The One with a lot of Temples and Smelly Towns

We took a day trip out to the south of Taiwan with my godparents and my godbrother Norman. My mom suggested Lugang, and none of us are really sure why she chose this place. I vaguely recall saying it’d be nice to photograph some temples as it’s such a big part of everyday life here, but I had no idea what I was in for.

Being a long weekend here in Taiwan, it was really busy in one of the bigger and more famous temples. By the time we were done sticking incense into different pots (are they called pots?) I was sure that whatever gods were supposed to be listening wouldn’t understand me amidst my violent choking and sniffling fits. Imagine very still, humid air full of incense smoke. See the picture above of my godmother lost in smoke for an illustration.

Lugang is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, and loosely translated it means Deer Port – which is exactly what this port did/does: they export deer antlers. We thankfully opted out of visiting any deer farms. Instead, we went through the old streets and the main tourist street was surprisingly beautiful, clean, and very well preserved. It really felt like stepping back into history when we were in the alley, but I’m sure the street’s actually cleaner than it would’ve been 50 years ago.

There were also artisans making wooden toys, string lanterns, and blown candy! We had to try, of course.

From the touristy spots, we moved off to the actual ports to have oysters, only to discover the port smelled revoltingly like oysters and seaweed and everything scary. The worst part was, there were flies everywhere. One day I might go into detail about “How Alex and Sandy Fought Off 1 Million Flies and Their Eggs” in England, but this was definitely an incidence where those flies reincarnated to attack Sandy in Taiwan, in a wide open space where she cannot duck for cover or simply hide behind a closed door (other than running back screaming into the car parked on the other side of town).

We managed to find a tourist-friendly place that served the oysters without being too close to the smells (but a barefoot waitress served us, how sanitary). I could not eat if you paid me $1,000, having just seen the flies and experienced the smells. So we continued on to another town that’s not a port, that’s famous for lamb. On the way there, we experienced chicken manure smells at its best. Let it be known that I am not a fan of towns that smell like manure exploded in my face!!

Anyway, it was a really fun day, and on the way back we have made plans to go to Kenting (south of Taiwan) when we go back to Taiwan next – with Julia & Alex, too, of course. Yay!