Our flight back to Tainan left at 2:00pm, so we had the morning free to do a bit more exploring. I noticed that we hadn't checked out the Shun Cheng City Gate, so after breakfast we decided to check it out. It was blocked off with safety tape but we still climbed up to check out the view. We then followed the old city wall (what was left of it) and happened upon a small disused stone "village" that was being restored. We had a marvellous time walking around the houses with their doors hanging off their frames and nature taking over. Two of the houses had been turned into makeshift museums honoring pop musicians who had grown up there.
We emerged at the northern end of the village and were walking down the road back to town when I noticed a sign in English that indicated there was a military museum at the end of a laneway. We walked down and sure enough there was a small museum dedicated to explaining the history of the area. Apparently the small stone "village" we had just visited used to be the officer's quarters for the Japanese military. When the Japanese surrendered Taiwan the local people took over, hence the famous pop singers. Two ladies who were volunteers at the museum came over and gave us some English brochures, and tried to explain a bit about the history in Mandarin. We couldn't communicate much, but I think they were just happy to have some Westerners come by and show an interest. They even asked us to sign the guestbook!
We wandered around the city a bit more before heading back to the hotel. We checked out and caught a taxi to the airport. The flight back to Tainan was short and sweet. Outside the airport we caught a taxi and I asked the driver to take us to the "kuai kaui haoche zhan" (fast fast train station). He laughed because I used the wrong term to describe the High Speed Rail, but he knew what I meant. At the station I bought our tickets and after that we just had to wait for the next train north to Taipei.
Mom and Simone had a great time on the bullet train. They couldn't believe how fast we were traveling, and how comfortable it was to ride. We arrived at Taipei Main Station at rush hour so we caught a cab to the hotel instead of trying to negotiate the MRT with luggage. The staff at the Dandy Hotel welcomed us back with big smiles and welcomes, and set up Mom and Simone with a lovely room on the top floor.
For dinner we tried a Thai place I had seen on the way home a few nights earlier. It had a photo menu and I was able to ask enough questions to be sure we were ordering something we liked. (For example, when I asked if something was noodles, the reply was "no". The waitress then pointed at the only noodle dish on the menu, which I had mistakenly thought was a vegetable dish. Go figure.) The chicken satay, egg rolls, "pad thai", and rice were excellent and we even had some left over.
I was exhausted so I caught a cab home right after dinner and collapsed into bed. I tell you, keeping up with my 75-year-old Mom is exhausting! but fun.
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