After getting off at the bus stop in front of a 7-11, there's a large map on the outside wall of the store which shows where the old town section and various other places of interest are. The streets of the old town also have well-marked bilingual arrows pointing to the streets with unusual names like Swallower's Alley and Breast Touching Lane (so called because the alley is so narrow that two people cannot walk past each other without touching).

The old town section consists of narrow brick streets, even narrower alleys, and interestingly designed historical two-story houses and shops. The shops offer a wide variety of handmade crafts, from painted fans to woodcarvings to metalworks. Nearly all of the shops claim to be over a hundred years old, and while the businesses themselves may be exaggerating a bit, stepping into the old town is like stepping back in time.

Along the street, bilingual signs describe some of the oldest and more unusual structures, such as the two-sided well. Half of the well lies outside the wall of a courtyard, while the other half is inside. Commoners could drink from the outside half, while the wealthy people inside would drink from the inside half. While many of these buildings are still personal residences closed to the public, many of the shops also open into the classic-style courtyards.

One small shop that does woodburning sells wooden postcards that can actually be mailed as they are. The cards have various designs including pictures of buddhas, landmarks in Taipei, landmarks in Lugang, and a map of Taiwan showing the food that is a specialty in each area. Customers can use rubber stamps on the card to make the souvenir even more unique.

The cards are only NT$50 and if one pays an additional postage fee, the shop owner will mail it anywhere in Taiwan or overseas. I didn't quite trust the little piece of wood to make it all the way to the U.S., but it really can be mailed without an envelope and will supposedly reach its destination.

Another little shop that should not be missed is one that sells local sweets. They offer many samples of their specialty cakes that crumble into a soft powder when one bites into them, available in almond, green bean, peanut, strawberry and chocolate flavors. Another of their specialties is “one bite cookies,” cute little savory cookies that come in a nice gift box. I bought dong gua gao, a unique chewy candy/cake. It's a bit like a sandwich, with a cakey substance for the top and bottom, and a chewy candy substance in the middle.

Though I had little time to take a close look at them, Lugang has also gained quite a reputation for its historical temples, including Lugang Tian Hou Temple (鹿港天后宮), which is the oldest temple in Taiwan dedicated to the “Empress of Heaven.” It was built in 1664 and began undergoing renovation in 1922. The temple holds many impressive statues of various gods.

A ways outside the brick streets of the old town are several popular oyster restaurants. Their oyster omelets for NT$50 consist almost entirely of oysters, and the noodle soup with oysters (at the same price) also has more oysters than noodles or soup.

And not far from the oyster restaurant is a stand selling yet another of Lugang's delicious snacks, Yu Wan. This unique snack consists of a large meatball with a taro paste wrapped around it. It's steamed and served hot in a brown sauce, perfect for a cold evening. Then for dessert, at another nearby stand for only NT$6 each, are Niu She Bing “Cow's tongue cakes” (only so called because of the shape) flat, oval cakes with a flaky texture.

The town seems to become fairly quiet after dark, which is good because the buses back to Taipei leave fairly early. To get back to Taipei, one can either take one of the less frequent buses from Lugang that costs around NT$300 or one of the frequent buses to Taichung for only NT$80. Then, if one goes on a weekday, buses from Taichung to Taipei are NT$80 (on weekends, the bus from Taichung is about NT$170).