Day 5: Chiayi to Tainan

Time: 7:47pm

Location: Yongkang, Tainan

Weather: 16C

This morning I had breakfast with Mina at a typical Taiwanese breakfast place before she went off to school and I, at her excellent recommendation, checked out the closeby Lan Lake, which proved to be great serene place for residents to do their morning exercise. From my personal experience, everything seems more beautiful when you're travelling, even if they might be very similar to somewhere back home which you normally wouldn't pay much attention to. Perhaps it has to do with always wanting something we can't have.

Coming down the hill from Lan Lake, I went to Chiayi Park and Hinoki Village. Chiayi Park was filled with more elderly morning exercisers, and housed a fascinating Sun Shooting Tower. The story behind it is that there used to be two Suns on Earth, and the Aborginal people had to shoot one down in order for life to subsist. There was also the Chiayi City Historic Relic Museum within the park, which unfortunately was closed for repairs but was located in a Shinto shrine built during the Japanese colonial period. Chiayi and Alishan, since that's just up from here, appeared to have the most amount of Japanese architecture preserved out of all the places I've been in Taiwan so far. 

Likewise, Hinoki Village was the area of dormitories of the forestry service workers during the Japanese rule but the wooden houses have since been remodeled to house little gift shops and cafes of the like. Chatting with the ladies in a cookie store, it's actually the largest remaining area with that type of Japanese architecture in Taiwan.

This first time I was in Chiayi I merely passed through the train station on the way to Alishan and Yushan, but this time I got to appreciate the place a bit more and quite liked its small size (took no time to get out of the city) and the much cheaper costs of living. 11:30am was a bit early for lunch but I couldn't leave Chiayi without trying its famous turkey rice, which was somehow missed the last time. 

The actual ride today was short, around 65km, and very straightforward along Highway 1 with lots of farmland and rural townships connected one after another. Just a short ways outside of Chiayi City was the Tropic of Cancer Solar Exploration Centre, which divided Taiwan into temperate and tropic regions. The temperature thus far have been perfect for cycling, although cooler than I previously thought. I'm officially in the south now but still haven't been in just shorts and jersey. I guess it is winter after all but with the humidity, it also feels colder than that same temperature back home. I might have also acclimatized quickly since I've been here. 

I got a bit lost in the Tainan Science Park following the Bike around Taiwan sign. When I eventually got to my destination in Yongkang, I had dinner with my host Sun in town before she gave me lots of helpful information on what to see and do (and can't forget eat as this is the food capital of Taiwan) for my day in Tainan tomorrow.