Round of applause for taxi-free 5 days in a row

so proud of myself because I have not taken a single cab for the whole of 5 days. I either depend on trains, buses or my reliable legs! APPLAUSE PLEASE!!!! I think i can shake off the title of taxi queen for awhile.

Today was 鹿港 - 彰化 day trip. Took a bus from the bus company right next to the hostel and it took about an hour to get to the Lugang. While waiting for the bus, I bought a rice bun from the convenient store, to filll up my stomach before I get to Lugang and try the local food.





Hmm, was a little appalled initally because it was featured as a place to visit but the tourist attractions are all so spread out. And the place that I got off the bus is like in the middle of alot of buildings with no major attractions around. I had to sit down to really study the map and figure out where i was. The nice thing is that there are (of course) free maps available. There are also free shuttle buses to key areas (just have to make sure if you are taking the inner city line or the outer city line). I got on the inner city line and had to make a change. The bus driver was not exactly helpful on where I should be changing the bus and it took me 30 mins and quite a bit of walking before I found the other place to board the bus!!!! Well, this is the first unhelpful bus driver I met in the last 5 days!

Lugang is a town of lots of temples basically but I am totally not keen on temples, so i just walked around and markets and the glass museum.

So, at the glass museum, i saw this interesting sign (this is right outside of the building that the glass company is building). Still a very traditional country... with quite a bit of superstitions! :D

AS requested by friends who are not very proficient in Chinese, this is a translation of the sign (i try my best to translate la!).

Taiwan Glass Museum 2nd construction project.
For those who are
1. Pregnant
2. Just held a funeral at home
3. having your period
Please stay away from the construction site.

(basically, this is to prevent bad luck and they hope to avoid all accidents during teh construction)



of course some local food for the day...











some glass pieces at the glass museum and me trying to take a picture of my reflection in the mirror.

some interesting sights along the way......

So, some translation again. Under the tree, the sign says "喜乐的心乃是良药". It means. A happy heart is the best medicine for all illnesses!

i decided to take a much longer bus route back to Tainan since I am not rushing anyway. The bus instead of going straight from Lugang to Taichung, goes thru Changhua city as well. Took a good nap since I was so tired from walking under the sun for the whole afternoon.

After a good nap and a good long walk from the train station, i got to the night market and got myself a 煮炒 dinner. Pork fried rice and cabbage. It taste really good and the portion was just nice. Something funny happened at the store. I saw the helper taking a HUGE heap of rice for the cook and i turned around and said, "I cannot finish, not so much rice pls." The helper turned around and look at me smiling... "no worries, the other half is for me!" hahaha... I was just thinking why the portion was so big!!! this is not hong kong lo!

and the walk to the night market was interesting. I thought that the night market is quite near and decided to walk but that is probably the worst decison i made in this trip so far. The place was bl**dy far. Alot of dark streets with little people and i think i walked through the redlight district too. There were many darker skin people sitting around doing nothing. Glad i made it safe and sound home! along the way, i walked past bridal shops selling really nice wedding dresses. Suddenly, i feel like taking picture in those dresses. Dun get me wrong, i dun want to take wedding photos (and definitely no plans for it now). I just like those dresses.... and jsut want to wear them.

5 days in taiwan, i am really liking how leisure this break is. No time pressure, no massive pre-planning. Do everything as it comes along. Since I am by myself, it is perfectly fine that I get lost, eat when i like it and est when i want to.

People are generally friendly and nice here. the only thing probably i still need getting use to is the massive number of scooters here and the fact that they can be everywhere, on the pavements, turning round suddenly etc. Road hazard!!!!

tomorrow...集集or 清静农场。。 see how tomorrow la...