotel because the trains were totally sold out. I booked ahead this year, and it’s lucky that I did, because return tickets north on Sunday were totally sold out, and there was a two-hour or more wait for standing room tickets!
My friend at work, Jane, is from Taichung, and she kindly met me on Friday afternoon and showed me around. We had ice cream at Fourth Credit Union, a bank turned ice cream shop. The ambience was nice and the ice cream nicer on a hot day. Then we walked over to Miyahara, a sweet shop with an amazing atmosphere. The building dates back from the Japanese colonial era. It was an ophthalmology clinic that changed hands after Japanese colonial rule ended in the 1940’s. When I first walked in, the decor reminded me of a combination of Hogwarts and the library of Trinity College in Dublin. The snacks for sale range from shortbread to chocolate covered fruit to Japanese-style cheesecakes. I spent more than I care to admit on some shortbread and almond cookies. I’m very glad this business isn’t in my town because I would spend so much money there. I hope to go back before Christmas to get some gifts. After lunch, we went to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. There was an exhibition of art from some national contest. I can’t find the link to the exhibit, but there were several categories such as ink painting, calligraphy, seal carving (like the official seals carved in stone, not the animal!), photography, sculpture, and new media.
After the museum, Jane helped me get the right bus and then walked me back to my hotel. It was so hot, and I was sweating so much! And just one block from my hotel, we were stopped by an old man. He was a very sweet and kind old man who saw a foreigner and stopped to welcome me (Jane translated). He wished me a happy moon festival and was saying a lot of things about the friendship between Taiwan and the US. I was busy trying to be polite while not getting too much sweat in my eyes. He invited us to have dessert at a restaurant across the street, which was truly so kind, but I was drenched in sweat and the dessert was this bowl of stuff that is really popular here that I don’t care for. The base is (I think) shaved milk ice, which isn’t bad. But then it’s topped with tapioca balls (like in bubble tea), red beans, fruit, and jelly. It’s a mess of textures that I find off-putting. Thankfully, his wife and daughter came out of a nearby shop and rescued me from having to decline. We did talk for a bit longer. He reminded me a lot of my Gramps, who could make friends just about anywhere. His daughter spoke English, so I could do a bit more than smile and nod, but they finally left, and I could finally get a shower!
On Saturday, I had planned to go see the Baguashan Buddha, but I woke up with cramps, and it was still hella hot. The Buddha complex is outside of Taichung, roughly an hour away on public transportation. I decided to leave it for another time. I decided to check out Nantian Temple, which has a giant 146-meter tall statue of Guan Yu, a martial god, on top of the building. I got on the wrong bus and got lost and sweaty again, so after taking a peek at the temple, I headed back to my hotel, stopping at Miyahara again for snacks. After a shower and a nap, I got a cab and went to the Museum of Fiber Arts. It’s a pretty small museum, but there were some amazing exhibits. There was a quilt that was at least three meters long and a meter and a half wide with the most detailed sea life pattern. It was astonishing!
I had to go back relatively early Sunday morning as it was the only time I could get a ticket, but I enjoyed my visit and would like to go back again.
