I woke up very early and felt a bit disoriented. I felt sticky from sweat and my body hurt from the pressure points on the hard surface. I looked at my phone for the time and noticed it was only 4:00 AM. It was still dark out although enough ambient light from outside allowed me to see. There was a small window in one corner of the room and I felt my body object as I struggled to stand. I looked out of the window and watched as the dawn was appearing over the eastern mountains. I noticed on the rooftops around, shiny, steel cylinders with what looked like PVC tubing attached. “What were those?”, I wondered. I was told later that they were water reserves, in the event the main water pumps failed. Interesting. Since it was so early, I laid back down and put on my iPod. Funny that the first song I played was "The End", by The Doors. Seemed appropriate for my surroundings. If I'd heard a military helicopter, it wouldn't have been more fitting. After an hour or so, the sun began to rise. I decided to go look from the balcony. Looking down into the courtyard, I watched an older woman performing Taichi. I remembered from when I used to do it. I've seen other older people performing this in Hong Kong, early in the morning for exercise, near the sea.
After everyone was up and about, we went downstairs for breakfast. There is a
small "joint", because it's old, run down, but serves good food, on the corner and we crossed the street. There were various patrons of different levels of occupation. The motorcycle mechanic, the senior school girl, the school teacher and the meiguoren, many others, all there with a common goal... breakfast. Some were eating on a tight schedule. Still others were finished and casually read the newspaper. I got my first taste of "蛋餅", "Dan Bing" or Egg Cake. It's basically a flour tortilla-like bread. A beaten egg with scallions is poured on top. After a few minutes, the whole thing is turned over, then folded and cut into manageable pieces. It's simple and very "好吃" tasty. I have never thought that the concept of "iced coffee" was any good. Remembering the times I would leave my cup on the counter, only to come back later and wince after filling my mouth with cold coffee. I had wanted coffee, but all they had was something like an iced latte. I tried it, it was only $15NT and I was surprised how good it really was! We sat and ate. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the food and atmosphere. I think it helped because I wasn't one of those rushing off to work. JiaJia ordered something for her father and we finished and went back upstairs.
Since it was going to be getting hot soon, we decided to go see some sights around Tainan. Tainan is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, so there is a lot of old culture here to see.
After everyone was up and about, we went downstairs for breakfast. There is a
small "joint", because it's old, run down, but serves good food, on the corner and we crossed the street. There were various patrons of different levels of occupation. The motorcycle mechanic, the senior school girl, the school teacher and the meiguoren, many others, all there with a common goal... breakfast. Some were eating on a tight schedule. Still others were finished and casually read the newspaper. I got my first taste of "蛋餅", "Dan Bing" or Egg Cake. It's basically a flour tortilla-like bread. A beaten egg with scallions is poured on top. After a few minutes, the whole thing is turned over, then folded and cut into manageable pieces. It's simple and very "好吃" tasty. I have never thought that the concept of "iced coffee" was any good. Remembering the times I would leave my cup on the counter, only to come back later and wince after filling my mouth with cold coffee. I had wanted coffee, but all they had was something like an iced latte. I tried it, it was only $15NT and I was surprised how good it really was! We sat and ate. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the food and atmosphere. I think it helped because I wasn't one of those rushing off to work. JiaJia ordered something for her father and we finished and went back upstairs.
Since it was going to be getting hot soon, we decided to go see some sights around Tainan. Tainan is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, so there is a lot of old culture here to see.
We grabbed bottles of water, put on our helmets and off we went.
Riding through the streets of Tainan, I begin to notice how the scooter, literally, rules the road in Taiwan. Because they are small and very maneuverable, they can fit in just about anywhere. Trucks, cars, buses cannot prevent them from sneaking in between at the traffic light. It was fun to ride on the scooters. Even though it was getting hot and my meiguoren head was too big for the helmet, it made me want a scooter of my own. We stopped at the Tainan Confucius Temple.
