Lugang: A taste of bygone times

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.

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