I Heart Taichung

grape tanghulu @ yizhong night market

I want to start off by saying that there are so many amazing things we’ve been experiencing every day that I don’t think a couple of paragraphs on my blog can do our itinerary justice.

But I’ll try.

Wrapping up our final presentations with the NTU students was bittersweet. My team presented “Chomp,” a lion-shaped umbrella/bike attachment for university students. Inspired by our groupmate, Woonzen, and her issue of having to hold her umbrella while biking on her way to class when it’s raining, we created a bag accessory that can turn into a functional tool. We presented in front of our class, the program directors, and some judges, and got great feedback. After everyone presented, the NTU directors gave us gifts! We received metal stamps of our chinese names and a keychain from the D-School. We had our last extravagant lunch before saying our final goodbyes. I’ll miss the NTU students a lot. That night, I got to explore more of Taipei and its nightlife with friends!

our final renderings (ty ID queen helen)

classroom for our final presentations

taipei 101

The next day was a free day. For breakfast, I got some beef noodle soup with Zoe and Chandaline across the street from the hotel. Sleepy, dehydrated, and overheating, walking into the restaurant and hearing “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift blast in the small shop was quite disorientating to say the least. We later found a cute coffee shop called Zhanlu Coffee, and I got a hot tea that tasted sweet and herbal. I’m really getting into tea here and I love it. I did some recharging at the hotel before taking myself out for a solo date at Tsukimoto Shokudo for chicken katsu. Amazing.

beefing

view of the street from the cafe

And in a blink, our time in Taipei came to an end. The next morning was a rush. Functioning on 2 hours of sleep (which was avoidable), I quickly packed up, got on a charter bus with our class, and we were off to Taichung.

We had our first shared workshop with the NKCU students in a small, 100-year-old, 3rd-generation wood shop called Chen’s Wood in Taichung. We all squished in the shop, the respective schools on one side of the room, subtly taking glances at the other school during the store’s introduction. In retrospect, it’s cute how we were all slightly nervous to talk to each other. The first NKCU student I met was Lexi, who translated what the shop owner was saying to Zoe and I. We got to carve pieces of incense wood with a special wood tool and pack them up in cute pouches as a souvenir.

locked in

KATSU ILY

After the workshop, we had lunch at Chun Shui Tang where I learned that jin xuan tea might be the best tea I’ve ever had. It was served in the cutest little tea set and tasted like love and flowers and joy. Naturally, I bought some.

JIN XUAN ILY

We visited Home Work, a sustainable design studio, and learned more about the owner and his design journey. After, we arrived at Star Hostel. Easily one of the most unique hotels I’ve ever stayed at for multiple reasons. 1. We couldn’t wear our shoes in the hotel or walking areas, so there was a shoe cubby area where we could switch out our outside shoes with indoor slippers. 2. The lounge. Inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, the space felt airy, cozy, and grounded at the same time. There were bean bags, low tables, all allowing people to work or lounge while looking down at the beautiful city below. 3. The hotel was on the top floor of a mall, so we had easy access to food, shopping, and a really good gym.

"home work" sustainable design studio

lounge @ star hostel + gym

I LOVE TAICHUNG!