The Eternal Golden Fort and Fort Zeelandia

A View from the top of Fort Zeelandia; isn't it pretty as fuck?

Tainan exists in the middle of the fast pace Technological life of Taipei and the extremely mellow and relaxed life of the south. It is a place of contrast, a place that perfectly represents what I think defines Taiwan: 'a sweet spot between tradition and innovation'.

Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan, it was first founded by the Dutch, then occupied by the Portuguese and Chinese. It has lived plenty of rises and falls. Originally designed to be a port, the Anping area now holds a collection of residential areas and office buildings surrounding some very old areas.

In these old areas we can find two very interesting buildings that have lived through the ages. I don't know much about Architecture but I will give it a try to write about these places.

The Golden fort (or Eternal Golden Castle)

Built in 1874 to serve as a defensive castle or fort against Japanese invasions. For 20 years remained inactive until the Japanese invasion of 1895, during which the Taiwanese fought the Japanese vessels from here. It has a very interesting octagonal shape with very efficient placement of the cannons at the front section of the fort, facing the ocean. The cannons were able to be reloaded rather quickly which gave the fort it's tactical edge. It also houses a rather large central square area that could be used for training purposes. After 1904, during the Russo-Japanese war, all the cannons were sold to support the war thus the fort lost all its military edge, resulting in a semi-abandonment state.

A few years ago, the place received a facelift as a tourist attraction, and I have to say: Good Job Taiwan! The place looks fantastic, it has a very nice series of banners depicting the history of the place, the gardens and surroundings are extremely well kept. And it offers an exceptional view. If you are around the Anping area do not hesitate on coming here; it is a well spent hour.

The Eternal Golden Castle

Guangzhou Road, Anping District, Taiwan

Price: 50 NTD (25 NTD discount)

A view of the entry way into the Eternal Golden Castle

Fake cannons now located in strategic locations at the Eternal Golden Castle

The Old Fort (Fort Zeelandia)

Very close, in the same area we will find the Old fort, or Fort Zeelandia as named by the Dutch. This is a much older , much bigger and, in my opinion much more interesting structure.

Built between 1624 and 1634 by the then Rulers of the area; the Dutch, fort Zeelandia has seen the rise and fall of Tainan many times, it has suffered additions, demolitions, and renewables throughout the centuries. This fort is presumably the first big structure erected in  the Island, and the Dutch picked this exact location for its ease of access to the ocean and strategic defensive value in case an invasion; which in theory sound pretty good except for the lack of fresh water supply that had to be carried in from the mainland. And this is how the actual settlement started, this was the typical European fort of the 17th century. Inside the fort was the military and administration center, church, garrisons, and jailhouse; outside was the downtown. Between the fort and downtown, there were market, slaughterhouse, gallows, execution ground and city weighing station.

Today only the main fort remains as it was back in the day. In the same way as the Golden Castle it was renewed and repurposed. It is a pretty awesome place to wander around and learn a bit of the history of Tainan. As well as having amazing gardens and an exceptional view of the Anping Downtown, it also has a couple of small museums.

My favorite part of the place is the observation deck built in the 1940's. I mean, asthetically speaking it is fucking ugly and kind of breaks down the whole harmony the place has, but it is the only place in Tainan, where anybody can go up and have an advantage point over the city, a great view indeed. If you have a chance you should come around here for a stroll.

Fort Zeelandia

國勝路82號 Anping Old Fort 708, Taiwán

Price: 50 NTD (25 NTD discount)

The stairs into Fort Zeelandia;  there was a school trip around that day, funny kids 

The Night Markets

If there is one thing and one place you must visit during your stay in Taiwan is the night Market. Let’s get something straight, something that everybody kept telling me and I kept reading in blogs and articles and refused to believe myself, but it is very true; Taiwanese Night Markets are a lot to take in for the newcomer. What can I tell you, they are busy, packed, noisy and in a simple explanation a fucking overload for all your senses. You will immediately notice the amount of people, the brightness and colorfulness of all the stalls, the pungent smells (both good and bad), music and people shouting, and the lack of personal space. But come on, you came here to experience everything, so, now that you have overcome the smells and personal space issue (which in my case were the hardest thing, because noise and lights are alright in my book), take a deep fucking breath and just dive in this fantastic ocean of new things and possibilities.

The parking lot of a Night Market 

Stinky Tofu

There are many things that are considered staples of the Taiwanese gastronomy like the Beef Noodle Soup, the One Thousand Year Old Eggs, the Tea Eggs and the Bubble Tea, but Stinky Tofu is, no questions asked, THE food to eat when you come to this Island.

You have probably heard the stories already, so I will start this post with two confessions:

1. I love Stinky Tofu, well, depending on how it is prepared.
2. I didn't like it at first.

First Preparation.

Minoru's Diary in Taiwan: The Day to Day Life

Tainan is a very peaceful and easy going place. The locals find it big, noisy and fast paced, but, to be honest, it is nothing like that. If you are used to the buzz of a big city, Tainan will be one of those places where you can just retire and relax.

Yes, there are a lot of scooters and some traffic, but that is only around rush hour (i.e. 8 a.m. or 6 p.m.)  and yes, there is quite a lot of pollution in the air. But there is something about the place that makes it seem, for lack of a better word, peaceful. Maybe is the fact that after 8 p.m. there is little to no traffic, after 10 p.m. there is little to no people outside.

You can always find people around fishing, immersed in their own thoughts.

Fisherman

Slippers & Geta; the rise and fall of a style.

Silly me, when I arrived in Taiwan after being in Spain and the UK for the most part of the winter, I was wearing a Coat, a Vest, a Scarf, Gloves and my trusty Doc Martens… The moment I step down the plane, I immediately thought: - Fuck! Oh yeah! It’s a tropical Island. So I took off my coat and gloves. One minute later the heat was crazy, I took off the vest. By the time I was leaving my shit at the hotel I was fucking sweating my soul  out.

So, yes, I needed to ditch my Doc Martens in order to get something that would help cope the heat that will only get worse and worse as summer approaches. 

So I heard about this place with the colourful slippers I've seen a lot of the locals wear everywhere. Apparently at some point when plastic started being popular around these parts of the world there was a company making the Iconic Blue and White plastic flip-flops many locals can recognise as something everybody has worn at some point in their lives. A few years ago, this same company started producing many different colourful variations of the same flip-flops, and they were a hit, so I thought: -Let's get myself some of them slippers!

They are sturdy, comfortable and indeed, very fucking colourful, and the best part? Well that's got to be the price, you will leave the establishment with a  shinny pair of new slippers and it will only set you back 100 NTD, oh yeah, around 2.5 EUR.

The Plastic Slippers