On Christmas eve, I took a road trip to Tainan and then to the western part of Tainan which is Anping. I was only there for a few hours and thought it was much smaller tha
n it turned out to be, so I didn't get to see everything I had hoped to see. As a matter of fact, I barely saw a fraction of what I had planned. Being a Sunday, Anping was very crowded making it slow movi
ng through the old streets. I visited a Matsu temple there which has the oldest Matsu statue in Taiwan. I believe the photo here of the female goddess with the black face is the statue, but since I went alone, and still have a pathetically sub-basic Chinese vocabulary, I had no one to ask without the use of extensive mi
me and dramatics. There are at least two statues of Matsu in the temple and I may have chosen the wrong one to post. Ah well, such is life. There were some very interesting paintings on one room of the temple there, and without a doubt, the temple was worth the visit. As with a
ll temples here so far, each is different and unique in one way or another. Anping was an interesting area to visit and th
ere is much history. Fort Zeelandia is there, although I didn't go inside. Fort Zeelandia was built by the Dutch in 1634. As with many historical structures in Taiwan, the original fort does not really exist except for a portion of the wall around the str
ucture. What exists now is a reconstruction of the fort which was made during the occupation of Taiwan by Japan. Although there is a folk museum inside, I didn't investigate. Maybe next time. The atmosphere seemed to be created for tourists with almost a carnival feel to it. I looked around for the cotton candy once or twice
. But I did end up being a good tourist and buying a few things while there. I found a calligraphy brush and some very cool calligraphy paper which allows one to use water to draw on the "paper" and after a few moments the water evaporates. So, I shelled out 100 NT dollars (about $3.10 US) and got 5 sheets of the paper. Another $200 NT and I had myself a beautiful calligraphy brush. Merry Christmas, eh? I found a handmad
e
leather, jade, and bead bracelet for a friend, and a fragile shell mobile and figured my duty as a buying tourist was complete. Anping Tainan, Taiwan was not a bad place to spend Christmas eve. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss America and my home, but it was good to see a part of the country here where I had never been before. On Christmas morning, I drove my scooter to the morning market in Chiayi and bought several traditional Chinese articles of clothing. I now have a small collection of traditional handmade jackets and shirts. For the most part, they can be had for very few dollars. I have a feeling the cost of dry cleaning will outweigh the savings in purchase.
On Christmas eve, I took a road trip to Tainan and then to the western part of Tainan which is Anping. I was only there for a few hours and thought it was much smaller tha
n it turned out to be, so I didn't get to see everything I had hoped to see. As a matter of fact, I barely saw a fraction of what I had planned. Being a Sunday, Anping was very crowded making it slow movi
ng through the old streets. I visited a Matsu temple there which has the oldest Matsu statue in Taiwan. I believe the photo here of the female goddess with the black face is the statue, but since I went alone, and still have a pathetically sub-basic Chinese vocabulary, I had no one to ask without the use of extensive mi
me and dramatics. There are at least two statues of Matsu in the temple and I may have chosen the wrong one to post. Ah well, such is life. There were some very interesting paintings on one room of the temple there, and without a doubt, the temple was worth the visit. As with a
ll temples here so far, each is different and unique in one way or another. Anping was an interesting area to visit and there is much history. Fort Zeelandia is there, although I didn't go inside. Fort Zeelandia was built by the Dutch in 1634. As with many historical structures in Taiwan, the original fort does not really exist except for a portion of the wall around the str
ucture. What exists now is a reconstruction of the fort which was made during the occupation of Taiwan by Japan. Although there is a folk museum inside, I didn't investigate. Maybe next time. The atmosphere seemed to be created for tourists with almost a carnival feel to it. I looked around for the cotton candy once or twice
. But I did end up being a good tourist and buying a few things while there. I found a calligraphy brush and some very cool calligraphy paper which allows one to use water to draw on the "paper" and after a few moments the water evaporates. So, I shelled out 100 NT dollars (about $3.10 US) and got 5 sheets of the paper. Another $200 NT and I had myself a beautiful calligraphy brush. Merry Christmas, eh? I found a handmad
e leather, jade, and bead bracelet for a friend, and a fragile shell mobile and figured my duty as a buying tourist was complete. Anping Tainan, Taiwan was not a bad place to spend Christmas eve. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss America and my home, but it was good to see a part of the country here where I had never been before. On Christmas morning, I drove my scooter to the morning market in Chiayi and bought several traditional Chinese articles of clothing. I now have a small collection of traditional handmade jackets and shirts. For the most part, they can be had for very few dollars. I have a feeling the cost of dry cleaning will outweigh the savings in purchase. 
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