Baseball in Taiwan: A CPBL Game in Tainan

 Taiwan was a high priority for me as far as Asian travel goes. There were two reasons for that: amusement parks and baseball. The country may not have many theme parks, but they have some great coasters and I was hoping to get on a couple specific rides (that never happened). And as far as Asian baseball goes, Taiwan is one of the big three (along with Japan and Korea).

 I was hoping to see several games on the trip, and if I had really tried hard I could have probably seen more. But I did manage to make it to two games. What you see here is Tainan's main stadium.

 Crowds were light, but some folks chose to sit in the outfield anyway. I don't think you could travel between the outfield and infield seats.

 As you can see, the outfield is actually two levels. Those sitting below had shelter from the sun or rain, those on top possibly having a better view.

 There's a press box behind the plate but most people sat behind the dugout of their favorite team.

 I had an assigned seat here, but I could move around and basically sit wherever I want. Tickets were sold by individual teams at the games I attended, so you chose your favorite team and they gave you a ticket in their section.

 I walked from foul pole to foul pole to take pictures. You can see here that there is a bit of shade cover in the upper seats.

 The scoreboard was fairly standard. Have you tried The Beer?

 The best seats in the house (and inaccessible to actual patrons) were beneath the stands at field level.

 Taiwan has foreigners (up to two per team I think), though there didn't seem to be any big names like in Japan.

 Japan uses Roman characters on the backs of uniforms for player names, but the CPBL uses Chinese characters

 There are only four teams in the CPBL now, despite baseball being very big in Taiwan. Scandals (especially bribery and gambling) fill the history of the league. Fans still come to see the teams play and like Japan, they cheer and wave flags while wearing their team's colors.

 The level of play is on par with AA ball in America, and so is the field lighting.

 So, the cheering "squad" includes a couple drummers who can be heard all over the park. There might be musical instruments involved too.

 "Cheerleader" girls lead the fans in how to bang their noise sticks to cheer for the team.

 And it's all controlled by an "MC" of sorts, who has a microphone to speak the cheers. The job seems to be quite important and honorable, yet the MCs don't draw attention to themselves and seem to try to hide at times.

 The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions call Tainan their home, although they don't play too many games here. Actually, all teams rotate throughout the country in a sort of constant barnstorming tour. More games are played in Taipei than any other city, though most major cities see several games each season. Each team has a "home" city but that doesn't have much meaning.

 When I showed up at the Lions' fan booth outside the stadium to buy my ticket, the people were very happy to see me - I guess they don't get many foreigners. In addition to the ticket, they gave me a delicious boxed dinner (a giant steak with rice and some vegetables under the steak). And a beer:

Plus, I also got a trucker-style hat. It was pretty cool! (Maybe the ticket I bought included it. Who knows?) Regardless, I enjoyed the food and beer and had a pretty good time at the game. If Japan played its minor league games in larger stadiums I think it would feel something like this. And those who know me well know I enjoy minor league games as much as, if not more than major league games.

As for purchased souvenirs, the selection was pretty slim. I bought a couple team logo items (a ball and a large luggage tag type of thing) and a Taiwan Series commemorative ball. Those were relatively average-priced. I wish I had shelled out the extra cash for the official game ball, pricey but rare. I didn't see one here, but there was one at the other game I went to. Maybe next time I go to Taiwan, right?

Tainan: That Other City in Taiwan

When most tourists plan a trip to Taiwan, anything beyond Taipei is an afterthought. The small island country has a lot to offer, and Tainan - located in the southwest - is the historical center of Taipei. As such, it has a lot of cultural sights to offer. I've shown you most of those in the past couple weeks - temples, forts, and old buildings with trees growing out of them. Here are the other pictures I took: food, buildings, and other sites around town.

 Like Kyoto in Japan, Tainan is packed full of temples. This building just begs to be photographed, with almost glowing colors on the roof.

 While the surrounding buildings are drab, dirty, and old, this one looks like it is made of freshly cut fruit, the colors are so vibrant.

 As an island nation, shellfish are important to Taiwan. Look around and you might find workers separating the shells from the meat.

 Speaking of food, fresh fruit is quite popular. It can be found in night markets and sold in front of popular tourist destinations and other convenient places.

