A Week of Work-for-Stay in Tamsui: One Traveler’s Journey Through History and Human Connections

The traveler had visited Taiwan three times in 2024, but always with companions. This time, she traveled alone for the first time and tried work-for-stay. Arriving at the hostel, she felt nervous and initially hid in her room. Over the following days, she got to know Tamsui along several lines: during the day, she walked through its history; in the evening, she watched sunsets from the riverbank; at night, she visited bars and restaurants recommended by people she met.

Her daytime walks began at the old street and riverbank, then climbed toward historic sites such as Fort Santo Domingo, the former British Consulate, Aletheia University, and Hobe Fort. She researched Tamsui’s history beforehand and found that the town, formerly called “Hobe,” was a river-mouth settlement. It became a major port after the Treaty of Tianjin, and in 1862 the Hobe Customs House opened. The area was attacked by French forces during the Sino-French War of 1884, prompting Liu Mingchuan to build a new fort afterward. She noted that the fort was built after the war and never saw combat.

At Fort Santo Domingo, she observed the contrast between the military castle and the British consular residence, which was designed by an Englishman and built by Chinese craftsmen using Chinese red bricks and Minnan-style roof tiles. She described the architecture as blending different cultures, much like Tamsui itself. Later, at Aletheia University, she learned about Canadian missionary George Mackay, who founded Oxford College in 1882, bringing education and medicine to the area.

During the evenings, the traveler made a daily routine of sitting along the river to watch the sunset. She noticed that people around her would take photos, often sharing them with loved ones. She reflected that a sunset is not just the moment the sun touches the horizon, but a slow process, and that the sky after the sun disappears can be even more beautiful. She recalled a passage from “Travelogue of Trees” about how one can convey a sunset to a loved one through personal transformation.

At night, she let the people she met guide her explorations. The hostel owner Henry and a manager took her to a place for dan bing, then Henry recommended a teppanyaki restaurant called Mingchu. She enjoyed it so much that she went three nights in a row, comparing it to returning to a familiar dining hall. She also visited a bar named “Tazaki,” inspired by a Haruki Murakami novel. The owner, a Murakami fan, shared book-related conversations and recommended a natural wine bar called Bar Qvevri, which only opened on Thursdays. She went twice and later visited Zaizai Coffee, recommended by the wine bar’s owner.

The traveler found it remarkable that she explored Tamsui not through a guidebook but through a chain of personal introductions, linking one place to another like a map drawn by people’s preferences. Back at the hostel, she learned that Henry had once done a work-for-stay himself while traveling in Dali, China, and continued the practice in hopes of giving others a similar opportunity. She said a travel experience from Dali years ago opened a door for her in Tamsui, allowing her to step into a new way of experiencing a place.