Today, began early. AOC 9:15. I had to store luggage, check out and be ready to roll.
Surprisingly, I was prompt. Let’s just say last night was a little later than planned.
Wei Chun and Daphne were right on time, and I just joined them in their taxi.
On to the Taipei train station. It’s clean and modern and very organized. Down to our platform, and onto the train, Tainan bound. Today, we had business class, and a high speed train. Easy ride. Passed rice paddies, and large farms. The train line is relatively new, and so are the stations.
Almost two hours later, we arrived. The arrangements were: a classmate of Wei Chun’s brother-in-law was to be our driver and tour guide. Mr. Wong, I can’t pronounce or spell his first name, was prompt and even had ironed his shirt. He is retired Taiwanese military, an MP. He took us to his new Camry, black, with incredible AC. You see…it was maybe 98 today in Tainan and not a leaf was stirring…
The plan was made to go straight to the town’s new museum, Chimei. It was privately built and houses the man’s own collection. OK, it was huge. After a quick refreshment, and a gift shop visit, we began our tour.
It didn’t take me long to get rather…confused. Here, there were Rodin sculptures, Picasso pottery piece, Degas bronzes, Chagall oils…and they were all kind of tossed together. It difficult to explain. In room after room, there were Dutch Master’s works positioned right next to Russian icons. It was as though the guy had emptied his attic and just hung things willy nilly.
And then…the musical instruments. Originally, this man collected violins. And he also played. It is obviously his true love. There were violins dating back to the 1500’s. And they were beautifully displayed. Great care had been taken to showcase their unique beauty.
My take away…
At first, I was kind of irritated. Who would display such amazing pieces so haphazardly? And then I realized…the place was jam packed, on a Tuesday. People were completely blown away by their experience. And I determined, how great is it that people who would normally never have the opportunity to see great art, actually were. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
We left. We walked to the car what seemed like miles. It was excruciatingly hot. On to the next place.
The city is very different than Taipei. There are not many high rises. Things are quite orderly. You kind of get a small town feeling. People are friendly, but literally no one speaks English. Today, I saw no other Caucasians. And I liked it. I liked it because I felt like I was in a place few Americans have experienced. And, I so appreciated the place.
Tainan is known for food. The Taiwanese always talk about Tainan’s snacks. What we had was solely seafood. And it’s all delish.
We made our way to a little outdoor beer garden. The beer was German and so very cold. I savored it. Mr. Wong went into the neighborhood to fetch local delicacies, shrimp rolls…fried and hot and so fresh. Also, he got shrimp chips. They were made locally and light and crispy.
And then…the school group came. Roughly 25 kids, ages 8-12 suddenly took the remainder of the tables. They were adorable. One knew some English and wanted to show off a bit. But kids are kids. And they got loud and kicked each other and burped and in general had a great time. I found it especially funny that they much would have preferred McDonald’s to the homemade burgers they were served.
We said our goodbyes and headed to the hotel: Silk Palace, a sister property to the one we’d stayed at in Hualian. Let’s just say, it’s perfect and modern and sumptuous.
On to dinner.
Mr. Wong had chosen a local favorite. The translated name means: flavor of the sea. There is no menu. They simply tell you what they have. And it is fresh. We had, shrimp, which arrived moving and was cooked at the table, day lily blossom’s sautéed in a light oil with chili peppers, clams in a Thai like basil sauce, and escargot. But mostly, I had crab. And it was hot and ever so fresh. All was accompanied by glass after glass of my new go to:Taiwan Beer. Except for the clams, no sauces were offered. You’re supposed to fully taste the freshness.
Did I mention I was the only American? There was lots of staring and some even offered a friendly “hello”. But mostly they wondered why was I there? At times like that, I take pleasure in nodding and smiling.
Back to the hotel.
My assessment of today: the Chimei Museum is a lot like what I’ve seen of Asia. It’s kind of a hodgepodge of architectural styles, disparate influences, throngs of people…but somehow, it just works. I guess art does imitate life.
Tomorrow, touring Tainan’s temples, and more seafood…
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Aloha!
marybethruth 