Day 9 Tainan

If you think something is too good to be true, it           probably is!!! 

After alighting from the HST yesterday, we sought to use our Easy Pass to take the TRA train to Tainan city station. As we entered, a red light flashed! We went to the counter, showed our Easy Pass and were asked if we had a Twainese Passport? When we replied in the negative, the staff member said we were using the Pass illegally! His English wasn’t good so we bought a ticket €0.60 to Tainan!! 

This morning, we went to the Visitor Centre, where a very helpful staff member couldn’t understand why we were denied the use of the Pass and came with us to the Rail ticket office, where the gentleman explained that we didn’t click out at Chengcheng, the day before (we couldn’t find where to checkout) and so our card was frozen.! No money was taken from the Card for that journey, so if we paid that journey now, he could unfreeze the Card! The peculiar thing was that we had subsequently used the Card on the bus from Sun Moon Lake to Taichung, without any issue. When asked about the Seniors Card, he said it was for Twainese seniors only but since it was sold to us, we should continue to use it. 

Tainan is the former capital and is the oldest city in the country. However, in 1919, under Japanese rule (1895-1945), the capital was moved to Taipei. 

With map in hand, we set out to tour Tainan, where the sights are centrally located - just a short walk from the Tainan Hotel,  diagonally to your right as you quit the city station. The temperature was in the late 20s but the humidity was high!!

We had intended to visit a number of  temples. They are like our churches - one comes across them everywhere! As we walked down Jhongshan Road, adjacent to the hotel, up a laneway, we discovered  our first temple - a local one.

and another 

We continued to  Memorial Park, which was under renovation. At the far side of the Park was the National  Museum of Taiwan Literature 

where the development Taiwanese literature from the pre - Han indigenous people to modern day literature is professionally presented. 

From there, we walked c200m to Confucius Temple. It too was under renovation

but one was able to enter the Temple proper. 

It appears students come here to pray for success in examinations. In the courtyard were yellow notes with their intentions displayed on a board! 

-similar practices it seems whatever the religion!

We were walking towards Hayashi Department Store, when we encounter another temple,  - located again up a laneway.

Having paid our respects, we continued to the Hayashi store. I thought it might have been demolished as nearby a huge complex was under construction. 

However, all was not lost - 200m away was the store in all its Art Deco glory!   

 

The store was constructed in the 1930s, closed and unused for decades and re-opened in 2013. When it first opened the highlight was the lift with a dial indicator. 

Many Tianese, who could not afford to purchase there, entered to use the lift. It continues to operate today! 

Each of the five floors appeared to be occupied by concessions, selling niche products. 

On the 5th was a restaurant. It was lunchtime so we chose a meat bun, developed by the store with its emblem on it and a bottle of their own lemonade, an unusual shaped bottle with an equally unusual opening procedure. 

Lunch complete, we adjourned upstairs to see the shrine -the only store to have such. 

Here too, we saw the ravages of WW11 on the store. As the highest building in the city at that time, it was a target. 

From the top floor one saw the Land Bank, constructed in 1928 by Japanese architects, influenced  by western neo classical architecture. It was the Bank, where Hyrashi were reputed to have banked. 

From there we strolled to Shennong Street, Taiwan’s former Five Canal district with the King of Medicine Temple at one end 

and Wind God Temple around the corner at the other!! 

The area was silted up and as a consequence no canals exist today. The street was lined with cafes, workshops and residential housing. As we walked, we saw a bar - the first we’d seen.!  The owner was outside and asked us to view his organic beers, brewed locally in micro breweries We imbibed while we questioned him about Taiwan. He was a mine of information and as we prepared to depart, he showed us a postcard from Ireland, which he had received from a friend touring Europe - it pictured a few cows on the road and read ‘rush hour in Ireland’!

We taxied back to the hotel.