Somewhere between 1 and 10 things to do in Taichung

Tangled in a web of denial, spun from the idea that I would never taste the bread of Tainan again, we sought out the high-speed rail to Taichung. The train quickly got up to speeds exceeding 180mph and we watched the much more populated side of Taiwan whiz by from the elevated tracks. After arriving, we found the bus into the centre of the city and hopped on. In no time, we were nestled amongst the skyscrapers of Taiwan’s second biggest city.

The City – Round 1 

Leaving our very pleasant hostel, which hosted a very bitey puppy called Apa and some incredibly cute kitchen-dwelling kittens, we began our day as all good days should, with food. Ten minutes later, I was full to the brim of eggy pancake goodness and Brendan was covered head to toe in unappetising morsels of the flakiest sandwich bread known to man, but we felt ready to tackle the National Museum of Natural Science nevertheless. 

With 6 separate venues and covering 22 acres, the museum promised to slap us in the face with knowledge at every turn. We spent hours in the Life Science Hall, Human Culture Hall, Global Environment Hall and Botanical Garden. Brendan, infallibly energetic despite 75% of his breakfast ending up on his clothes, was still methodically reading every display in the museum hours into our trip. I, on the other hand, was descending into hunger-induced illiteracy and was suffering from Museum Walking Fatigue (MWF), so spent lots of time studying the photography exhibits where reading wasn’t necessary. MWF is a temporary condition experienced within galleries and museums. The change to one’s usual gait, so as to study the art or history on display, can cause short term issues but long term psychological distress. Initial symptoms include: aching legs, difficulty with standard walking mechanics, worsened posture, incoherent speech, rumbling stomach, stumbling out of the museum, walking with a speed and vehemence never before seen by man towards a dumpling restaurant, ordering 15 meat-filled parcels and devouring them before realising what you’ve done. For more information please see your healthcare provider. 

Personally, I ate those regenerative dumplings in a long narrow park that ran from the museum through the centre of the city, connecting other green spaces along the way. We walked 2.5km along this shaded walkway, checking out any parks, shops and restaurants that piqued our interest. In one especially beautiful park, tastefully filled with sculptures and lit by the golden light of another late afternoon, we came across the enormous Fine Art Museum. However, we decided that it might be too much museuming to handle in one day. Despite not having the willpower to tackle the art museum, we did have a little look in the Dadun Cultural Centre. This little look turned into an extended browse as we found room after room of stunning photography and varied collections of genuinely emotive artwork. This building, with its own library, dance studio and music classroom (on top of all the exhibition space) was a busy hub in the community, we left very impressed and not a penny poorer. 

Sun Moon Lake

Cursed with incredibly likeable personalities and approachable demeanours, Brendan, Sofie and Cheng had joined forces in our hostel. They subsequently grabbed me and as a quartet we set about seeing how much fun you could have when you spend the majority of a day on various buses. Danish Sofie was a gymnast with a mystifying allergy to onion and garlic (the two things contained within every single dish in Taiwan), while Cheng was a lovely Chinese dude who studied in LA and made sure that for once we wouldn’t wander around practically clueless of the significance of everything. This dream team of sorts was sure to leap over any obstacle that stood in our way. However, our inextinguishable team spirit and our unassailable finely tuned travelling minds were quickly extinguished and assailed once we realised that we were a bit lost. Humbled and very hot, we stumbled around eventually finding our way to the correct bus stop. From there the rest was a doddle and we made the comfortable 2-hour journey to Sun Moon Lake. Cheng quickly sorted out bus tickets that would allow us to circumnavigate the lake and without further ado we set off for an explore. 

Stop number one was Wenwu temple. From my brief foray on Wikipedia (while sat here in my freezing cold house) I have learned that Wenwu is a type of temple not just this particular one’s name. Wenwu is a rare type of temple in China because they venerate both the patron gods of civil affairs (Wen) and the patron gods of martial affairs (Wu) within the sample temple complex, rather than just one or the other. Wen and Wu stem from Chinese philosophy, which originates from a period known as Hundred Schools of Thought (6^thcentury BC to 221 BC) in which ideas and concepts were developed and discussed more freely. However, this period of cultural and intellectual expansion within China, that has profoundly influenced social consciousness and lifestyles across East Asia to this day, was also a period of warfare and upheaval (not at all uncommon in the history of China). So, during this time the conceptual pair of Wen and Wu were developed both in philosophy and political culture, in order to understand the conflict and complementarity of the civil and the military domains of the unstable political framework at the time. This understanding of both the balance and differentiation between the two has been important in discussions on everything from criminal punishment to education for centuries. Their roles in the advancement of civilisation are still applicable to almost every aspect of society, but the impetus given to one or the other is the deciding factor in which way society advances. 

