Chaiyi, and the Wonderful people of Taiwan.

Tabi and the Assemble! Bear :) 

I recently spent a week in Taiwan traveling from Chaiyi to Taipei, discovering that I really should plan better and just how wonderful the people of Taiwan are. I spent a few short days in the south central part of Taiwan in a small place called Chaiyi on my way to Alishan and though I had hoped to see more, I found that the few short days there were enough to say that I need to learn more Chinese before my return.

I took Peach Airlines from Osaka to Taipei Airport. From there you can take the a bus from the airport to the bullet train terminal. From there you are able to proceed to other other cities and begin your journey. I had considered taking the local train, which is a 4 hour ride from Taoyuan, but I chose the bullet train to get more time to see the city. It cost around 1,400 NTD(Taiwan dollars) if I recall correctly. Comparable to the Shinkansen in Japan.

Once I arrived in Chiayi I took a bus from the bullet train station to the basic train station directly in Chiayi city. The bullet train station is a bit far from the actual city center, but the ticket is free with bullet train ticket purchase. Very convenient. From that station you'll head inside the station and to the left there are stairs to take you across the tracks and into the city. Its a nice view and you can skip the long walk around or through the station. Once int he city you will be met with people who know right away that you are a tourist and will not be shy about trying to get you to Alishan by taxi/bus/ what-have-you. It takes a little effort to get past them, but just be polite and I'm sure you'll be fine. The people there are typically nice and will offer help if you look lost, just be careful not to hop to quickly into a cab thinking they know exactly where you need to go.

Once in the city I headed out to find the hostel with my travel buddy and it took a little effort. We stayed at a hostel call Assemble! Backpackers Hostel. (http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Assemble-Backpackers/Chiayi/64419) A wonderful hostel run by Vicky and Marcus. Two of the coolest people I've met in my travels so far. A very laid back and comfortable atmosphere, the hostel is clean, affordable and Vicky was AMAZING at helping find places to see and ways to get there. They provide you with an awesome map of the Chiayi city area and where you can go to try interesting foods and hit the night markets. Being a vegetarian I was super happy that she had veggie friendly places marked on there as well. Its a great place to stop in for a night or two while you travel and meet these fantastic people.

Kari at the tasty vegetarian place we tried. We ate there twice because we couldn't find the others but it was  good and the people are really nice. By the way, that rice, is awesome. 

Walking around we came across this temple/shrine but I was completely thrown off the most by the screen on the front. Strange to add that to the front of something like this. 

There are a few museums and sites to see in the city. We didnt manage any museums but there is a wood carving place that seemed nice near here. 

Something I noticed in Chaiyi that is a big part of Taiwan in general is the amount of SCOOTER! Everywhere! IN MASSES. It was crazy to see so many people on them. Hordes of scooters.  We considered renting them, but it is a little scary to see people ride them and honestly Im not sure I would have been comfortable. 

A fair warning, the water in Taiwan is not clean enough to drink from the tap. Please do not attempt. There are however adorable water stations. Tabi-Chan found this robot water machine to be just adorable. 

We saw an abundance of these soda/beer/juice shrine thingys everywhere! I have no idea what they were for but they seem to be offerings, or the sort. I wonder what they do with them after time. Is it just thrown out?　Ｗｈａｔ　ｈａｐｐｅｎｓ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｊｕｉｃｅ？

The little touches of the culture were in the nooks of each street. It was beautiful to see the little bits of color and creations to the somewhat rougher looking streets. 

The night market in Chaiyi offers everything from stinky tofu (which you couldn't miss if you tried) to shoes and clothes. We walked about for a time. Its interesting how most places cook on the street corners and wash dishes in the road. Meats and veggies just out in the open ready to be devoured. OSHA would not approve. 

Shops are colorful and what one might expect from a night market. Filled with students still in uniform and couples strolling along, you can find almost anything you like. Except if you have big feet like me.... no dice. The way to this market is easily mapped on the paper Vicky gave us (we used it A LOT) but if you cant find somewhere you can just ask someone. Most people speak or understand a little English in Taiwan. 

One of the little side road shops. She was really nice. 

I laughed SO HARD at these manikins. They look like a distorted Leo DiCaprio or my sister friend Mark. BAHAHAHAH
 Too good. Way to go little shop, way to go. 

Taiwan in general has no shortage of street foods of ANY kind. Those my friends are duck heads..... on a stick. I'm fairly certain you can fry any part of the animal and put it on a stick in Taiwan. (shutter) I have no idea what else is going on there but this little booth had plenty of people ready to chow down. I passed, quickly. 

On our journey to the market these super genki girls gave us some bread and talked to us a little. They also helped us later on find our way back and other places to travel. After we bought some tasty bread at the shop the girl in the middle even offered to take us to the other night market when she got off work. It was a such a nice offer but we didn't accept. Next time TOTALLY! 

Assemble! This is the door to the hostel. It is a little hard to find if you aren't paying attention, but Vicky is amazing and will send you great directions with the reservation. Thanks again VICKY!

The wonderful Vicky and Marcus! Thanks for the great stay ! 

We loved our stay in Chaiyi! Thanks again Assemble!