taichung, part 2: adventures in natural history + turkish cuisine

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZs4iKEIxpQFD9qtTj5YLY5U4ZS2OiQkS0PqLtbdqKYF_sh6TtusEjglNV4omYR6mb8FVy1xwdyg-tOwgFMrRF2Y5yDDxx0XIHOT8oRB-ZuHUvyfNTo_19uz99DP2c3UBJAD-TGwaS4m7q/s1600/IMG_6610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZs4iKEIxpQFD9qtTj5YLY5U4ZS2OiQkS0PqLtbdqKYF_sh6TtusEjglNV4omYR6mb8FVy1xwdyg-tOwgFMrRF2Y5yDDxx0XIHOT8oRB-ZuHUvyfNTo_19uz99DP2c3UBJAD-TGwaS4m7q/s640/IMG_6610.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">after Husband and I went to the <a href="http://inkandadventure.blogspot.tw/2012/12/taichung-botanical-garden-rain-forest.html" target="_blank">rainforest greenhouse in Taichung</a>, we walked over to the <a href="http://www.nmns.edu.tw/index_eng.html" target="_blank">National Museum of Natural Science</a>. the very first thing we noticed was a giant Mayan pyramid in the courtyard of the museum, with a countdown clock to the end of the world. clearly, the world did NOT end on 12.21.12, but the apocalypse exhibit was still interesting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2JYij4h_ChiyHZc00Tv_70LS7T4rVoLJjMsDhFBEGt4mDOiyxRuAT9A9zaPR8APfoQNBS5RtvNTKF1KP0PBDjnOlkrd0dIZdrAqiXUYplBPz2BjV3on71MrydMrT8HiZR612QYTXD-LB/s1600/IMG_6658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2JYij4h_ChiyHZc00Tv_70LS7T4rVoLJjMsDhFBEGt4mDOiyxRuAT9A9zaPR8APfoQNBS5RtvNTKF1KP0PBDjnOlkrd0dIZdrAqiXUYplBPz2BjV3on71MrydMrT8HiZR612QYTXD-LB/s640/IMG_6658.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAP43eJb8q04kVytI4HH_rshgGpzyepgK7nAqNwTLKkFCQ4wD7FhUhzwhupvw5y-xeT1RUlM1Ehjbbwy2eCkLEcskTPopGt7g2DP1PNAYa7B6WpBRjmVw6AG0SZ0daF5hwNCF1cFhdKSf/s1600/IMG_6615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAP43eJb8q04kVytI4HH_rshgGpzyepgK7nAqNwTLKkFCQ4wD7FhUhzwhupvw5y-xeT1RUlM1Ehjbbwy2eCkLEcskTPopGt7g2DP1PNAYa7B6WpBRjmVw6AG0SZ0daF5hwNCF1cFhdKSf/s640/IMG_6615.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCpZ6MCZE6QJ1kjuftopbl0LWOmLyZ-1xYquNalJCVn4sEPi7mDNl8XY4Oa1gqQM9vCcJZA_spbK2ErlmyAZ0pujx8hHI82fWmRQJ_K3FxPcO6paCC_II3805vHmo63ptT43GouoV4R6R/s1600/IMG_6652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCpZ6MCZE6QJ1kjuftopbl0LWOmLyZ-1xYquNalJCVn4sEPi7mDNl8XY4Oa1gqQM9vCcJZA_spbK2ErlmyAZ0pujx8hHI82fWmRQJ_K3FxPcO6paCC_II3805vHmo63ptT43GouoV4R6R/s640/IMG_6652.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />the museum also housed an assortment of dinosaurs, historical artifacts, and science exhibits.  we wandered around until closing time, then meandered through downtown in search of a Turkish restaurant we had heard a rumor about.