Xinying Sojourn

[Shutree]

It's an acquired taste.

I really liked it. I can see that it could suit adult tastes better than children's. The texture is a bit unusual too.

[malmomike77]

You know how it is with Chinese food, many dishes have names that don't give many clues

washing dragon on leaning rock chicken

[malmomike77]

After my morning exercise I took to stopping by one of the many small breakfast shops, usually for a lump of meat in a bun. Then I'd return to house ready for a plate of muesli.

you're not selling it as a culinary destination

[Shutree]

washing dragon on leaning rock chicken

Dragon and Phoenix soup.
Phoenix claws.

[Shutree]

you're not selling it as a culinary destination

I have had great food in Taiwan. If I were going to tour with food as the top priority I'd take an omnivorous Chinese girlfriend. In fact, since you mention it, ....

[cyrille]

you obviously missed this

Haven’t missed how you love to pass the buck and play the victim.

[malmomike77]

If I were going to tour with food as the top priority I'd take an omnivorous Chinese girlfriend.

she'd be all over these, i declined

[happynz]

I'm sure this town has grown a lot in 30 years. Anything you recognise?

The train station looks mostly the same, although the seating on the platform is an upgrade.

Below is the hotel on Zhongshan Rd where I lived the first four or five months whin I arrived in Hsin Ying. From the looks of it the room rate hasn't gone up much in the last three decades.

[katie23]

@malmomike - there are a lot of tasty food in Taiwan. I liked the beef noodle soup - the noodles were made from sticky rice and the broth was delish. During the times that I travelled alone (have been to Taiwan on several short visits), I usually didn't know the names of the dishes. I just pointed to the pics (if there's a menu or large pics displayed in the front) or point to what's being served. However, during my 2017 trip around the island (2 weeks), I found that towards the end of my trip I was getting tired of the smell of Taiwanese food. When you go to night markets or street food markets, there's a common smell of the food. I think it's the "five spice" powder/ seasoning.

[Norton]

If ever I visit Taiwan again, I'd like to re-do Taroko Gorge. Will get a 2-day ticket so that it's more leisurely

If you want a more adventurous experience take a month and do the entire east coast highway run. I had the opportunity to do it with a friend in his car in the mid 80s. Absolutely the most spectacular scenery I have ever experienced and several real indigenious villages where culture, food and physical looks of people same as Philippines. The language sounded close to Tagalog to me as well.

[Switch]

Thank you @Shutree for a very enjoyable thread. Always good to see a travel thread, and your did not disappoint.
A unique and offbeat flavour came through, probably because it was not so tourist orientated.

Thank you for taking the time to post so many pics offering a different viewpoint.

I am curious about the lack of interior dwelling pics, but that’s just me being nosy.

[DrWilly]

Sad to say, the pretty young things in the coffee shops walked past as if I were part of the furniture.

[Shutree]

Below is the hotel on Zhongshan Rd where I lived the first four or five months whin I arrived in Hsin Ying.

'Short rest', 200. My kind of place. Did they still have a mature woman who would knock on your door of a night to ask if you needed 'anything'? I remember once the knock came and she kindly offered to find me a young lady for company. I politely declined. She returned a short while later: "Young boy?" (Also declined.)
Also, every hotel I stayed in those decades ago had one porn channel, usually the last one on the list.

[katie23]

@switch - yeah, you're nosy. Shutree mentioned that he stayed in the house of his friend, so he's respecting their privacy. I would do the same, unless I have permission from my host(s) that I can post pics of their home on the net/ social media.

@norton - I agree re: the looks & language of the indigenous/ tribal peoples of Taiwan. The "out of Taiwan theory" - that peoples migrated from Taiwan, southwards into PH, Indonesia & Malaysia, then to Melanesia & Polynesia, all the way to Hawaii & New Zealand (the Maoris). There are similarities in the languages of the peoples that I've mentioned. (Example: 2 = duha, dua, 5 = lima/ rima, eyes = mata, island = pulo/ pulau, etc)

I've visited a cultural museum in Taipei and they had an exhibit of their indigenous peoples. There was a video of a researcher/ scientist interviewing some locals/ indigenous. To me, their language siunded like Ilokano (language/ dialect in northern PH where the Marcoses come from). Their tribal people also looked more Malay/ SE Asian than Han Chinese. Even their tribal costumes looked similar to our Igorot costumes (Igorot = tribal people in PH northern highlands).

