Tainan

The next two weekends were almost identical. A quick trip on the train up to Taipei for a short overnight stay and then 6AM hockey practice on Saturday morning in Tucheng. We would typically stay at one of the Morwing hotels in Banqiao. No more visits to the Norway Forest love motel. The Morwings are cheap and close to the rink and decorated with some sort of theme(best was the Bruce Lee room).

Then another trip down to Kaohsiung on Saturday followed by some sort of family activity on Sunday. We discovered another mall/amusement park near our house. Taroko Park has a really awesome go cart track(1/10 scale of a Formula One track) as well as a great food court. My mom also came out toward the end of the month so that she could experience Taiwan with us and also experience Hong Kong. Mom went with us back out to Cinjin island for another round of bike riding and eating seafood from the restaurants. She and I also went to the Jade Market where she bargained for a teapot to take home.

View of Kaohsiung from Cinjin Island

    On April 22nd we took a quick trip up to Tainan. Its one of the oldest cities in Taiwan and perhaps most famous for food and old historical buildings. Its only about 15 minutes away on the high speed train. In fact you spend more time getting to the HSR station in Kaohsiung and then getting from the HSR station in Tainan into town than you do on the train itself. Margaret had a classmate from college who was opening an art gallery in Tainan and invited us to the opening. After the art opening we went to explore Tainan a bit. The highlight was probably the old fort area and something called Anping Tree House. Banyan trees will take root if the seeds land on the roof of the house. If left alone they will send out roots and accessory trunks and eventually take over the entire building. An example of that has become a tourist attraction in Tainan.