Saturday, April 27, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Chihkan Tower Part 1
Friday, April 26, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Bus Ride Back from Anping
Getting back to Tainan from Golden Palace was a bit challenging. I didn't know where the bus stop was, so I asked more aunties, and they pointed me to where I might find a bus stop. Skeptical, I even asked if the bus actually passes there, lol. The bus stop was placed in front of a car garage -______- There was another solo guy there waiting, so I guess I'm at the right place. Google map did tell me what time the bus was arriving, so I waited. It was a long route. In fact, the bus was going all the way up to Anping again before making a u-turn and going back to town. Yippieeee
I would also like to share with you another bus stop, that can be easier to spot, and has the word Tainan Sightseeing Bus! But guess what, it only operates on weekends and public holidays! WHY?????
Anyway, I didn't mind the long bus ride. It has aircon! And the bus was relatively empty, and cheap too! And I get to sightsee along the way!
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Anping Golden Palace
The entrance to the Golden Palace looks mysterious. It was basically crossing a bridge, and walking through a dark tunnel, and coming out the other side as shown in the photo above. Exciting! Sadly, that's about as exciting as it gets! Hahahahaha.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Anping Walk
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Anping Fort
Luckily for me, Anping Fort, a.k.a Fort Zeelandia was just a short walk away from Anping Tree House. I did however asked the aunty before setting off to look for it. Didn't want to have to back track again in the summer heat. But after following the aunty's direction, I saw the sign and just follow it to the fort. Above is the iconic shot of the fort in most of the touristy photographs.
Inside the fort, the ground was surprisingly quite big! It reminded me of Fort Cornwellis in Penang, but so much better maintained and cleaner, and greener, and well, basically better, lol. Tainan was very much like Penang in many ways.
Although I kept complaining about the heat, the summer days actually allows me to take wonderful photos of blue skies and lovely clouds. Like this one above, even though there isn't really a subject in focus, the cloud and the ground pattern alone deserves a place in this blog! Any photos that don't end up in my blog, or Facebook, or Instagram basically goes to the graveyard of hard disk, hardly ever to be seen before. The blog is my favourite place to place them, with a short story behind every photos. It brings back so much memories, like I could relive that moment again, just like in a song, in a food dish, in a scent, in a place :)
Coming back to the fort, they do have nice ruins around the place with explanation, with even some excavation still in progress. You were allowed to walk through those sites as well.
And even inside the fort, the beautiful banyan trees are found everywhere, making their presents felt. I love how the roots hang everywhere, making such lovely backdrop (of front) for a photo.
Monday, April 22, 2024
Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Tainan Former Tait & Co. Merchant House @ Anping
Former Tait & Co Merchant House, places you weren't planning to go, but since it's included in your combination ticket, you just go! And you see things, and learn things that you never knew you needed to know! Above, a poster of Anping play? Just a souvenir shot for me for the cover of this post.
The Merchant House is a small museum. And like every major attraction in Taiwan during summer, it was under renovation. So I can't show you the beautiful structure of the place, I can only show you the inside. And remembered in one of the previous post, I mentioned how come everything in Taiwan is a bit like Malacca? Well, apparently the Portuguese was here too! And this place was called Fort de Zeelander. How interesting!
More official information above. Apparently Anping was Taiwan's first international trading port! Now, did you know that? I sure as hell didn't! Told you combination ticket was worth it!
Amazing how a tree house can lead you to learn so much more about a small town. And that is why, you should preserved your heritage! The small museum tell tales of ancient Taiwan, before it became Taiwan!
Here are some preview of the museum under construction. I do love the colours. If you didn't know, I have a thing for minty green and white combination. And since I'm slightly colour blind, I can't tell whether those doors and pillars are green or blue, so I'm gonna belief they are in minty green.