Solar Tree Time: Taiwan Day 14 (Kaohsiung 2, Tainan)

I woke up pretty tired and sore and decided to take it easy for the morning. Today is a day trip to Tainan.

I ended up getting to the TRA station around noon, and purchased a ticket for Tze-Chiang Hao to Tainan. Only half an hour, and it got me there around 12:45pm.

First off, lunch! Tainan station is undergoing repairs and much of the station is covered up. I checked their stamps and I already have all of them in my book. And I walked out, I couldn't help but think there is something about Tainan that soothes the soul.

I wandered off to a noodle shop I looked up whilst on the train, as this one has open air seating.

I managed to find them! 明月麵店 And a nice breeze was blowing through this alley.

They only have a couple of items on the menu, as it's only run by the presumably wife and husband, it's to keep it manageable.

I wanted the braised items too but wasn't sure how to order and the size... So I got a small 餛飩湯麵 for $55. Turns out it wasn't quite enough hahaha. But it was very delicious. The noodles were chewy and the broth is full of flavour without being too rich. The wontons were savoury and nice texture too. I would love to come again. I put my dishes in the area where the wife was gathering them and went to pay. She was sooooo nice.

Onwards! To the Blueprint Culture Park. I managed to find a Youbike and made my way slowly. Why does cycling on the road always feel like I'm gambling my life. Lmao. The nearest bike park is at Shueiping Park which is the same park that I stopped by last time!

Cool ceiling I saw near Hayashi Dept. Store intersection

I went in and was feeling a little hungry so I went to the café called "cheer for" that had outdoor seats first. They only had bagels so I got a chocolate one and a honey lemon drink. Whilst my order was getting ready the shop lady told me to go browse as the bagel takes 8 mins to heat. I had a look around and it's all original IP and characters from artists made into merch etc. That was really neat. I saw the cat dentist one that I bought from Muzha Zoo in 2023! They didn't have any prints this time just iron on patches and stuff. My bagel was ready and I went outside and had a rest and ate. The bagel was good.

Afterwards I went back in and looked at the other half of the store. It was also similar indie artist goods. I saw some funny stuff like the Penis character and others were more souvenir type.

Next was a ceramics studio. Wow, some of the teapot designs were pretty unique! All designer pricing, rightfully. They also had a coffee dripper that you n could turn to open the valve and close. Amazing.

Afterwards I went out and had a look next door. It was mostly a bookshop but they had some gift type stuff too. It was now almost 3:30pm and I asked the lady what time are they open until. 9pm, and most of the shops are open until late. Cool, I decided to head to 警察新村 first. I Youbike my way there.

I found the place! Parked and locked my bike at the entrance and started strolling through, taking photos. There are still some houses being lived in (evident by the 電表) and although the vibe of the village is not quite the same as my juanchun (ours was more higgedly piggeldy and 2 storeys), there were parts with the same type of feeling.

I kept trying to get photos of the fighter jet sortie...
Every time it happened I was in a shop in BCP!

I must have spent over 2 hrs just walking through and taking photos/videos.

The water pumps (I think I saw 3) seemed to be still working! I tried one and it did give water!

It was almost 5:30pm and I was starting to get hungry so time to leave to find Ahbei who sells bamboo and cane woven goods.

On my way I passed the Shueijiao cultural area which was closed and what I also wanted to check out.

I did see a fighter jet though!

When I arrived he was still setting up and I said I'll come back later. I parked my bike and walked around the block trying to find an eatery that was open air, but no luck. And then I came back around and realised the breakfast? Shop across the road from Ahbei was open air... I ended up getting a box of 小籠包 $50 and 冬瓜茶 $30. It wasn't quiiite enough but it'll do. They had various sauces and everything was prepacked into takeaway boxes, even if you're dining in.

Once done, I went back across and Ahbei was still setting up.

I asked him if he had any bamboo pillows and he had one and said it's cane not bamboo 藤. $250 whuuu why so cheap? Later I came to surmise that it's probably machine woven since I asked Ahbei if he wove everything. He said no, he doesn't weave anymore and it's he did it won't be at this price.

There was a really cute tissue box that I kinda wanted. It was really neatly woven too.

I ended up getting coasters for the pot and a small one for cup. Big one $200 and small one $100. He mentioned that they are woven by volunteers and he sells for them. That's why it's priced like that cause it's hand woven.

I left and headed back towards the BCP. Picked up my bike and ended up parking it at a different park by mistake... And found out this was the old city gate!!! But it's closed, it's open for exploring from like 8:30am to 5:30pm.

Isn't Tainan just so neat like this?

I walked about 10 mins to BCP and headed to Isluhuang. The nice shop owner was there and another man who was working on a needle craft tshirt? I was hoping to get another Lumah papercraft pack, but they were all out of stock! Except for the one which was a portrait of, I think, Siraya (I may have remembered wrong). They only had 2 postcards with hand sewn motifs on, so I didn't buy as I needed 3!

The owner is always so happy to introduce and tell customers about the story behind the products. I ended up pre ordering the other paper crafts and paid first. It was $390 each for both the tribe portraits and

$300 for Fort Provincia.

He said he can waive the shipping fee, I asked are you sure? Yes! TToTT

And I paid and said mihumisang, and he was SO HAPPY that I remembered! Mihumisang, uninang! Back. It was so touching to see him so happy. As I left the shop and walked a few steps, he called out and asked if could take photo? Because he thought it was rare that I came back from NZ to visit the shop again. I was OK for this, and unmasked briefly and held my breathe for the most part. It didn't take long and then out the door I went.

I had a quick look at the other shops. I think the artist Xubi I talked to last year is no longer at the shop as the same shop is now a different one with floral and resin'd floral creations.

I had a look at the wood art shop, which was filled with woods of all sorts and it smelt heavenly! Sadly, there wasn't much I could purchase so I left.

And lastly, back to the bookshop. After much debating I ended up purchasing cypress wood balls x3 for $500, and a flashcards for Taigi vocab for $250.

It was like 8:30pm now...

I ended up calling a 55688 taxi and went to the station for $120.

And bought a train ticket for Tze-Chiang Hao that departs at 9:15pm and arrives 9:45pm.

When I went to collect stamps, they had so much!