Train to Taichung

Today we got up, went downstairs and had a yummy breakfast of stir fried green peapods, ham, eggs, and steamed buns. We were disappointed that there were no noodles, but you can't have it all.

We asked the front desk to call us a cab to the high speed rail station and two interesting things happened. One, the front desk required us to leave our key if we were leaving the hotel and secondly although the front desk told the cab company where we were going, the driver had no idea and we were thankful to have a taxi card because he didn't speak any English. We got to the rail station and it was really beautiful. Very new and full of shops. We hit a 7-11 for some drinks and I got my first jasmine tea of the trip. YUM!!! Steve wanted a giant steamed bun (for 20NT (about 60 cents) but couldn't figure out the protocol for getting one, so decided to skip it for then. We saw some really cool postcards that you can cut out and build into things.

The train platform is actually underneath the building, so we headed down there and then noticed that the train we were about to board was labeled Zaoying. Turns out that Taichung is just a stop on this route and the terminal point is Zaoying. We got on and our seats were nice - tons of leg room. We were zooming along at 300 something km/hr and Steve said, "wow, this must be what it's like to drive NASCAR!" Neither one of us could imagine making those tight turns at that speed! It was a really neat experience, but wouldn't you know our train was delayed (we later learned it was a problem with a train 4 ahead of ours) and made the poor Hardts wait half an hour for us in the train station!

Sunnie and Bill met us at the train station with their kids, Sabrina and Jonathan, and the baby they are fostering. What a bunch of beautiful kids they get to claim! I can't say enough about the generosity that Sunnie and Bill showed us today. They showed us all around Taichung and bought us lunch for the small price of 3 bags of powdered sugar and some other assorted groceries. It unfortunately decided to rain on our parade - or at least to haze on it. So some of the things they wanted to show us were out.

They have a 12th floor apt and the view from there was still great! Then it was off to drop the kids off at a sitter and we adults headed on to lunch at "the shack". I can say with a heavy heart that I truly regret having left the cameras in the car. The place we had lunch had exactly zero ambiance (seriously.....I'm not at all squeamish, but this place was....indescribable), but what it lacked in ambiance it made up five thousandfold in the quality of food! Handmade dumplings, AMAZING sweet and sour pork, and a vegetable called "empty heart" that was also just delicious!!

After lunch, we went to Taichung central market. First we strolled down a row of mostly hardware stalls and Bill joked that we could "get our bearings" there. Ha ha. We thought about buying some just to be funny. Across from one stall selling "new" used phones was a woman butchering chickens....not something you'd see at home! We made a right turn and found ourselves walking down meat alley. I'll spare you the pictures of that, but suffice it to say that you know right where your food comes from in Taiwan! Ha. We got a mango ice drink and a coconut milk tea. We bought drinks for all for about $3. They were sooo tasty!!!

Then we went to a mall of sorts and hit a dollar type store where everything was 39NT (about a dollar). We got several sets of chopsticks for the kids, a scissors (forgot mine and have some gifts to wrap - hope I remembered the tape!), some curlicue straws and some finger puppets for Kailin. Downstairs was a Carrefour market and we got some interesting Lays chips (swiss cheese and welsh smoked cheese), candy for Kailin, some surfboard crackers for Colby (Kailin's favorite from China), and grape mentos. I've never seen those before!

We stopped at a fruit stand to pick up some fruit. The number of colors was amazing and I took some pictures that I already love. We got some guava, plums, bell fruit, and Sunnie said she had some amazing pineapple to share back at their place (she wasn't fibbing on that one! WOW!).

We went to a folk park where we bought some traditional Taiwanese toys and a very spunky older Chinese woman gave me a lesson in tossing a traditional top. It was fun (but a little scary as it involves flinging the top forward and I was not at all sure of my aim!!) and I wish I'd thought to take her picture. The kids went to feed the fish while Bill took us to see the museum part of the park. It was really interesting to see traditional clothing from the many aboriginal tribes as well as pottery, old smoking pipes, and even a bridal sedan.

All too soon the time neared for us to go and Bill walked us down to a little restaurant where you fill your own box with whatever amount of whichever foods you want and then you pay accordingly. Steve and I both got a box full of rice and 3 or 4 dishes for a total of $3. We headed for the rail station and passed a ton of betel nut shops. Betel nut is something the men here chew and the shops selling it compete by having scantily clad girls out front hawking the stuff and huge blinking neon signs. VERY INTERESTING!!

We got back to Taipei without incident and bought the buildy postcards we liked from earlier and some drinks at the 7-11. Caught a cab (again thankful for a taxi card) and headed back to the hotel. It's 9pm now and I think I've made myself stay up late enough. It's off to bed for me!

Tomorrow we're going to explore the area around our hotel and then head off to the jade market and a night market with another couple who is here picking up their daughter.