<br /><br />Taichung has a really interesting feature: a very long park that runs through downtown for miles [or would that be kilometers?] the botanical gardens are at one end of it, but it stretches for quite a while. we didn't walk the whole thing, but there were tons of people out jogging and skating and walking their dogs.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_D0TiteIYqjt1obo5inchz3BykxXWWXnTdw6lt8zCPwFIGkHGmm8R5sbtpYLk1eMkW-fMvUajJcyHiu_DvLk6w7thJGQ-L9KkGCWtTDiyEKxb_J6ErGfvtxw88YFwS5uJEAj_mCWP4J-/s1600/IMG_6681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_D0TiteIYqjt1obo5inchz3BykxXWWXnTdw6lt8zCPwFIGkHGmm8R5sbtpYLk1eMkW-fMvUajJcyHiu_DvLk6w7thJGQ-L9KkGCWtTDiyEKxb_J6ErGfvtxw88YFwS5uJEAj_mCWP4J-/s640/IMG_6681.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv8JDK87db4jlxxc9QDn6LEayMoMgJTz7_VhyphenhyphenKtLd7A_9Syu6IUDLLwvtoFM5C7A4A5-IhO8zavLNrOswTm_aGXU1gYNOz7ReeneVT-SwDA1a5XZ9VVAJyDgBRgrBIsh4DtAkyrGIYeba/s1600/IMG_6695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv8JDK87db4jlxxc9QDn6LEayMoMgJTz7_VhyphenhyphenKtLd7A_9Syu6IUDLLwvtoFM5C7A4A5-IhO8zavLNrOswTm_aGXU1gYNOz7ReeneVT-SwDA1a5XZ9VVAJyDgBRgrBIsh4DtAkyrGIYeba/s640/IMG_6695.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzo6EPTZzv_f864oW3w9TmAMbtNYbXN7FNAnUgZv5NQSrjab5tQNl75089c0E1MRK9TJ-k7wWg5BYl95lehTn0zBCpJKrFjVSuiN-z9SvpOjZC3FGX4svsDvTn6cH9cdlOkAFtzVYlZ3ER/s1600/IMG_6696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzo6EPTZzv_f864oW3w9TmAMbtNYbXN7FNAnUgZv5NQSrjab5tQNl75089c0E1MRK9TJ-k7wWg5BYl95lehTn0zBCpJKrFjVSuiN-z9SvpOjZC3FGX4svsDvTn6cH9cdlOkAFtzVYlZ3ER/s640/IMG_6696.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />after a while, we found the road we knew we had to turn off of to get to the restaurant. but we didn't know if we needed to head north or south. we turned left and walked for about 20 minutes [ok, maybe it was 5. my hunger-brain might have exaggerated it at the time.] before deciding to stop and ask some friendly Nova store workers ^^  if they knew where this mysterious Tukrish place was. <br /><br />after debating with 4 different employees and searching on 3 different electronic devices, they determined we were heading in the wrong direction and called us a cab. [side note: I love how friendly and helpful people are here in Taiwan] the cab showed up and a few minutes of rush hour traffic down the road, we were there. turns out "very far away" and "30 minute walk" translates to 800 meters. oh well.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxwxSD3GWK9WA-lHhn79a5oRvr9R3Zg9PgQTIjOIamH7FbfBez-MXLZ9Nh_ygth5ItQu6Fe6pFdrnrGWZS_471BWRP63SbHBdkMUV-J7n5FYi8bNcb-sM8n95yVXdFZ8jdjeBsuspoRlU/s1600/IMG_6703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxwxSD3GWK9WA-lHhn79a5oRvr9R3Zg9PgQTIjOIamH7FbfBez-MXLZ9Nh_ygth5ItQu6Fe6pFdrnrGWZS_471BWRP63SbHBdkMUV-J7n5FYi8bNcb-sM8n95yVXdFZ8jdjeBsuspoRlU/s640/IMG_6703.