The temple was originally built in 1665 and was designated more toward scholars than for religious enlightenment. The different "Halls" around the temple hold names that reflect this theme. The Ming-Lun Hall (Hall of Ethics), Ta-Cheng Hall (Hall of Great Achievement) were built and designated as Taiwan's First Academy. I'm not going to a lot of detail as there is more than enough information on the internet and besides, this is a narrative about my trip, not a lesson on the teachings of Confucius. The museum like atmosphere along with the impressive maintenance of the grounds, knowing it's rough 400+ year history, it worth the small admission price to pay to visit. It is an oasis of culture, right in the middle of the city.
We met a painter, who was painting a picture of the Hall of Edification. I asked him if I could take his photograph by motioning with my camera and saying, "先生,可以嗎?", "Sir, May I?" He responded with a clean sounding "Yes, of course!" After I took his photograph, he asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from Texas, he stated, in English, that he had been to San Antonio and Houston many times for his company. We laughed and then we took a picture together, acting like we were both painting the same painting. We thanked him and left.
It was getting hot as the sun was now almost overhead. It was time to have lunch with BoFu, BoMu and Ben, so we jumped back on the scooter and went back. The wind from the scooter ride felt good, as I was really sweating a lot. In North Texas, it gets hot in the summer, but we don't get near the humidity as this tropical land. I wondered if I'd brought enough t-shirts for the rest of the week.
After lunch, I felt sleepy from time difference and took a nap. I was awakened to be reminded that we needed to get new sandals for the trip to Kenting tomorrow. There's no more inconvenience than having to turn around on a scooter to retrieve a lost shoe. Plus, the Dragon Boat races were tonight and we didn't want to miss that.
After going to several places to find sandals, some of which were closed for the holiday, we found a nice, simple pair of "Jerusalem Cruisers", as some people in the States call them. They were about $10 US. I don't have big feet. I wear a size 11 in my footwear, but buying shoes in a country where the average sized foot on a man is a size 6, makes your choices dwindle rather quickly. I had to buy the largest pair they had. Many of my previous selections were too small, with my toes hanging off the front of the sandal, so I had to pass on that style. I'm pleased with the ones I had obtained. Once we got back home, it was time for Bahtsang and the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Dragon Boat Festival is a celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. For 2011, it is June 6th. Also know as Double Fifth. It's a tradition that commemorates the death of the poet "屈原", "Qu Yuan" in 278 BCE. Basically, the story is during the Zhuo Dynasty, Qu, a descendent of the royal Chu, was charged with treason and exiled for opposing the king. During his exile, he wrote many poems about how he loved his land and the people. When the Qin overthrew the Chu, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
The townspeople threw Bahtsang in river to feed the fish so they would not eat his corpse. Other locals quickly manned their boats and raced into the river to retrieve his body. It is believed that this is the origin of the Dragon Boat races. Now, people eat the Bahtsang as a symbol of that time, and teams are formed to compete in the Dragon Boat races.
Spectators line the banks of the Anping Tainan Canal and watch the races. Long, narrow boats with ten man teams row very vigorously to capture the flag. The winner is determined by the first boat to grab the flag, that is attached to a small buoy in the center of the canal. Everyone cheers for their favorite team. And afterward, to my special treat, vendors are setup along one side of the canal, creating a mini night market. JiaJia bought some candy called, Dragon Beard for her father and it reminded me of cotton candy without the coloring. I bought her nephew an ice cream and his 3 year old sister kept badgering him for licks from the cone. All of us boarded the scooters and rode back home. We had to get up very early for the train to take us to Kaohsiung and then another ride to Kenting.
Join us tomorrow as we explore the southernmost tip of Taiwan via motor scooter.
Riding through the streets of Tainan, I begin to notice how the scooter, literally, rules the road in Taiwan. Because they are small and very maneuverable, they can fit in just about anywhere. Trucks, cars, buses cannot prevent them from sneaking in between at the traffic light. It was fun to ride on the scooters. Even though it was getting hot and my meiguoren head was too big for the helmet, it made me want a scooter of my own. We stopped at the Tainan Confucius Temple.
