After a long night's rest, I was up for brunch... aka lunch with some breakfast food, because I slept through breakfast. Tainan is a very cultural city, Taiwan's formal capital, with countless parks and statues, and is also famous for its markets and vendors. Earlier, my grandma bought some pork buns, and for lunch, we went to get Peking duck - right down the street, just steps from home.
Peking Duck Takeout!
Left: The vendor. You can see that a whole duck is 400 NT, or about $13.60 Canadian.
Right: Ducks... but if you look behind them, there's a statue in the park just across the street.
Right: Ducks... but if you look behind them, there's a statue in the park just across the street.
Below's a close up.
Later in the day, I went to get a much needed haircut at a nearby barbershop recommended by my uncle (mom's eldest brother to be precise - Mandarin and Taiwanese is so much more precise with relative labels). The owner was very nice and friendly - you don't have Taiwanese speaking foreign university students coming for a haircut too often. =) Cost for cut and wash? Well under $5 Canadian.
I took a detour on the way back to my grandma's house, gazing at the house numbers at attempts to fully understand the numbering system in Taiwan (of alleys, lanes, and sections, of roads) and stopping by at the 7-11, to buy one of my favourite drinks in Taiwan - HeySong Sarsparilla - HeySong being one of Taiwan's most famous drink makers, while Sarsparilla refers to drinks made from the Sarsparilla plant. It's a bit like root beer; some say it's like root beer and Dr. Pepper, and others say it has a small aftertaste of minty toothpaste. It's a bit of an acquired taste I suppose, but I like it =). It's also supposedly good for a sore throat. Most of all, it's great as a refresher on a hot day in southern Taiwan. If you want to try some Hey Song Sarsparilla, you can usually find some at T&T Supermarkets in Canada.
For dinner, my third eldest aunt and uncle brought me to a dim sum place nearby their home. Coming from Toronto, one of the world's most multicultural cities, I'd say we have some pretty awesome dim sum places that rival other places worldwide - though I'll save the comparison with Hong Kong itself after I visit. As for Taiwan, the food was good, as always, but the highlight was the addition of fresh seafood items on the menu. And I, for one, love fish.
Back at my grandma's home, on the third floor, I was back on my computer. Here, I take the time to add a very important thank you to my second uncle, who lent me one of those internet sticks early upon my arrival in Tainan. Needless to say, though my grandma is up to par with her cellphone and satellite TV, she has no need for wireless internet. Opening the doors to the internet allowed for me to continue working on a backlog of posts, and to keep in contact with friends in Canada, loveboaters, and the daily sporcle challenge. And of course, a thank you to my grandma and second aunt for opening the doors to their homes and lives so that I could rest and enjoy Tainan.
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