Weekend Excursion to Southern Taiwan

Feeling excited, I didn't fall asleep in bed immediately Friday night. I felt like an elementary school student, so looking forward to the weekend excursion with 623 classmates of Taipei Medical University! It's been almost a year since I joined the class renion at Taipei Mayor's Resident Cafe last summer. 

Day One, May 24, Saturday

I got up at 6:30 and left home at 7:00. It's been almost five months since the last vacation with my Korean teacher in Tainan and Kaohsiung in January. It felt good to step out of the comfort zone for a change in everyday routine life. 

Cart 7 of Taiwan High Speed Rail is mainly reserved for senior citizens, including 4 roomy seats reserved for passengers on wheel chairs. I used one of them today as none of them were occupied. It was comfortable, and close to the toilettes. Sometimes being disabled can enjoy more advantages and privileges. Hopefully people on wheel charis are not discouraged to go out to enjoy the nature and life. 

After arriving in Tainan Station in GuiRen at 10:10, a luxury Volvo Bus was waiting at Gate 2. I sat on the front row with a great panoramic view. May is an ideal month for travelling in Tainan, Golden Shower flowers in yellow and Phoenix Flowers in red are in bloom magnificently everywhere. The bus took Taiwan Route 3 to Nanxi. We had lunch at the Fruit Garden Restaurant. As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we were offered two big bottles of mixed fresh fruit juice of lemon, guawa, passion fruit, and oriental melon. 

We were a group of 21 people, not including two tour guides and the driver. Three classmates including myself, sitting at the same table were on kitogenic diet. We all looked slim and avoided eating as much as carbohydrate as possible. One classmate is a devout religious vegetarian. She is conscious of diabetes, because her mother died of diabetes at age of 63. I contain the intake of  carbohydrate because too much glucose is not good for neurons in the brain.

The bus continued driving on Taiwan Route 3, the long and winding small road, all the way to TsengWen Dam via YuJing mountain area full of Mango and Lychee trees. It started raining when we got off the bus at one o'clock. Fortunately there were many umbrellas available on the bus. We took the elevator to the Observation deck and enjoyed the beautiful view of the dam.

The cruise boat departed at 1:30. It was a two hours boat ride to various places. Many activities were organized, including fishing, eagle feeding, and wild boar feeding. While cruising on the boat, I stood by the boat side close to the bow, it reminded me of the memorable moments on the city boat in Venice with my cousin last May. At TsengWen Dam, it is permitted to go fishing. Every participant was excited to catch the fish. The small ones were thrown in the air for eagles to catch to display a splendid acrobatic show, the big ones were set free to the dam.

When the cruise boat approaching the Wild Boars Island, I heard the loud music of Puccini: Nessun dorma (none shall sleep) from Turandot from the speaker on board. The wild boars were greeting us at the port eagerly and waiting for us to feed them with oats offered to us in small polystyrene cups when we got on board. I was amazed to see a real scene of Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments with dogs on Wild Boar Island. 

At 5:30 we had a gorgerous roast chicken dinner at ZhuXiang Garden. At 7:00 We got on a big gondora to tour the AnPing Canal for one hour. The sunset was beautiful and charming, the breeze was nice and blissful. Just imagine if we had a glass of Aperol in hand, it would be like in the heaven. The boat guide was a friendly and funny young man. We had a lovely evening. Everytime the gondora went under a bridge, we all shouted loudly to hear the echo. We also saw many swallows greeting us under the bridge.

After checking in the Hua Hotel, I didn't join othe classmates for a karaoke party. I walked by myself in the neighborhood to enjoy the city like a solo traveler. After seeing the magnificent artistic display "Double 52000" with more than 100 thousand pink balls floating on the wishing wells at the Spring, I took a walk along the canal. The first night in Tainan was of peace and serenity.

I didn't get back to the hotel until 9:30 and stayed at the lobby to study the Tainan City map till 10 o'clock. I returned to Room 213 and turned on TV, and watched several programs. At home I seldom watch TV, I watch youtube more often. Once a while I watch Japanese satellite TV programs. After taking a shower, I went to bed feeling happy. I fell asleep with the lights on till my roomate came back from the karaoke party. I had a good night sleep.

Day 2, May 25, Sunday 

At 6:30 I got up and dressed myself in red. Today is the Day of Atonement, a day when the Jade Emperor bestows special pardons and blessings. The heavenly lord forgives calamities. I was advised to wear something in red for the good fortune, according to the Chinese Almanac.

I took a walk to the Spring again, it doesn't till 9 o'clock. I went back to the hotel and stayed in the cafeteria till 8 o'clock studying Korean for a while. I felt at ease staying in the cafeteria by myself, watching other tourists chatting with one another while having breakfast. As we didn't book the hotel breakfast, the coffee is free and available for hotel residents.   

The bus took us to the famous Wang's Fishskin Restaurant near the Fishbone Bridge for a sumptuous breakfast at 8:30. Then we went to the TaiJiang National Park in QiGu. We started the ecological tour with an all you can eat oyster grill. Then we explored the QiGu by a fishing raft. The young lady interpreter on the raft was funny and informative. She asked the passengers to wave to the officiers stationed at the XiaShan Harbor Station on the way to the WangZiLiao. It was a 3 kilometer route, we saw the scenery of oyster farming. We also saw the GuoSheng lighthouse afar.

QiGu Lagoon is the largest lagoon in Taiwan, became a part of TaiJiang National Park in 2009. WangZiLiao has three sandbars in the Taiwan Strait, with an area of 1,100 hectares. The scenery on WangZuLiao was breathtaking like 

Maldives. We walked on the trail and saw the current eroding the sandbar rapidly. We also saw many egrets nesting on the trees.  

When I was in YenShui, I seized the opportunity to visit Moon Harbor Guangji Temple（月港廣濟宮王爺廟）on the Day of Atonement, I casted the moon blocks twice to get a Fortune peom 53. Many thanks to the young Head master who helped me find the right fortune peom, because is there is no arabic number on the fortune board. I used to rember the arabic number of the fortune in stead of the Chinese numbering system. Maybe from now on I can learn to rember the Chinese one, in stead of the Arabic one. There are not many people interested in fortune poems these days, mine is an very old one, I wonder who was the last one with forune poem 53, and where the holder is now. 

Being a curious person, I have experienced many first times in my life.

1. the heart beat of an oyster

2. the sea grape freshly from the ocean

3. 

What do I dream to do in the future?

1. To charter a boat to cruise the AnPing Canal with a band on board to provide music, food and drinks

2. To see the sunset on the sandbank of WangTzuLiao, and migratory birds watching in the winter

3. 

Remarks:

Sea grape is a species of green algae from coastal regions in the Asia-Pacific, edible due to its soft and succulent texture as green caviar. Sea grape a giant single cell with multiple nuclei, and can grow to 30 cm in length. Instead of leaves, the algae has bubbles that burst in the mouth, releasing an umami taste "like the ocean.", known to be rich in iodine.  Sea grapes are almost always eaten raw on their own or in salads. After they are washed in clean water, it is usually eaten raw in salad, with chopped raw shallots and fresh tomatoes, and dressed with a blend of fish sauce and vinegar.

In conclusion, it was such a meaningful gathering. All participants have been changed by experience, the familiarity and electricity reconnected us in two days.