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_CgJeIpozhD-DFMwD2eaghM_S1usBCVIe2VV4cPzCyH474uyZAUG8EoBfIWKseecwUfXR6421XSpvlZV5D06Hi23MhT8nmEmPCMH_Uyec6QG1cUpy6LBGehecTG6ano1a4ODw7jNwmbr/s1600/IMG_6704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_CgJeIpozhD-DFMwD2eaghM_S1usBCVIe2VV4cPzCyH474uyZAUG8EoBfIWKseecwUfXR6421XSpvlZV5D06Hi23MhT8nmEmPCMH_Uyec6QG1cUpy6LBGehecTG6ano1a4ODw7jNwmbr/s640/IMG_6704.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AZq7qE4rgOWgYIOfHV10e9BMkI6sq_N6s2h4Mu3B_jt4_W_MYd3DuB8lleTiIHd8qZ7x9kvmi-bOng1cE4kEBZ7v7Cfw57Q_V6wWPnwJmmWMKi3l31E0IpE1AfL-FM43LM6P6IdsYi1w/s1600/IMG_6710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AZq7qE4rgOWgYIOfHV10e9BMkI6sq_N6s2h4Mu3B_jt4_W_MYd3DuB8lleTiIHd8qZ7x9kvmi-bOng1cE4kEBZ7v7Cfw57Q_V6wWPnwJmmWMKi3l31E0IpE1AfL-FM43LM6P6IdsYi1w/s640/IMG_6710.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JCIGVipXil3P937jV-6rcw-M2siQI9sSVjYsh4-2ZtzzzmVUqZLVSKiZSUS3bX19KYlXhZdvwPjJ-VYEwhL3g0GHMbeedO5Dw7Tw66yiczdGoG5XyvWs-OcowEvVzR7H00Mu1HAbLu20/s1600/IMG_6715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JCIGVipXil3P937jV-6rcw-M2siQI9sSVjYsh4-2ZtzzzmVUqZLVSKiZSUS3bX19KYlXhZdvwPjJ-VYEwhL3g0GHMbeedO5Dw7Tw66yiczdGoG5XyvWs-OcowEvVzR7H00Mu1HAbLu20/s640/IMG_6715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />the food was well worth the adventure in getting there. Husband lived in Istanbul for 6 months during undergrad, and then traveled the central and eastern part of the country with a Fulbright program in 2011. he gave the cuisine his stamp of authentic approval. we had tea, goban salata, beyti kebab, lentil soup, the works. the owner/chef came out and he and Husband chatted in Turkish for a few minutes while I drank my coffee. we definitely plan to go back next time we are in town, and recommend it to anyone looking for some tasty Turkish while in Taiwan. [for more info, read <a href="http://www.taiwanfun.com/central/taichung/dining/1005/1005Anatolia.htm" target="_blank">this thorough review of the restaurant</a>]<br /><br />after dinner, they called us a cab and we were off to the high speed rail station. our trip into town took about 15 minutes, but that night our crazy taxi driver was fueled by some awesome tunes [courtesy of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOyxeUtm8sA" target="_blank">Madonna</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogoIxkPjRts" target="_blank">Air Supply</a>] and we made it out to the station in less than half the time. even after living in New York, I can definitely say that was <i>the most terrifying</i> cab ride I've ever had. but we survived, and made it to our train with plenty of time to spare. all's well that ends well I suppose, but  next time I will be wary of getting into a cab blasting 80s pop...

