Last day in Kinmen

Day 13

We've reached our last day in Kinmen. 

While Kinmen holds significant culture and history, the relentless heat has been a challenge for us. We never did get used to it. Despite being near the coastline, the temperature stayed consistent throughout the day (Sauna style heat!) Also, the WiFi signal was not the greatest due to some technical issues with their tower so the students were delighted to go back to Taipei. 

Due to Kinmen's geographic location, it plays an essential role in cross-strait relations. Our purpose of coming to Kinmen aligns with the documentary shown in class, Islands in Between. Fun fact: One of our students in this program is actually related to the filmmaker of this documentary! I love the unexpected connections that have emerged during this trip.

For our last day in Kinmen, we went to the Chen Jing-lan Western House, the largest Western-style house in Kinmen. It functioned as a military hospital/housing during WWI and now it's open to the public as an exhibition. The house is beautifully preserved and there's even a coffee shop inside. The architecture and views are a highlight. 

Following, we stopped by a tea/medicinal store where students got to try medicinal tea. I promise it tasted better than it sounds (Of course, some students did not like the tea). The manager explained the benefits of the root used to make the tea and introduced other medicinal products such as pain and fatigue relief ointments and patches. Yi Tiao Gen is the name they used to refer to the various medicinal products. Some students brought some for their hardworking friends and family back home.(:

We were given 2 hours free time for lunch. Since it's a longer break, students had a whole hour to spend and most of us spent it at a local arcade. Of course, a lot of boba tea because there was like 6 boba places in the area. 

We also had a fun ride.

Did the claw machines take our money? Yes. Did everyone have fun? For the most part, yeah. 

Little Daniel here won a corgi. Behold:

Our final stop was at Juguang tower, a three-story building established to honor those who fought during the Battle of Guningtou. The architecture is exquisite and the inside features a cultural gallery with amazing landscape views. I hope the photos below do it justice.

Upon our return to Taipei, everyone dispersed for dinner. Some of us went to the Ningxia night market and had a great time! We definitely enjoyed all the foods we ate and the spectacles we witnessed.

We spot a Sophie!

Lastly, I want to leave you all with, probably an everyday occurrence in Taipei, a photo of a man just casually walking their pig down the streets of Taipei.