Done with week 4! And what a week it was. On Sunday, my host family took me to the northeastern corner of Taiwan, where we biked through the Old Caoling Tunnel (a former railway tunnel), took in the breathtaking scenery of the rugged coastline at the Longdong Bay Gorge Trail, and indulged in delicious snacks like bubble ice (basically Italian ice), “nutritious sandwich”, and Ding bian cuo soup at the Keelung night market. Then, on Thursday, after an abbreviated week of learning and tests, I departed for the Social Study trip to the south of Taiwan: Tainan and Pintung.
First, we took a high-speed train from Taipei to Zuoying, reaching speeds of up to 180 mph! We had lunch at Haihon pork knuckle restaurant, and then spent a couple hours exploring Hengchun Old Town, one of the best-preserved historical towns in Taiwan. For dinner, we ate some Taiwanese cuisine at Hoo Triptown. The next day we hiked around Sheding Nature Park, which had some cool gorges. For lunch, it was seafood—shrimp, fish, sea cucumber, oysters, clams—and then we had fun in the water snorkeling and riding a banana boat.
On Saturday, we visited the Long Shui Community, where we made our own red tortoise cakes, red bean rice cakes (a.k.a. ang ku kueh) and caught clams, before heading to Anping to explore the Old Street, Old Fort, and Tree House. The next day we went on a boat ride in Taijiang National Park, visited the National Museum of Taiwan History, and talked with students at National Cheng Kung University. The last day, we went on another river cruise through the Sicao Green Tunnel, a canopy of mangrove trees. Finally, after tasting teas at a teahouse, we headed back to Taipei. All in all it was a great, fun trip. I especially enjoyed the food: I have to say, throughout the trip, the food was amazing at every restaurant we ate at, without exception.
Now that the fun is over, it’s back to studying. That’s it for now, till next time!
-Jonathan