Looking up at the temple I knew absolutely none of this. Instead, Cheng was telling us that the writing on the pillars of the ornately decorated entrance gate, leading to this symbol of cultural and philosophical significance thousands of years in the making, was an advert for Coca Cola. Now questioning every indecipherable collection of characters I saw, we continued through the temple complex, which was sprawled out over the hillside. Each building was very impressive with intricate interiors, big incense burners and golden prayer bells catching the light between temples. As we reached the back of the complex, Cheng came to life and took us through the stories carved painstakingly into the walls. So, as we climbed the final steps of the temple complex we learnt stories of war centuries ago, stories of almighty weapons wielded by emperors and the most intriguing story of all, the story of how a fish became a dragon. The story goes that there was an enormous school of golden Koi that was swimming up the Yellow River, gaining strength while fighting against the stream. They reached a waterfall and many fish turned back but some remained and attempted to jump to the top, but to no avail. Eventually, after centuries of jumping, one fish reached the top and the gods rewarded it for its perseverance and determination by transforming it into a golden dragon (a symbol of power). Waterfalls such as this one are called dragon gates to this day.

After leaving the temple, we hopped back on the bus and went to the start of the path to the Ci En Pagoda. It was a winding trail uphill through the forest, which was teeming with insects. We emerged out of the humid forest and headed up the pagoda. The impressive octagonal building was 12 stories high and yet somehow they forgot to install a lift, bit of an oversight if you ask me. Luckily, we had the place to ourselves. So, once we had reached the top we could relax and soak in the magnificent views of the cloud topped forests which rolled down towards the lake shore. I was hoping that this high, breezy point of relaxation would save me from another day of severe sweating. Another sad, desperate, one man wet t-shirt contest. But, this is Taiwan. A beautiful place, sure, but not one of miracles.

To finish off the day right, we went down to the lakeside for the first time and among the hundreds of people milling around waiting to buy some tea eggs, we realised the lake was nicer seen from a height. Bus 1, Bus 2, Bus 3, time to snack away the rest of my evening back in Taichung while being attacked by a fluffy puppy.

The City – Round 2

Having heard nothing but praise for the Fine Art Museum from Sofie, we made the walk back there to see what all the fuss was about. Despite a lot of galleries being closed, we spent hours in the museum. The MWF was kicking in but I was determined to see every inch of the place. Whether it was immersive multimedia art, ornate prints or poetry, we were spoilt for choice. The photography collections were inspiring in their subject matter but also their varying stylistic choices. Everything in the museum was coming together to encourage me to be more creative. We both left the expansive building with a deeper understanding of the depth of Taiwanese art and a more profound need for a beer. 

Luckily, having walked these streets already, we had a destination in mind. A place with an impressive array of locally brewed beers, the prices were a little high so we couldn’t afford to eat anything off the lovely sounding menu, so unfortunately we were forced to stick to the smooth tasty delights of beer. After couple of pints we walked home via an open-air bakery selling some of the most incredible looking treats. I can’t resist an egg custard tart and even though they were selling them by the box, I showed restraint and only bought two. While I tucked into those, Brendan indulged in his vice. The one thing that he can’t pass by. No, not black tar heroin (not on this time at least). It was a hefty slab of equally moreish cheesy bread. We munched on these snacks as the sun went down. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening. 

Our last hurrah in Taichung, before heading back to the even bigger and brighter lights of Taipei, was the Fengjia night market. We got the bus out there and at first, we were very underwhelmed. We couldn’t find the bustling madness that we had come to expect from a night market, but eventually after persevering, we came across it and got in amongst the action. I was immediately blown away by the dazzling layered illumination of the streets, their photographic allure was a notch above all other night markets. However, Brendan wasn’t particularly bothered, he had his mind set on trying stinky tofu for the first time. Stinky tofu is a common street food snack in Taiwan and is simply fermented tofu. Its sulphurous/bin lorry/smelly feet odour lingers in the air like a stagnant puddle and can be smelt in every night market in the country. Brendan said that the taste isn’t as bad as you’d expect but you can smell it as you eat it which isn’t so pleasant. In the end, we fancied a sit down. So, we picked a random restaurant, smashed a rice bowl each and, feeling extravagant, we bought ourselves some dessert in the form of taro paste filled bread. This unfortunately wasn’t my cup of tea, but I knew the hostel would have snacks on snacks on snacks so I wasn’t too disheartened.

Final thoughts 

Taichung, the home of bubble tea (which is incredible), was a surprise for both of us. We only really decided to visit the city in order to see Sun Moon Lake, but in the end Taichung had a whole host of things to do, see and eat. This is my final post on Taiwan (off to Hanoi next) and after spending a month in the country we could’ve spent another. I would recommend this often-overlooked island to anyone. Sure, it might not have the beach party scene of Thailand or the… actually I can’t think of anything else this island doesn’t have. This diverse country feels undiluted and unapologetic in its identity, and while the tourism industry is well and truly imbedded into the island, it still feels as though the heart of the country is unaffected. And that’s what I’ll remember about Taiwan for years to come; its untarnished heart.