Tainan is a really interesting city. It is the ancient capital, having Dutch, Japanese and Chinese influences. It has incredible forts, temples and of course food. Specialities include the Tainan Sandwich (similar to chicken pie in bread with squid), the Tainan Snack (a vegetable based snack cake with fish, meat and vegetables), Dou Hwa (Tofu Dessert) and of course the infamous Pig's Hearts.
In Pingdong, we got to sample incredible seafood at a famous restaurant, visit Shaowei's family's home, and sample the best wax apples (a unique fruit to Taiwan) we have tasted in Taiwan. Kenting is a great seaside town where we wandered on the beach, enjoying the sunshine, met up with Shaowei's younger sister and her family, and ate Mexican food at a famous (for Taiwan) mexican restaurant.
Chikan Tower (Tainan) at night and the view of the southern tip of Taiwan at Kenting.
Since last updating the website, we have also had many adventures in Taipei. Firstly, Ben Turner, one of John's university friends, came to visit on his way back to London from Australia. He was our first visitor and we got to spend some great times in Taipei sampling various different foods, going to night markets, including the renowned Snake Alley, and Danshui. As you can see Ben especially enjoyed some of the more interesting food. He spent a week with us in Taipei, and another couple of weeks visiting the rest of Taiwan. He even left with a new full size PC in tow.
Also we have been fortunate enough to visit many other places in Taipei with friends. We have visited Yangming Shan (Yangming Mountain) with Juin-Der, Terry and his girlfriend, Wen. We also experienced our first Wei-Ya, the traditional end of year banquet given by employers for employees.
John, Karri, Wen, Terry and Juin-Der at Yangming Shan where the weather was much cooler than in Taipei.
We are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you and would love the chance to show any friends who would like to visit around our new town. We'd love to hear from you.