Since I'm still working, it's tough for me to get a month's holiday. The best I can do is 2 weeks - for now anyway. Cheers!

[Shutree]

If you want a more adventurous experience take a month and do the entire east coast highway run. I had the opportunity to do it with a friend in his car in the mid 80s.

Yes, recommended. I drove that about '85 or '86. From Taipei west in the general direction of Keelung then down the coast road to Hualien. It was dramatic in places. As I remember we couldn't hang about on the highway where it ran along the edge of the precipice above the ocean, the road there was narrow and not many places to pass. Also it was one way for several hours, then it reversed. You didn't want to be too slow.
There used to be a few people around Hualien with blue eyes. Maybe there still are. Descendants of the Dutch, allegedly.
From Hualien we went back through the Taroko Gorge and over the mountains to Sun Moon Lake. It is still a great place to visit, back then it was undeveloped.

[Shutree]

I am curious about the lack of interior dwelling pics

I didn't think to take any! You'll find her on AirBnB. I think she lets 6 rooms now. When she returned to Taiwan with her new husband about 8 years ago she bought a 4-storey townhouse with a basement and a typical illegal enclosed rooftop, so 6 levels altogether. She borrowed from banks and family, including husband's family. Then she needed to find ways to pay the interest. She rents some rooms on a monthly basis and some AirBnB. Once she found a model that worked so she bought a second house nearby, renovated it and let it. Then a third house. Now she is renovating number four. She owes an eye-watering amount of money but promises me that it is under control.
Four houses might be the limit, banks will not extend more than two personal mortgages, so they each have two loans. The art gallery is another property that is registered to her mother. Her next idea is to start reselling the existing properties and focus on buying/developing/selling. Now that she understands how it all works and has trusted contractors she could be successful.

[Shutree]

One of my favourite places in Taipei used to be the National Palace Museum, the Nationalists took vast numbers of artworks with them to Taiwan. I am told that everything exhibited in Beijing now is an excellent copy, in Taipei they have originals. I say 'used to be' because on my last visit, pre-Covid, the place was mobbed by low-rent Chinese tourists. The gallery attendants had just given up trying to control the noise and more than once I managed to get close enough to get my nose on the glass, only to have some granny elbow her way in front of me. It wasn't the experience I was hoping for.

So I was interested to discover that the NPM has a new, southern branch outside Chiayi. More interested to discover that a scheduled bus starts in Xinying and terminates at the NPM. Easy peasy! A hike down to the unimposing bus station. No ticket required, the local version of the Octopus/Oyster card works.



The return timetable is posted here too, so I knew when the last bus was scheduled. Yellow Number 9. A one-hour journey each way.



The bus loads up on time. As usual the bus station supervisor was helpful and made sure I got on the right bus, although even I could probably manage Yellow #9 without too much assistance. Just over an hour later the bus pulled up at the NPM entrance. The first thing you notice is that it is a fair hike to the museum. There is a golf cart arrangement for those with mobility issues. I am not there, yet, so Shanks's pony for me.



The fancy bridge has some cooling mist sprays.



The closer I got, the more it felt like a mediaeval castle. Possibly this is intentional, just a thought.

[katie23]

^I went to the NPM (the main one in Taipei) during a three or 4-day visit in 2016. IIRC, I went by MRT + bus going there, then shared a taxi with a female Japanese tourist on the way back - we were both solo travellers. There were lots of tourists at the time; can't remember if they were mainlanders. The museum is worth the visit & entrance fee (if one likes museums). That short visit made me more curious about Taiwan that I went for a longer trip the following year.

