You wake up quickly when you can’t sleep well anyway. So, I went where the emperor goes on foot (at least in the Austrian saying), and it blew hot and cold on me, in every sense of the word. A freshly caught polar wind raged from above, and further down the toilet seat was heated—come on!
A driver took me to the hotel, where the manager invited me to breakfast before starting my tourist bus tour.
The same manager came to the bus stop on her own initiative to help me (which was actually helpful!), and additionally a woman asked me, “Are you from Austria?”
Indeed I am, and besides, I was surprised, but maybe you’ll find the answer by looking at the introductory photo?
She, Sophia, had decided to join the tour, and it was only by luck that she and I got the spots (although Yvonne had booked it for me beforehand?!). My luck held, as the tour guide spoke very fluent Chinese, and all I understood was this: nothing. And luckily Sophia gave me some translations! The tour consisted of two parts, and the morning part was dominated by visiting military facilities.
You know Taiwan is constantly under threat, but perhaps you can multiply this thread by saying the Matsu Islands are ten times closer to China. For me, it was a kind of flashback to a tour with Hasmik to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2018 on a bus with a group of Armenian patriots. (This is where the comparison almost ends. The thread for Armenia and Taiwan is different, but prevalent in both countries.)
Everyone was Taiwanese except for Sophia, who grew up in Canada but has roots in Nangan, which is why she returned, and for me and for many of our group, the cannons and other sights were an attraction that made them proud or evolved patriotic feelings but still, at least without understanding a word, it was bearable for me.
and the second cutlery I received today as a frustrated chopstick artist
Of course, such a tour includes some places to shop or eat, but we were definitely tourists, and its purpose is to support local businesses.
I shouldn’t criticize the tour too much, as it wasn’t designed for someone like me (although the tour’s promotional map was also in English), and of course—and with Sophia’s help—even I had a more accurate idea of Nangan than before.
I took too many photos of information boards and even QR codes with English translations, but I think it will take me months to catch up, so here are mainly photos and not much background information
