我在金门的日子, August 23rd Artillery Battle Museum / Shanlin Coffee Shop (13th January 2014)

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Monday, 13th January 2014

The afternoon programme took us on the D route making its loop along the south eastern coast of the island. Starting from Shanwai Station at 2pm, we had the luxury of the afternoon shuttle to ourselves. Our morning kakis were missing altogether including the middle-aged couple from Xiamen and the helpful young chap from Taoyuan city.

5 minutes was all the bus took to bring us to the doorsteps of August 23rd Artillery Museum located along the edge of Lake Tai. While we had a go at the simulation room to experience the war first-hand, I was more excited posing pictures with the F-86 Sabre Jet outside the museum grounds.

At the Cheng Gone (Success) District, we were mesmerized by the beauty of the Chen Jin Lang Mansion. Opening out to the vast ocean, it commanded a nice seaview from its vantage point on top of a hill. Unfortunately, the one hour grace period did not left us with much time to explore the surrounding tunnels as we were bussed off to our next location.

Moving on to Kinmen National Park, we had just 30 minutes to complete the exhibits at Zhongshanlin Visitor Center before it closes off for the day. Eventually, we spent most of our time at the Shanlin Coffee Shop sipping a cup of house brew in a tranquil European setting.

At the suggestion of the driver, Qionglin Village became our final stop along Route D. We had lots of time for phototaking before catching the public bus back to Kincheng City by nightfall.

Certainly, our day at Shanwai and beyond were fruitful. There were a few pleasant surprises along the way as we rounded up our long day over delicious pasta and rice in Kincheng.

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