Jan 30th: The nite before the Tainan Ancient Capital International Marathon

In Taiwan, I always get the feeling I'm too full.

Went to the local night market for dinner and obviously ate too much.
With Tainan, it is well known locally for their local bites and especially the one at Hua Yuan. It is 4 times the size of the one I went to last nite. Oh yeah, their nite markets are held on alternate days and in different locations. This one is BIG. It was the Carrefour of pasar malams.

And here is my dinner.

So oily! I know. Guess I better go to the toilet before the run tomorrow.

Weather here in Tainan City is very hot in the day and colder at nite. Probably a difference of 10 degrees.

I was sweating heaps as I walked to the City Office to collect my certificates.
It's located in the middle of nowhere. Either that or it has enuff space for all the administrative offices of Singapore. Quite a new building and it has the name of the current mayor on the outside facade. I guess this helps to remind pp. I hear fireworks around the corner. Funky. Maybe it's a religious festival.

There is a big canal that cuts thru the city which divides it into north and south. Much like Shanghai, the roads go east/west and north/south. And from the last 4 days of map reading, all the road names repeat themselves in all Taiwanese cities. Zhong Zheng, Yong Hua, An Ping. It made my head spin as I tried to book hostels in Kaohsiung with the same orientation in mind as Taipei.

Here's me looking lost after walking in the hot sun for an hour. I think I'm a shade darker.

Because this city is known for its old fort, temples and historic importance as a trading port for the Spanish first, followed by the Dutch and Japanese. Of course, the Chinese government too was in control then. Qing officials were assigned here and they had their statues and temples. The one thing I took from the historic sites was the adaptation of the town people to their changing leaders. Sure, they might have had one revolt in the last 300 years and 4,000 people died. Things did not improve for them. And it can be seen in the infrastructure here. It's difficult walking from one road to the other, not to mention the uneven pavements. Taipei is as modern to Tainan as the computer is to the notepad.

Of course, not all is undeveloped. I appreciate the food. It's everywhere and people here are generally friendlier than Taipei. Maybe I should say they give very honest opinions here and are not as commercial as Taipei. I love the post office. They are so cute and lovely people. I had to walk to 3 different offices to post my postcards and buy stamps but it is so retro. BTW, if u want a postcard from me, email me your addresses. The stamps here are cheap!

And lastly, here's a picture of my breakfast and something I don't understand. Braised quail eggs aka Iron Egg