Taichung.... and points further south 

 

A few nights ago, we arrived in Taichung, a city down the west coast of Taiwan.  We didn't fall in love with Taichung but it had some redeeming qualities... The city is full of art in green spaces. The canals are lined with flowers and lights at night. The metro system in general is definitely noisier than Japan - folks speak loudly (sounds like yelling to the untrained ear) but it is still clean and reliable. The buses? They need some serious TLC and a good cleaning... they run on a mysterious schedule which mostly forced us to wait forever or elect to walk a few extra kilometres when we needed to get somewhere. 

Canals... lots of turtles here in Taiwan and of course Koi fish... Good thing there aren't any otters here (see CBC Vancouver article). 

Art in Taichung... Kate with a huge Frenchie... (left) and Dome of Light (right) 

I wrote a blurb about dogs in Japan and now for my observations on Dogs in Taiwan... I think there are only two kinds of dogs here in Taiwan. The mongrel type pooch that lays in the street, in the door way, or on the sidewalk. They mostly seem well fed yet ignored. They may or may not have all of their appendages. They can be found in packs (we try to avoid these ones) and generally they are everywhere. The other type is a small poodle. They are almost always apricot in colour and trimmed in true poodle fashion. They are worshipped and adored. They don't walk - must be bred out of them. They ride on scooters (see below), in strollers and even the back of baby strollers but don't walk... 

Canal at night. 

We eat a LOT OF NOODLES but yesterday we came upon a grocery store and they had apples.... from Canada. Gift from home. 

The island of Cijin is just a short ferry ride away. We didn't walk long before the siren call of the ocean pulled Kate into the waves...

Lotus Pond or Lake depending on which map you look at.... 

Paul has suggested a working theory for Taiwan. Because personal space here is so much closer than in North America.... line ups, talking to one another, sitting beside someone etc.... he has theorized that 'where there is space, it should be filled'. This is true here... the Lotus Pond has temples, statues, bridges, lights... the space is filled. 

Kate's sand creations.

Cross walk sign in Taiwan are so much fun. In Taipei and Taichung, you have the typical red standing fellow for a stop but for green, you see an animated walking stick figure. It starts out sauntering, with a numbered count down. When the count down gets to around 20, the figure speeds up and at 10, it jogs. Here in Kenting, they have two red figures facing each other with a heart between them. The one figure knees every so often. When it turns green, the two figures take their hands and walk/job across the screen. Cute. 

All for now. cheers, s