In my FB hiking group, there are tour groups which organize hikes to Mt. Fushan (?) in Taiwan. One of my harkor (hard core) hike-mates has done that. I'm not keen on doing it yet, since I'd have to buy cold-weather mountain/ hiking gear.

Thanks for the pics, Shutree. They bring back memories.

[Shutree]

I went to the NPM (the main one in Taipei) during a three or 4-day visit in 2016. IIRC, I went by MRT + bus going there

I went on the bus one time. It felt a bit awkward. Maybe I wasn't on the best route, it didn't srop right outside.

[Shutree]

Back to the National Palace Museum, southern branch. I paid my money, NTD150, no dual pricing here because it is a civilized country, and got my ticket checked. They still do things the old-fashioned way, one person sells you a ticket and a second, nearby person checks that you have a ticket. Anyone under 18 years is free of charge. There is an audio guide like a mobile phone available at an extra charge if you like such things, various languages are offered.
The entrance hall was an impressive space. I don't seem to have any pics. Now I like an impressive space as much as the next punter but it wasn't my main purpose in visiting a museum. Where are the exhibits?
The first exhibit I came to is very modern-museum, a touch sensitive display that tracks the timelines of Chinese art compared to the rest of Asia. You only need to look at the first panel.



Their point, although not stated this way, is that, in the beginning, China had art while the rest of Asia was busy hunting and gathering and creating no culture at all.

It wasn't busy so I had some time to myself, tapping the board and reading about various artefacts. Still no actual artefacts.

I could have been disappointed. A couple of galleries were interesting, a couple were just disappointing 'experience' spaces that might have been fun if I were an 8 year old Mandarin speaker. The textiles space took 2 minutes. I have never been interested in cloisonne ware, that's not their fault though. Another 2 minutes. The day was saved for me by a large collection of Ming porcelain. That was about it. Time for coffee. The signs pointing to refreshments had a disappointing end point.



At least the toilets were top notch. Sit down and bum guns. Clean too. No grubby squatters here. The gf would have been happy.

[malmomike77]

At least the toilets were top notch.

i'm sensing this was a museum highlight

[Switch]

I didn't think to take any! You'll find her on AirBnB. I think she lets 6 rooms now. When she returned to Taiwan with her new husband about 8 years ago she bought a 4-storey townhouse with a basement and a typical illegal enclosed rooftop, so 6 levels altogether. She borrowed from banks and family, including husband's family. Then she needed to find ways to pay the interest. She rents some rooms on a monthly basis and some AirBnB. Once she found a model that worked so she bought a second house nearby, renovated it and let it. Then a third house. Now she is renovating number four. She owes an eye-watering amount of money but promises me that it is under control.
Four houses might be the limit, banks will not extend more than two personal mortgages, so they each have two loans. The art gallery is another property that is registered to her mother. Her next idea is to start reselling the existing properties and focus on buying/developing/selling. Now that she understands how it all works and has trusted contractors she could be successful.

Consider my interest piqued by your unusual and informative style, including the useful public transport travel guides. (and my nosy nature)

[Shutree]

Consider my interest piqued by your unusual and informative style, including the useful public transport travel guides.

I was hoping to chronicle some of the mundane, some of the things that are missing from the glossy travel sites.

[Shutree]

i'm sensing this was a museum highlight

TBH, the museum was less interesting than I expected. The highlight was the porcelain, for me.

Not forgetting lunch. I found the coffee shop/restaurant eventually. A couple of pleasant young women on duty helped me negotiate the menu, which didn't take long. You could either have an overpriced hotpot, which never feels like a summer lunchtime snack for one, or dumplings. A small plate of dumplings then. No veg or sides on offer, make up your own dip from the table at the back of the room. The bottles weren't labelled so it was a bit of a lottery. First, we wait ....

[Shutree]

Your server will be with you shortly.



Very clever. Although not clever enough to get the food on the table.



After you take your food, your server chirps something cheery and goes on its way.



There we have it. Lunch. Okay as dumplings go. Egon Ronay won't be stopping by any time soon.