Taiwan Trip 2010 (Day 6)

Tainan

     We spent the entire 6th day in Tainan. Tainan was the old capital of Taiwan before the it was moved to Taipei. It is known for its slow pace of life, traditions rituals, large amount of people who speaks Taiwanese instead of Mandarin, sweet by delicious food, salt mines and old architectures. It is also the home of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), one of the top four universities in Taiwan. Tainan has a very flat terrain, and is very hot in the summer. During colonial days, parts of the beach in Tainan were used to harvest salt. Enough of the background trivia.

      We decided to borrow the bicycles from the hotel for the rest of the day. We

Hotel bikes, not very fast but does its job

had done so because we thought it was fun to ride a bicycle in a small city. Also, the public transportation system in Tainan is very poor and most people get around by mopeds. Most roads in Taiwan have a lane that is dedicated to mopeds, and it is perfectly fine for bicycles to use the moped lanes. Since this is Tainan and we did not know what to do, we decided to do what most tourists do - eating and sightseeing. Fortunately, we had a book of coupons for the eateries and attractions, and therefore we can afford to buy more.

     After we had a brief breakfast in the hotel, the first place we decided to stop
by was the breakfast place that specializes in fish soup and decided to have a second breakfast. Ben and Calvin bought a bowl, and I biked to other store to buy a vegetarian soup. The owner was nice enough to give me a bowl for me to eat with my friends. The soup was very good, according to my friends, but we were all sweating with the combination of heat and the hot soup.

The ever cool Anping Tree House. I felt like I was in another dimension

The main tower of Ford Zeelandia

     We biked to Anping district and first dropped by the Anping Tree House and the Tait Hong, a Anglo trading company. Anping Tree House was not an actual tree, but an old abandoned house surrounded by the long roots, and the city decided to turn let it be and turned it into a city attraction. The Tree House provided nice shades under the blazing sun and it was a cool maze. On the other hand, the Tai Hong was converted into a museum which explains the history of Taiwan, from the Dutch colonial period to the current. Republic of China regime.

     The next place we decided to stop by was Fort Anping/Fort Zeelandia. It was
the first fort built in Taiwan by the Dutch colonist in 1624, in order for the colonists to defend themselves against the aboriginals. The fort that is standing today was actually built by the Japanese, as the original fort was demolished by the Japanese when Taiwan was Japan's colony. We also found a ruin but it was still 'work in progress'. From the tower of the fort, one can enjoy the view of the mangrove, Taiwan Strait, and Tainan city.

One of the digged ruins near Ford Zeelandia

View of Tainan from the tower of Ford Zeelandia

The mangrove with egerts

      We biked along the canal toward the west until we found some small snacks. I had a raisin rum flavoured ice cream at Rabbits Ice Cream.

Ice Cream from Rabbit's

Then we went to Anping tofu shop to enjoy some tofu dessert.

The soft tofu dessert with adzuki means. Good for cooling ourselves down during hot days but the tofu is not silky enough for my taste

We finally reached the beach and saw the Taiwan Strait. The other side of the land would be Fujian province of People's Republic of China. We biked south and walked around another site of interest called Eternal Golden Castle.

One of the entrance/exit of Eternal Golden Castle

It was built in the Qing Dynasty and was served as a cannon firing site. Now it is simply a park composed with fortified areas. My tire was blew up and I had to push the bicycle back to the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel manager said it was okay and he let me ride another bicycle.

Taiwan Strait facing west

       We walked to the Huayuen Night Market, which is considered the largest night market in Tainan. It has a very festive atmosphere but we were too exhausted to enjoy it after riding bicycle all day under the blazing sun. We grabbed some food, and walked back to sleep in the hotel.

Huayuen Night Market