After being rained on (well the car, not us), we arrived in Taichung from Zhongli. Immediately, we headed for Rainbow Village. I felt absorbed into another world, a world where the residents lived in the wall and they whispered and stared at us curiously as we walked past. "Look at them!" they exclaimed to one another excitedly, eyes huge like saucers. "Keep still!" others hushed. It felt as if we were the ones being scrutinized. I liked how even the corners and floor were painted. We also met the Grandpa who was behind the paintings around the village! He was really friendly and cute, holding up the peace sign when we requested for a photo. Apparently the village was supposed to be demolished but in an effort to save it, he started painting on the walls and soon it became an attraction, people started coming to see it and it was saved hooray. But I heard that part of the village was still torn down (which would explain its size) and in the future, the remaining part might be gone too. Not sure how true this is...
The newly opened Gong Yuan Yan Ke (宫原眼科) left many wondering why we were going there as the name meant spectacles shop/eye clinic in Chinese. Well, it used to be an eye hospital then they refurbished it into a.... chocolate/ice cream/pineapple tarts shop. A random mix I say but whatever floats their boat. Most people come here for the ice cream which are named 'Sunshine after a rainy day' or 'Green pastures'. Ok, I can't remember the exact names but you get the drift. I had tea flavoured ice cream (I'm in Bubbletealand after all) but it tasted alright, nothing really special. It's the toppings I had fun choosing. They have options such as pineapple tarts, cheese cakes, moon cakes, other than your regular toppings. I adored the look of this place, look at the bookshelves! You can hardly tell what is in store for you when you step into the shop.
Banana New Paradise (香蕉新樂園) is a place for you to dine in Old Taiwan 风. I read many blogs about how it felt like you walked into a lost world but personally I thought that there wasn't much to write home about. And I bet the food inside is over priced. The old train head houses old tickets, old train models, a train captain cabin and a toilet. It's worth a look but it's really small and if you take the train around Taiwan, I don't think you'll find this particularly exciting.
Gaomei wetland (高美湿地) is my FAVOURITE place in Taichung. I did my research and found out that this place was highly recommended as a good place to watch the sunset so we went there at around 3+/4pm and reached at 5pm. The water lightly covers your feet as you walk on smooth warm mud, a free mud massage! You look over the horizon and it is an expanse of blue, the wetland looks like it goes on forever and ever before finally merging with the sky. With the gentle wind blowing softly at us, we walked further and further out and nearer and nearer to the setting sun, leaving civilization behind us. Soon, there was only us, the mud, the sky and the retreating sun. It was so tranquil and simply amazing. I could stay there forever, maybe with a beach chair and just stare out into the endlessness.
The only thing is that this place is about an hour away from the city center. We took a cab to a bus stop with bus numbers 168/169 and then crossed the road and took bus number 178 (or 179) at Qing Shui station (清水站). These two buses are not frequent and they follow a schedule. So it's wise to check the schedule before starting your journey so you don't end up waiting for an hour for the bus. Also, note that the last bus leaves Gaomei wetland at 7.15pm. If you're willing to spend on taxi, then it shouldn't be a big problem to get there.
Taiwan is truly a food paradise. We ate so much there I can't remember everything especially because I didn't take photos of everything I ate. Since pictures speak a thousand words, I shall just let your eyes feast on the pictures. I really liked the braised pork with rice 鲁肉饭) and sweet potato fries I had in Taichung. And I've heard many locals telling me that good Taiwanese food is found everywhere except Taipei, so if you have a chance to travel to Taiwan, don't make Taipei your only stop!
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