ip in Tainan 台南!
After a couple weeks of studying hard in class, I decided to take a day trip to visit Tainan with some of my classmates to Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city. It was the perfect weekend to visit Tainan, especially since it coincided with the week’s lesson on Taiwanese hospitality, or 台湾的人情味. Within the lesson, there are dialogues we study, and in this lesson there were characters that decided to visit Tainan since they were interested in historical buildings. Moreover, another reason we decided to visit was that my close friend from my home university is also studying abroad in Taiwan, so we decided to meet in Tainan! This trip was so fun and was an amazing experience.
First Day in Tainan
The first thing on our agenda in Tainan was to go to a capybara café, so we decided to meet up with my friends at MOGU KABI (夏威夷豆塔専売店), which is a dessert shop that specializes in fruit tarts. We could see the capybaras up close, and I ate a grape tart - it was so sweet! Even though we were tired from traveling that morning, this café made it worth it!
However, before going to the capybara café, we made a quick stop at a popular café near National Cheng Kung University for a very necessary study break. I ordered the cheese egg toast and an iced green tea to help with the hot weather. The hotel was very close to central Tainan as well, so transportation was fairly convenient too.
Day Two in Tainan
On our second day in Tainan, we wanted to make the most of it, so we visited Ten Drum Culture Village (十鼓文創園區). They had many different activities, such as ziplining, going on a swing, riding a train, and visiting their library. Inside the library they sell different refreshing drinks, and the opportunities to take photos to send back home are endless.
After going to the culture village, we paid a visit to Chimei Museum (奇美博物館). It had many exhibits to look at, such as natural history, Western arts, musical instruments, and other fine ] arts. Once we finished looking at the various art exhibits, we enjoyed some tea and finger foods in their restaurant inside. I really enjoyed going to this museum and it was definitely an unforgettable experience!
Tainan Eats
There were so many highlights among the food I had while visiting Tainan. We decided to go to eat a cheese-filled scallion pancake (起司蛋饼) at a popular local eatery called An Gong Avocado (阿公阿婆蛋餅). Along with the scallion pancake for breakfast, the restaurant also had amazing steamed buns (包子) and black tea soy milk (红茶豆浆). We also went to Tainan’s Garden Night Market (花园夜市). I had fried scallion pancakes and chocolate flavored ice cream with a spring roll wrapper and various fillings including cilantro and peanut brittle shavings called 花生冰淇淋. At the night market, I also tried a mozzarella cheese corn dog and some watermelon juice (西瓜汁), which was really refreshing. I hope anyone that comes to travel to Taiwan can have the chance to come visit Tainan - it is well worth the trip!
Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Fellowship Recipient
AC Alumni Scholarship Recipient
Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program (TISLP) Participant
National Tsing Hua University (NTHU)
Hsinchu, Taiwan, Summer 2023