Taichung is the second largest city in Taiwan and is situated on the west central coast. I originally scheduled my stop in Taichung to visit Sun Moon Lake, but after losing my phone and having to spend half the day traveling to Taipei, I had to change it to a half-day tour of the city. I'm glad I did! It's a much bigger city than I thought it was, and there was a lot to do and see. On the way back into town, the driver took me to Zhongshe Tourist Flower Market (Liuzhongshe). It's a large nursery with flowers in various designs.
Then on to Miyahara for the Down Cake shop. Taiwan is famous for their pineapple cake and this shop had that cake, candy, ice cream shop- all very good!
Then to Rainbow Village, which is a small area of town dedicated to colorful art painted on the remaining street and traditional homes of former veterans housing complex.
To end the day, we went to Ruyi Sunny Cake shop. They win awards every year for their creative and delicious cakes. The best part, you get to try as many as you want for free! Which is a good tactic, I liked their pineapple cake and lemon cake so much, I bought some and shipped them home so the family could try them too. We finished up just in time for the night market where I tried a scallion pancake-delish! Below is a picture of the skyline as we were entering the city.
There is a large population of temples in the city and I didn't get to visit any of them and really, my exploration of the city was limited due to unforeseen circumstances, but I enjoyed what I did see. I'm pretty sure I'll return to this beautiful country, so maybe next time I can spend more time in Taichung City. But for this trip, this is all I was able to see and then I was off to Tainan.
Tainan is the oldest city and former capital of Taiwan. There are a lot of little side streets that aren't on Google Maps; so much to discover. Like a treasure hunt! But also a lot of historical buildings, showcasing the architecture of each political regime of the past—Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese—it's quite eclectic. It's about 2 hours south of Taichung, still on the west coast of Taiwan. I took a tour of the city—well, the old town—and got to see a lot of this architecture up close. Not to mention hidden alleyways—I wasn't sure if I would fit through, it was so tiny! We visited the oldest department store in the city and got on the first elevator in the city (also tiny—in fact, it said the passenger limit was 5, but we were all Westerners and it wouldn't move because it was too heavy... none of us are overweight, it just shows we're bigger than your average Taiwanese). Also saw the oldest movie theatre. It still has cardboard billboards, and Ang Lee is from here (Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi, Hulk, Crouching Tiger, etc.).
Look how narrow this passageway is!
Below, Anping District and Anping Fort. Plus a Temple for the sea goddess -Matsu/Mazu(yes she's black)
The skyline from the roof of the oldest department store. Bottom left are sculptures on the roof of a traditional snack. It's a hard shell and hollow inside. Tasted like a fortune cookie to me... but it's a traditional treat. Sorry, I forgot what they are called.
Two cool cities that I enjoyed exploring. I must say, I would love to come back to this country and explore even more. The food is great, and I can get any kind of food I want. The people are so friendly and helpful! Even though I don't speak Chinese, everyone has been so accommodating and willing to help. I truly love this country! I can't wait to finish exploring! Next up is the southern town of Kaohsiung City.
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