Today was one of those days that doesn't quite work out the way you had initially hoped. The plan was for my daughter and I to visit the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts , which is reputed by Lonely Planet to have an excellent play area for children. In order to give my wife some time to herself, and to make the trip more interesting for Amber, I wanted to take the train from Fengyuan 豐原 to Taichung (T'aichung) 台中, and then hop on a bus to the art museum. However, we got off to a later-than-intended start, not getting into Taichung until around one o'clock. Then, the expected bus, U-bus No. 75 (according to the LP Taiwan guide, and confirmed by the woman in the Visitor Information Center at Taichung Station 台中車站), never appeared. After a long wait, during which plenty of other U-buses came and went, we were starting to get hungry, and so left the bus station to find a restaurant (during which, no doubt, a No. 75 bus appeared). By the time were were finished with lunch, it was after 2. The other travel book I have on Taiwan, the Rough Guide, suggested taking Renyou buses No.'s 10, 30 or 40 from Luchuan East Street, but none of those buses came while we were waiting. As it was close to 2:30, I finally gave up on going to the art museum, and with little else to do, and not wanting to call it a day just yet, Amber and I wandered over to the other side of the train station. There we checked out Stock 20, an art center that had been converted from old railway storehouses. Amber was fascinated by some of the installations (particularly the jellyfish made from wires and cables, and the giant fetus), but it couldn't really compete with the chances for hands-on play that the art museum has on offer. So it was with a great sense of disappointment that we got back on the train around 4:30, and headed back to Fengyuan. Better luck next time, dad.
Taichung's train station dates from 1917. Here's the view from the south side:
Amber bundled up on the platform at Fengyuan Station, waiting for the local train to take us up to Taichung; and outside at the Stock 20 complex:
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