LAST DAYS in Taiwan

Pictured here is a cook from Tainan (the former capital of Taiwan)
making the Dan-Tsu noodles for which the city is famous.
Pictured also is a woman making the cookies (taste like fortune cookies but are cut into strip shapes) for which the city is also known.











On Thursday, upon our return from Thailand, Maren and I had our hair done for the last time; we look a bit different, but the massage was so worth it!! Then, on Friday, Maren and I went, (for my third but last trip there) out to Lotus Pond, where the beautiful lake is dotted with colorful architecture from Chinese influence; and of course, we walked into the dragon and out the tiger, to dispel all bad luck and gain good luck! And that night (Friday) we asked Janet to join us for dinner and gave her a little gift to thank her for all her help to us while we have been here.











Yesterday (Saturday), Ted, Maren and I were lucky to have a friend, Amber (a doctoral student at NSYSU), to give us a wonderful day's excursion in the former capital city of Taiwan, Tainan! It is a city famous for historical buildings from the Dutch occupation in the 1600's and the Japanese in the first half of the 20th century, etc! Plus, Maren's first husband Smokey (who died of Lou Gehrig's disease long ago) had served in the 1960's at the military base in Tainan, and Maren wanted to see where he had served. Cynthia also joined us while Muhua had to teach an all-day class. The five of us had so much fun!!
We saw several interesting historic buildings, like Confucius Temple (the first such one in Taiwan and also the first school in Taiwan, replete with learning tools such as measuring stones (pictured), steles, etc)), a shrine (called Koxinga's Shrine) to commemorate Cheng Chen-Kung, a famous warrior who helped kick out the Dutch, the Tainan Grand Matsu Temple (Matsu , a goddess of the Sea who is seen as a protectorate of fishermen), and the Museum of Taiwan Literary Achievements (where we also saw a painting of women playing Mah-Jongg!)!




Amber also took us to three different places for delicious Tainan foods: Dan-Tsu noodles in a tasty soup broth also filled with veggies and fish ; fried shrimp and fried oyster rolls; and a very light tofu in a caramel type sauce for dessert.
Then we drove out to the air base, where Maren could see the general area where Smokey served in the Marine Corps.
We ended the day back in Kaohsiung by having an absolutely delightful dinner at a campus located restaurant very near our villa, eating outdoors overlooking the harbor! The weather was delightful, with a warm and gentle breeze, and the food was some of the best we have had here: homemade squash soup seasoned exquisitely with spices (don't ask me which ones!), followed by the best salad ever (fruit, veggies and lettuce and tomatoes gently tossed with a yummy creamy dressing), entree (Ted opted for a small Hawaiian pizza, Maren for a smoked chicken sub, me for steamed chive dumplings).

I close my final blog from Taiwan with a photo of our spectacular view from both the cafe we ate at last night and our villa (which is just above the cafe, basically)! What a fantastic experience we have had here, and I know i will really miss the wonderful people of Kaohsiung and of Thailand when I return home. But I am now ready; it is time.

Hope the readers of this blog have enjoyed it as much as I have had in writing it!
Cheers!
Betty