taichung, part 2: adventures in natural history + turkish cuisine

after Husband and I went to the rainforest greenhouse in Taichung , we walked over to the National Museum of Natural Science . the very firs...

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taichung botanical garden + rain forest greenhouse

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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX1rjAeHQr894fVCiBx1vCmyQWceoBzrqkzzU5-uZMwbxf3Pb5JNNq38mQckGSAc5vtIFJT_mRdWTcEMrHlXLPWSOD56NTKbrBLEyphXgMdY3EC11McrBEc5-6Wrn2Ff9XQQutjCPstEa/s1600/IMG_6588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX1rjAeHQr894fVCiBx1vCmyQWceoBzrqkzzU5-uZMwbxf3Pb5JNNq38mQckGSAc5vtIFJT_mRdWTcEMrHlXLPWSOD56NTKbrBLEyphXgMdY3EC11McrBEc5-6Wrn2Ff9XQQutjCPstEa/s640/IMG_6588.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpHC-23FuycBB-dErjepVE95x2syH1FHrmiNtgqhAHpDEC0VrSYtexyUJ9ajeSXY_jFB36euT6WqDujiAoScl1ingSQpu3aFSXFW5mJl5TnOpAjNBg8MHAkWaxffj55wEJwsq091QxotJ/s1600/IMG_6591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpHC-23FuycBB-dErjepVE95x2syH1FHrmiNtgqhAHpDEC0VrSYtexyUJ9ajeSXY_jFB36euT6WqDujiAoScl1ingSQpu3aFSXFW5mJl5TnOpAjNBg8MHAkWaxffj55wEJwsq091QxotJ/s640/IMG_6591.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuxwjj9yoYvPA-SnKvJjRZDM_WwE_5ODUi_OCZvtcweL651sxnhOA63VGoMNFtwl2hFzT-kqoGwscQTQghXiheesFQBkmOy8tUy5TIbhfkh1Ez6s6kpe8oPn_rZn5vS8JxtreB_gPYZzz/s1600/IMG_6593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuxwjj9yoYvPA-SnKvJjRZDM_WwE_5ODUi_OCZvtcweL651sxnhOA63VGoMNFtwl2hFzT-kqoGwscQTQghXiheesFQBkmOy8tUy5TIbhfkh1Ez6s6kpe8oPn_rZn5vS8JxtreB_gPYZzz/s640/IMG_6593.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfQ3uLmCj5qoc4BCY4vvGmjXBOW6IHOc6PkSeOaPe6NKILtpLS5l3dtGW83WScFhbIl0vHMtRMM3PJ-EjYHURrJ_RYgq5RM5f4-pC_B5YZxN5fqz26NepMMkBMjxcIsSLNjvV8ibt0_SV/s1600/IMG_6534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfQ3uLmCj5qoc4BCY4vvGmjXBOW6IHOc6PkSeOaPe6NKILtpLS5l3dtGW83WScFhbIl0vHMtRMM3PJ-EjYHURrJ_RYgq5RM5f4-pC_B5YZxN5fqz26NepMMkBMjxcIsSLNjvV8ibt0_SV/s640/IMG_6534.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />in downtown Taichung there is a long, winding park that leads you to the <a href="http://www.nmns.edu.tw/index_eng.html" target="_blank">National Museum of Natural Science</a> and the <a href="http://www.nmns.edu.tw/nmns_eng/04exhibit/permanent/BotanicalGarden/" target="_blank">Taichung Botanical Gardens</a>. rising up out of the green space is a giant glass and metal structure: the rain forest greenhouse.<br /><br />the first thing you notice when you step inside is the waterfall. the second thing you notice is that the waterfall is not flowing from a stream or river, but from spigots located near the ceiling of the structure. <br /><br />as we wandered through the paths, navigating around school tour groups, we realized that November is probably not the ideal time to visit the greenhouse. there was a lot of green... but not any flowers in bloom. [we plan to return sometime in the spring]<br /><br />when we reached the bottom of the "trail", we found they also have a cafe and science center in the basement. with little fish, piranhas, and giant fish as long as I am tall. they also had an interesting collection of colorful frogs. [I can't tell you much else about them as the signs were all in Chinese]<br /><br />it was a nice way to pass an hour or so before heading to the museum, though I think it would have been better if: 1. flowers were in bloom and 2. there was an English tour and/or signage. definitely worth a stroll through to see the waterfall and the frogs and fish, though.<br /><br />and of course, the giant mosquito statue outside that tried to suck the life out of Husband.

taichung botanical garden + rain forest greenhouse

in downtown Taichung there is a long, winding park that leads you to the National Museum of Natural Science and the Taichung Botanical Gard...

