Before leaving Taiwan, I had a last day to explore. As a huge mochi fan, I wanted to visit an actual mochi museum.. just the online marketing was better than reality.. again.

Original plan: Nights in Taichung, a day trip to Lukang Mazu Temple and Taiwan Mochi Museum.

Reality: 12 hours of sleep and walking around Taichung.

I stayed in the Backpack 41 Youth Hostel. The hostel itself was okay (good location, clean conditions, big beds but without curtains), only the dorm was crazy. I’m not sure, but I had the feeling that a few girls were escorts (with nice words to say). After all the peaceful nights, it felt exhausting here with the nonstop moving, door closing, and noise.

In the morning, I tried to figure out how to get to the Mochi Museum. After a short chat with a local girl, it turned out that the museum is not that big of a deal, and also going there by public transport is tricky and takes long. Considering my options, and because the Lukang Temple was far too, I just stayed in the city. I went back to the empty and silent dorm, slept for a few more hours, and woke up around 1 pm, crazy-hungry.

Despite a delicious smell spread on the street from a soup place (where you put everything you want in your bowl, then give it to the lady who finishes it with noodles and soup), I was too hungry to be able to decide. Because of the language barrier, I didn’t want to risk getting something I didn’t want at all. So I kept going and finally found a place with no soup or dumplings – I had a tasty noodle with pork belly, veggies, and egg.. and finished with a coffee.

With enough fuel in my body, I was ready to explore Taichung. Right after I found a hobby/game shop and bought my next Beargguy, I walked to Taichung Park, which has a lake and a goat statue. From there, I headed to the business district to see some civilization. Taichung has the ultimate level of foreigners, which is a bit surprising and feels weird. Why do people of other nations choose even this city? Based on my very short trip, Taichung is the most insignificant city on the island (country). Anyway, good luck to find the exit out of here:

My favourite time of the day was the late afternoon when the stores opened again, and empty streets turned into a vivid bustle. I love to see when the food vendors get ready for the evening, prepare the food, and scream and laugh together. Once they heat the wok, rich and perfectly harmonized smells take over the streets. Chinese spices have a typical aroma that feels like home for my soul. I grabbed my dinner at Gekiuka Yakitori and enjoyed it on a plastic stool among the office people.

To catch my flight in Taipei, I took the United Bus (cheaper than the train, with a direct connection to the airport, wifi onboard, and around 2 hours of travel time). Because Mercury Retrograde had just started, I over-secured my travel, which meant waking up before sunrise. The urban dawns have a special charm: the night is over, the street lights are still on, and the day hasn’t started; it’s the moment before the night-people and the day-people change. The air was warm but fresh, not yet heavy from exhaust fumes.

On the way to the bus station, I wanted a proper breakfast. When I saw a smiling old man with a food cart by the canal, I knew he had what I needed. Noodles, fried eggs, meat, and veggies in a soup – the typical Chinese breakfast with the best aroma that we expect from Asian street food.

Even though Taichung is not my top place in Taiwan, I prefer the Taiwanese countryside to the capital. The food is good wherever you go, but the people and the atmosphere are different, and thus, it’s more enjoyable.