The temple was originally built in 1665 and was designated more toward scholars than for religious enlightenment. The different "Halls" around the temple hold names that reflect this theme. The Ming-Lun Hall (Hall of Ethics), Ta-Cheng Hall (Hall of Great Achievement) were built and designated as Taiwan's First Academy. I'm not going to a lot of detail as there is more than enough information on the internet and besides, this is a narrative about my trip, not a lesson on the teachings of Confucius. The museum like atmosphere along with the impressive maintenance of the grounds, knowing it's rough 400+ year history, it worth the small admission price to pay to visit. It is an oasis of culture, right in the middle of the city.
We met a painter, who was painting a picture of the Hall of Edification. I asked him if I could take his photograph by motioning with my camera and saying, "先生,可以嗎?", "Sir, May I?" He responded with a clean sounding "Yes, of course!" After I took his photograph, he asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from Texas, he stated, in English, that he had been to San Antonio and Houston many times for his company. We laughed and then we took a picture together, acting like we were both painting the same painting. We thanked him and left.
It was getting hot as the sun was now almost overhead. It was time to have lunch with BoFu, BoMu and Ben, so we jumped back on the scooter and went back. The wind from the scooter ride felt good, as I was really sweating a lot. In North Texas, it gets hot in the summer, but we don't get near the humidity as this tropical land. I wondered if I'd brought enough t-shirts for the rest of the week.
After lunch, I felt sleepy from time difference and took a nap. I was awakened to be reminded that we needed to get new sandals for the trip to Kenting tomorrow. There's no more inconvenience than having to turn around on a scooter to retrieve a lost shoe. Plus, the Dragon Boat races were tonight and we didn't want to miss that.
After going to several places to find sandals, some of which were closed for the holiday, we found a nice, simple pair of "Jerusalem Cruisers", as some people in the States call them. They were about $10 US. I don't have big feet. I wear a size 11 in my footwear, but buying shoes in a country where the average sized foot on a man is a size 6, makes your choices dwindle rather quickly. I had to buy the largest pair they had. Many of my previous selections were too small, with my toes hanging off the front of the sandal, so I had to pass on that style. I'm pleased with the ones I had obtained. Once we got back home, it was time for Bahtsang and the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Dragon Boat Festival is a celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. For 2011, it is June 6th. Also know as Double Fifth. It's a tradition that commemorates the death of the poet "屈原", "Qu Yuan" in 278 BCE. Basically, the story is during the Zhuo Dynasty, Qu, a descendent of the royal Chu, was charged with treason and exiled for opposing the king. During his exile, he wrote many poems about how he loved his land and the people. When the Qin overthrew the Chu, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
The townspeople threw Bahtsang in river to feed the fish so they would not eat his corpse. Other locals quickly manned their boats and raced into the river to retrieve his body. It is believed that this is the origin of the Dragon Boat races. Now, people eat the Bahtsang as a symbol of that time, and teams are formed to compete in the Dragon Boat races.
Spectators line the banks of the Anping Tainan Canal and watch the races. Long, narrow boats with ten man teams row very vigorously to capture the flag. The winner is determined by the first boat to grab the flag, that is attached to a small buoy in the center of the canal. Everyone cheers for their favorite team. And afterward, to my special treat, vendors are setup along one side of the canal, creating a mini night market. JiaJia bought some candy called, Dragon Beard for her father and it reminded me of cotton candy without the coloring. I bought her nephew an ice cream and his 3 year old sister kept badgering him for licks from the cone. All of us boarded the scooters and rode back home. We had to get up very early for the train to take us to Kaohsiung and then another ride to Kenting.
Join us tomorrow as we explore the southernmost tip of Taiwan via motor scooter.
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