7 - Chimei Museum（奇美博物館）
This was the site of one of my very last adventures in Taiwan, at least during the 2022-23 period. When I heard about the Chimei museum many months ago, in February, I was immediately intrigued. This was not due to any feature of the museum itself, but because its name was the same as the company makes mantou breakfast buns. The museum had an irrestistable aura of yumminess to it.
My teacher friend finally took me there in late July, just four days before I was due to leave Taiwan. What the museum lacked in breads and cakes, it more than made up in majestic marble statues, automatic pianos, artisan-crafted violins, and twentieth century oil paintings. Most striking of all were the ancient weapons from all around the world. I never imagined that instruments of death and destruction like Turkish muskets and Indian daggers could be so marvellously beautiful!
We spent a good four hours getting lost in the delightful, eclectic collections assembled by our gracious benefactor, the ABS resins and breakfast foods tycoon. Afterwards, we spent some more time strolling the spacious grounds, which feature a large pond and sculptures of Greek heroes. The Chimei Museum is right up there with the National Palace Museum in Taipei as my favourite museum in Taiwan.