A trip down south
Enjoying train travel and meeting the team in-person
I took the high-speed rail to Tainan this past week. I was visiting my project team for a couple of days so we could discuss some details in person. Thanks to Japanese colonization, train travel is easy and accessible in Taiwan. The high-speed rail runs north and south along the western side of the island.
One classic feature of train travel here is bento boxes. I had forgotten how affordable they are.
I had not forgotten how tasty they are.
Like a lot of places in the world, there’s a cultural difference between northern and southern Taiwanese folks. Southern Taiwanese folks are often described as more easygoing than their northern counterparts. I only stayed a couple of days, but it was long enough to get a peek into a relaxed work culture. The team in Tainan is based out of a co-working space. Before entering, everyone took their shoes off. Some put on slippers and others just walked around with socks on. Not wearing shoes, even in the workplace, is also one of those things that the Japanese “gave” to Taiwanese people. It’s worth noting that this cultural habit is industry-dependent (and arguably a tech co-working space in the south of Taiwan would be particularly relaxed), so not necessarily representative of all Taiwanese workplaces. Still, as an American, it was fun to notice.
A statement that is safe to generalize is that Taiwanese people love food. Folks take lunch very seriously. Within an hour of settling in, we started to discuss what to order for lunch. Snacks are also important. Later in the afternoon, one of my teammates reached into his bag and took out the most beautiful cluster of grapes, carefully wrapped in paper.
“Some grapes?” he asked. I stared at him like he was a magician who just pulled a rabbit from his hat. “Hang on, let me wash them.”
Another teammate brought both ripe and homemade dried mangoes, all grown by her family.
“Sorry, we could’ve dried it longer,” she said, apologizing for the best dried mango I’ve ever had.
I looked at the spread. “This is a good way to live,” I thought to myself.
In the evenings, my team lead took us out to eat.
On this occasion, we ate Tainan-style hotpot. I think the restaurant used fishskin to make the broth.
All of the fish balls and fish cakes were handmade. Delicious!
On the way back to Taipei, I couldn’t help but think that the sky is especially blue in Tainan.
I really shouldnt read this stack unless i've eaten recently :drool:
Okay I miss Asia so much now...!