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to taichung: the high speed rail

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpGmGLRNAHMO1RbZTkcs969YWbrZuJmuTQIj2E1zB-Bg_M_SGasPplXXEi_lShwUQX4Pyk4n7WkEkCJdloP7hKt_qNt1HQsCaoCdE5CX58z6UG3FTJtLZH9OwVgwy-_TWlOVRzsQo_SO4/s1600/IMG_6507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpGmGLRNAHMO1RbZTkcs969YWbrZuJmuTQIj2E1zB-Bg_M_SGasPplXXEi_lShwUQX4Pyk4n7WkEkCJdloP7hKt_qNt1HQsCaoCdE5CX58z6UG3FTJtLZH9OwVgwy-_TWlOVRzsQo_SO4/s640/IMG_6507.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2eb3zEvUaQww1TX7p0jRzAAzvvYdNfWev01M7os9sSW0yjE8AjWTjGwAzFGJthgPo3_NrjH2mpP8gbWMp5vxL0hyphenhyphenUc1gEI9ldAa1AKkz_penRDCD-KVBtVFdQy6n16cR8E-mBtf_CFe7/s1600/IMG_6508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2eb3zEvUaQww1TX7p0jRzAAzvvYdNfWev01M7os9sSW0yjE8AjWTjGwAzFGJthgPo3_NrjH2mpP8gbWMp5vxL0hyphenhyphenUc1gEI9ldAa1AKkz_penRDCD-KVBtVFdQy6n16cR8E-mBtf_CFe7/s640/IMG_6508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Mk-31hZxCOyWARHLb6x4PyK-KYrAoTY31EYE_EmACmG1h8mCmwnmhbrSUA1-yWZiH2QmZjyQKRntxkH03VRXMlgaPX2Tio3Bm5H7nKXXgnMZsB0tO2o-TthdISPOW9JthSU5V5jM6ymX/s1600/IMG_6510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Mk-31hZxCOyWARHLb6x4PyK-KYrAoTY31EYE_EmACmG1h8mCmwnmhbrSUA1-yWZiH2QmZjyQKRntxkH03VRXMlgaPX2Tio3Bm5H7nKXXgnMZsB0tO2o-TthdISPOW9JthSU5V5jM6ymX/s640/IMG_6510.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcncIp8FLFM2lAuFbWjy_SurU7lBBB9axBTwbkJi09kEko1ta0OUMtg3luakRTR9ZvSt56ye2dtQseK7_aLUrhk-UpurRmLXpx_rXGXYWKTiYOR2oqUV9EX6K60XOoslgYIjFB7ka6Lm1P/s1600/IMG_6513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcncIp8FLFM2lAuFbWjy_SurU7lBBB9axBTwbkJi09kEko1ta0OUMtg3luakRTR9ZvSt56ye2dtQseK7_aLUrhk-UpurRmLXpx_rXGXYWKTiYOR2oqUV9EX6K60XOoslgYIjFB7ka6Lm1P/s640/IMG_6513.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAskJfzj3NGjQH9geYYGymtUh0eNYeVsrzwaYPwCl7j69t6LfB4zInTIVOHeW2Jjhf32I6XCbd2Vt2yrk5-iFoOMwwIMCnJQV3tbtYLFs-03xtlu7Ix558kG-lGm3F9VE4SNJ9sONObFSq/s1600/IMG_6514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAskJfzj3NGjQH9geYYGymtUh0eNYeVsrzwaYPwCl7j69t6LfB4zInTIVOHeW2Jjhf32I6XCbd2Vt2yrk5-iFoOMwwIMCnJQV3tbtYLFs-03xtlu7Ix558kG-lGm3F9VE4SNJ9sONObFSq/s640/IMG_6514.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbbnPQOBBGxF8jkWOk4UjVk_bTgzqqXINDa29BZ7c4TT0ZjgscpvPsg9xGO48Pg_UguK3orzjeZX_5SmTZ6GrRTs5lj5zT4v6MlRmWnx2MTTwIw8Rj3TOpXwwmk9838ov1xEUEEz_A1aG/s1600/IMG_6518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbbnPQOBBGxF8jkWOk4UjVk_bTgzqqXINDa29BZ7c4TT0ZjgscpvPsg9xGO48Pg_UguK3orzjeZX_5SmTZ6GrRTs5lj5zT4v6MlRmWnx2MTTwIw8Rj3TOpXwwmk9838ov1xEUEEz_A1aG/s640/IMG_6518.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I want to start posting about our trip to Taichung, so first things first... if you are going to travel in Taiwan, the high speed rail is the way to go. the station in Hsinchu is an easy scoot away, and parking is plentiful [and cheap.] the station is big and bright, and everything is labeled in both Mandarin and English. even the automated ticket machines are easy to use. the station also has a 7-11, Starbucks, and <a href="http://www.mosburger.com.sg/home.php" target="_blank">Mos Burger </a>... so we stopped for a snack while we waited for our train.