 While not on my itinerary, I came across another large temple with this gigantic gate. I still don't know what it is.

 It must be an important location, as it was quite crowded.

 If I wasn't crushed for time, I could have explored this place. While the most important sites in Tainan can be seen and explored in a day, I recommend at least two days to take your time and wander around. Just be sure to have your hotel or "Tainan Train Station" written in Japanese so you can ask for directions or have a taxi take you there. It can be easy to get lost in a country especially if you can't read any of the signs.

 Anyway, the temple building was very beautiful.

 Food stands next to the temple were serving lots of great snacks. This is a pancake-like snack with sweet filling (red bean paste, I think, similar to the snacks in Japan).

 If you walk to the Eternal Golden Castle from Anping Treehouse, you'll pass by the harbor. The view is nice, and you can see all the small boats.

 A park to the left has this giant bird-like monument of some sort.

 I don't know what this building was, but it had no windows and a fancy top.

 Okay, food. This is a rice pudding that is pretty good and one of the must-try local food items.

 While it's a pudding, it's not a snack or treat - it contains meat and vegetables and can be an entire meal. I stopped at the restaurant with this gigantic display showing how it's made. The restaurant's name is Sen Maw.

 This is coffin toast, and it was my second-favorite food in Tainan. A thick piece of toasted bread is hallowed out and filled with a creamy vegetable and meat (chicken/seafood) soup. It's just awesome.

 This is a museum near the Confucious Temple. The building is kind of nice.

 Speaking of architecture, this modern building had interesting design elements. It's near the prior building.

 Across from the museum is a park (for now and a path behind the Confucious Temple (the brick wall on the left is for the temple).

 In the field sits this house, seemingly abandoned but well-kept.

 I came across a food stand (there are many) and decided to snap pictures of local food. I don't know what they are and I didn't try them. Fish and some sort of fried biscuit?

 These are fried wontons, I think? They were quite delicious, and when I asked for some they fried them fresh for me.

 My favorite food in Tainan was a shrimp roll. Two larger shrimp are skewered on a stick and covered in some kind of breading, as you see here. Then, they are fried. Truly awesome!

 While walking back to the train station at the end of the day, I caught a glimpse of a temple and snapped a couple photos through an open door.

 It seems that there were at least two fancy rooms in the temple.

 Here is the front.

At the end of the day, I headed to the station to get to my next destination. On the platform I saw the scary-train cartoon. It's not as cute as Japan's, but just as good. I'd love to have a copy of this poster/plaque/sticker.

As this wraps up my Tainan photos, I'm going to move on to Taichung, amusement park, and then baseball photos. Stay tuned!

No Swinging From The Branches: Anping Treehouse in Tainan, Taiwan

 When you think treehouse, what comes to mind? Hidden behind this yellow house-like building with a museum is a hundred-plus year old fantastic world of its own.

 Sure, the museum is okay. There are a few artifacts there.

 I bet this is worth a couple bucks at least. It's quite beautiful. But you don't go to the Anping Treehouse to look at shiny things.

 You want to see trees and houses. This is just the start. Inside an an old warehouse building, a couple trees grow out of the walls and ceiling. It's an amazing place, with hanging roots and amazing branches everywhere. There is a second-level catwalk to get a different view and the whole place feels like it belongs in a Ghibli movie! Enjoy the pictures, which don't even begin to capture the awesome beauty of nature reclaiming an old man-made concrete and brick structure.

 The trees literally grow out of the building. It's simply amazing.

 Behind the treehouse is a park area with a person-powered waterwheel that does nothing.

 That doesn't stop children and adults alike from pedaling away to stir up the water.

 Head further back and you can get a view of the river.

There isn't that much to really see but you could see a boat or two going up or down the river.

Next to the treehouse (to the left, if facing the entrance) is another park area, outside of the treehouse property. It's a small waterway leading toward the harbor, but it's not much to look at.

However, to the right of the treehouse building is the Tait and Company Merchant House, included in the price of your treehouse admission ticket. Be sure to check it out too!

The treehouse is open the same hours as the Tait & Co building: 8:30-5:30 and admission for both is NT$50 (less than $2!). Take the tourist bus to get here, as the stop is right next to the buildings, with the last nearby stop being right next to the waterway in the last photo above.