Taichung

Taiwanese trains are comfortable and fast. It was only two hours by train to Taichung, so naturally I was early at the hotel so I left my backpack with the counter. In Taiwan check out and check in times are usually 1000 and 1500 to allow housekeeping in-between and there are few exceptions.

I couldn't help thinking of Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan. Both are in the middle of the island, and in both cases the hotel I used was conveniently next to the station and good value.

So I went to explore the city. The wet market was unappealing and most stalls closed. But nearby I spotted a fruitier and bought from her what looked like large Roma tomatoes. I guessed that they were persimmons and this proved to be the case when I tasted them later. They were soft and juicy.

I saw signs, including municipal ones, in Indonesian, Vietnamese and Tagalog. Migrant workers I guessed.

A whole street is devoted to computers and electronics.

I saw a long queue outside the Miyahara store. They were lining up to try one of the literally dozens of gelato flavours.

The pricey tea house, though in typical Japanese understated fashion, the product is not named at all, is in retro bookshop decor. I doubt if any bookshop ever looked like this; it's just a penchant for a past that never was.

Cakes are big in Taiwan and especially in Taichung. All over you see shops selling gift boxes of cakes. These are dumpling sized cakes though, and two well-known varieties are wife cake and sun cake.

I really wanted a coffee. An assistant gave me directions to a coffee house a few streets away.

I thought it might be something like a Starbucks, but it turned out to be another retro decor business, this time of an old bank. I don't know if it ever was a real bank. It's plausible, Taichung has several buildings from the early part of the 20th century. I also don't know if it was also run by Miyahara or was a kindred business.

The staff was dressed in colourful harlequin uniforms.

One of them talked me into ordering a mocha with four nut tarts, almond, cashew, macadamia and pecan. He didn't have to try very hard though.

While sipping my mocha I reflected on why retro is popular. My theory is that modern technologies with their efficiencies often come at the cost of loss of human connection and retro evokes an earlier era which was more human oriented, yet has modernity hidden under a thin veneer.

Upstairs is a fabulous lunch room.

And downstairs serves drinks, gelato and desserts.

I can't find the name of the business on Google at the moment. It was some long-winded name like Fourth Trust Bank which might have been totally made up.

I did a spot of shopping. The city seemed to peter out after about half-a-dozen streets from the station, another reminder of Asahikawa. It had started drizzling and it was check-in time by now so I napped in the hotel.

In the evening after a cheap and tasty bowl of chasiu ramen, I checked for the place where I should get board the bus to Sun Moon Lake the next day. Just as well I did, it left from a different terminus.

I had noticed signs all over Taiwan selling Bin Lang. It dawned on me that these were the betel nuts that are sold in a peculiar fashion in Taiwan involving scantily clad girls. Follow the reference if your interest is piqued. This shop will even deliver on a phone order.