<br /><br />there are two kinds of tickets you can buy: reserved and non-reserved. the reserved tickets mean you have a specific assigned car, row, and seat. kindof like an airplane. the train platforms are labeled so that you know where to stand to board your car, so that you will be closest to your row. insane organization, I love it. non-reserved seats are a little cheaper but you can only sit in the 2 or 3 non-reserved cars and seats are first come, first serve- everyone else stands.<br /><br />regardless of which car you are in, the train is clean and the seating is comfortable and spacious. there's also a service cart that rolls through with coffee, tea, and snacks for purchase. but the best part about the high speed rail is that it's <i>high speed</i>.<br /><br />[this might get a little bit math class, so if you hated those "if a train leaves Chicago traveling 60mph towards New York, and at the same time a train leaves New York..." kinds of problems, maybe you should skip the end of this post. though you should note that the only way to get between those two cities by train is to route through Washington DC...]<br /><br />the distance from Hsinchu to Taichung is around 115 km or 70 miles, and according to Google [and traffic] would take approximately 2 hours and 18 minutes driving time. OR. you can take the high speed rail and be there in 25 minutes. even with the time by taxi to get from the train station to your destination, it's a no-brainer.<br /><br />also, consider that I used to take the train from Princeton NJ to New York City [only 81 km or 50 miles] and the trip took between 53 and 89 minutes depending on the time of day... the high speed rail is more than twice as fast as New Jersey Transit.<br /><br />in fact, you can travel from the north end of the island in Taipei, all the way down to the south at Zuoying in just two hours. 352 km or 219 miles. that's just shy of the distance between New York and Washington DC, and only slightly more than the distance between NYC and Boston. I can tell you I have ridden the fastest Amtrak Acela train from NY to Boston... and the trip took me 5 hours. [closer to 6 if you drive - I've done that too!]<br /><br />I feel like I've gone off on a tangent, so let me summarize my conclusions:<br />1. the Taiwan high speed rail is fast, convenient, and awesome.<br />2. I wish the US had trains that traveled this quickly.<br />3. I also wish the US had trains that traveled to more destinations.<br />4. I wish the US would have built them years ago and saved me all that airline money spent and all those 12-hour drives from Princeton to Detroit, and some serious commute time to/from NYC.<br />5. sorry my list of conclusions turned into a list of tangents.<br />6. I promise the next post about Taichung will actually be about Taichung.<br />7. can you tell my brain is fried from substitute teaching all week?<br />8.<b> thank you, and good night</b>.

to taichung: the high speed rail

I want to start posting about our trip to Taichung, so first things first... if you are going to travel in Taiwan, the high speed rail is th...

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