Member-only story
Go Visit Tainan, Taiwan
It’s Taiwan’s most underrated city
I recently got back from Taiwan and minus the jetlag both ways it was an absolute blast. But the highlight of my trip has to be Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan that until a week ago I’d never visited before.
It was the perfect mix of nostalgia, friendly locals, delicious food, warm weather, and history.
I actually spent four years in Taiwan as a child during the early 1990s (from 6 to 10 years old). I didn’t realize it then, but that period was the start of some massively transformational years for the island. When I got to Taiwan, it had just emerged sleepy eyed from decades of martial law and was still at least a decade away from becoming the semiconductor and technology powerhouse that it is today.
The Taiwan I remembered was packed, congested, and relatively dirty. I vividly recall walking on the streets and seeing unlucky homeless get splashed by shopkeepers throwing out the day’s wastewater using buckets. Sidewalks were thought of as an extension of the business and most restaurants actually cooked on the part of the sidewalk closest to the street (better ventilation) while seating many of their customers on the sidewalk (using cheap plastic tables and chairs). Pedestrians trying to get around would routinely have to contend with waiters carrying food and cooks…
