Taiwan

Tainan’s main attractions are all within walking distance. I had no real sightseeing itinerary—I simply wandered leisurely through old streets and narrow lanes, eating my way from one shop to the next. Finally, I caught a city bus to my old-house guesthouse in Anping. It turns out that exploring Tainan on foot and by public transport is surprisingly easy—and perfectly in keeping with the backpacker spirit! Tainan really is a charming, beautifully compact city, and its food won me over completely. It has also found ways to keep the cultural character of this historic capital alive while making it more appealing to modern tastes.

I hadn’t been to Kaohsiung in ages. As I recall, the last time was when my junior high school’s accelerated class took us south to visit uni…