Tainan → Kaohsiung

[amw]

I came to Taiwan just a touch over 5 years ago, stepping off the cargo ship in Kaohsiung. My first little trip through the country i made my way up the west coast to Taipei, then flew to Hong Kong before crossing into China to do a circle around the country, after which i came back to Taiwan to do a bit more traveling and assess my options

Comments

[geminiwench]

Are there Western style churches in Europe that offer protection/services and open-door policy without asking for a donation or to buy tickets?

I feel like it's possible hospitality as a virtue went out of fashion in the West with the Renaissance and Enlightenment alongside notions platonic favors and chivalry....

[amw]

I actually had a line in this post about how churches in Europe do tend to be open, but i took it out because i realized i haven't tried enough of them outside of the towns to be sure if it's also true in rural Europe. Although, one thing i do tend to do when traveling in Europe is pop into Maria chapels to light a candle for my family members who have passed away, and trying that in Canada or the US is pretty much a lost cause outside of the largest cities.

One thing that blew me away when i was married to J is that she told me it was not uncommon to pay money for seats in temple in the Jewish tradition, and i was like... what? That feels like the most extreme version of closing your place of worship. Although i suppose in the Jewish tradition it is emphasized to do mitzvahs as a personal duty. I'm not sure if the synagogue is really pushed as a place of refuge for all and sundry, whereas the Christian church supposedly is, so it's especially disappointing when it's not open.

[geminiwench]

I didn't know that about Jewish temples/traditions when it came to paying for your seat... I wonder if that is an alternate form of tithing or a donation tray to keep the system up and running. Like how you pay for candles for your prayer, even in most Christian churches.

My little bit of travel around the EU it seemed like 3 outta 4 churches were freely open ... lots of churches open during the day... whether for shade or tourism or place of quiet worship... doesn't really matter, although specified worship times where they ask you to please be a believer to enter the church during mass or something.
But I also ran into a lot that were closed during the day as a habit... I remember one in Vicenza that was specifically like, "This is a house of worship. Worship times are XYZ, otherwise we are locked. For emergencies contact bishop ABC." signs on more than one church.. even though they were obviously historic buildings in the center of town and you'd expect them to be open to visit their location/art collaction freely.

[opakele]

When we lived in Taiwan in the late 60s, there was a Girl Scout camp on the Northwest side of the island. I spent 10 days there at camp, two years in a row. It was right on the beach. You found shells everywhere, but there was a strong rip tide, so we couldn't swim too far out. It was idyllic.

I also went to Kaohsuing on a Girl Scout trip, but all I remember is the train station.

Great trip. You met some nice people.