off season
It’s been an amazing first day at 池上Chishang, a rice farming town on the east coast of Taiwan.
Come to Chishang and you will be in a good mood
How true!
An elderly couple walks past a mural of 4 Taiwanese artists. The man jokingly asks his wife “who do I look like?” - I cannot hear her answer but he laughs and puts his arm around her shoulders.
I am at Chishang at an off peak season. It’s great because the town is not crawling with tourists by the busloads. The rice has been harvested last month. And I suppose even the locals must be taking a break.
The town is extremely sleepy. The sun sets about 5.30pm and most of the eateries close at about 6pm. The sound of birds returning to roost fills the air at this time.
The inn manager picks me up from the train station. After they take me to my room that has a view of the paddy fields and mountains, I do not see any human being in the inn all day. It’s a lovely inn, with a gift box of Chishang goodies, drinks and snacks in the room and common area.
My itinerary is leisurely.
- I visit the Chishang Art Centre, a rice barn converted into a beautiful exhibition space by the Taiwanese writer/artist Jiang Xun.
- Then I wander past the train tracks and eventually take a delicious deep-fried tofu snack with a dessert of beancurd in black sugar and ginger syrup.
- After the snack, I make my way to the DaBo Lake on foot and spend an hour and more taking a stroll.
- Because I woke up at 6am to catch the morning train to Chishang, I take a nap before finding a vegetarian dinner nearby.
Tomorrow I will wander further into the fields and in search of the Takeshi Kaneshiro tree. Perhaps there will be more photos of the expansive landscape then. Let me treat you with these little vignettes of my day instead.
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