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Old House Inn 謝宅
Add: Tainan city center
Tel: +886 0922-852-280
Price: 7000-8000 TWD/night
Visited: Jun 2016
Luxury hotels are nice, but especially for an old city like Tainan, staying in a historical house seems like a much more attractive option. For our two-day trip, we checked in at Old House Inn 謝宅 (literally Hsieh’s House), a charming space renovated from owner Kyle’s old family house. He currently has 6 properties dispersed across the city, the one we stayed at is “Inn #4”, a small house of two stories, tugged away inside a hidden alley located in the center of Tainan. For privacy concerns, the address isn’t publicized, and there’s no sign at the door – the staff will personally lead you here when you arrive in Tainan.
這次台南兩天一夜的小旅行，選擇住在由老房子改造而成的民宿 － 謝宅。同行的朋友是這裏的常客，托她的福，有老板小五親自來接我們吃飯喝果汁，也因此有機會和他聊了聊。小五是台南人，從 2008 年開始將自家老房子修建成民宿，到現在已有六間。我們住的 “謝宅四” 是一棟兩層樓的小屋，隱藏在台南市中心一個不起眼的小巷子裏。
Since 2008, Kyle has been refurbishing his family properties while preserving their nostalgic charm.The door, for example, is pieced together using old woods recycled from temples, a material which we will see over and over again inside the house. Side note: the house we stayed in originally belonged to Kyle’s grandma, and became the dowry of his mother when she got married.
這裏原是小五外婆的房子，後來成了小五媽媽出嫁時的嫁妝。爲了給客人隱私，沒有門牌，也不公開地址。大門由收集來的廟門木料拼裝而成，很有意思。門上還挂著一串串葡萄，太可愛了。
Upon entering, we were greeted by a small patio with a pond. It’s a such a lovely set up with the chairs and trees and fish and turtle, and if Tainan weren’t so hot and humid in June, I could really sit here all afternoon.
一入門首先見到的是有池塘的小庭院。露台上放著兩把椅子，可以看見池塘裏的小魚和烏龜先生，還有一旁這顆五十多歲的非洲紅。要不是台南六月天氣太熱，真的可以在這裏坐一下午。
We later found out that the staff has prepared us lotus root tea and freshly cut fruits in the fridge – what a pleasant surprise, perfect to be enjoyed in the garden.
後來在冰箱裏驚喜地發現工作人員事先准備好的水果切盤和沁涼的蓮藕茶，坐在院子裏享用，實在完美。
Door knob, also made from old wood.
門把做得相當有特色，看來也是特地收集來的老木頭。
Stepping inside, the air is filled with natural fragrance of sandalwood, soft tunes of Olivia Ong, and something we cannot live without during summer in Tainan…air-conditioning. On the right side is a small kitchenette with a faucet, water kettle, fridge, tea, coffee, snacks, and plenty of bowls and plates and cups.
進到室內，空氣中飄著檀木的清香，Olivia Ong 柔美的嗓音、以及在台南夏日不可缺少的…冷氣。入門的右側是個簡單的小廚房，有洗手台、熱水壺、冰箱、茶、咖啡、以及不少杯碗瓢盆。
Having heard that I’m a pastry chef, Kyle found his grandma’s pastry recipe books and placed them in the kitchen for me to browse – what a small but incredibly thoughtful thing to do.
小五聽說我是甜點師，特地找出他外婆用過的甜點食譜放在料理台上。1975 年出版的書，紙已泛黃，裏面有各種懷舊的插畫、翻看時還掉出手寫的筆記。
On the other side of the first floor – sofa, book shelf, vinyl player, and even a vacuum tube amplifier.
一樓的另一邊有小沙發、書架、黑膠音響、而且居然還有一台真空管擴大機。
I haven’t been in a room with tatami in a while, and totally fell in love with this flooring material again. For those who haven’t experienced tatami, it is super cool (literally) and naturally fragrant as it’s made from rice straws.
冰涼、帶有自然香氣的榻榻米實在太太太舒服了。
There’s also a corner designed for reading, with books in literature, design, and travel. All in Chinese.
還有一個有個適合閱讀的小角落，放了一些文學、設計、旅行方面的書，還有很多本深夜食堂。
Equally lovely is the bathroom design. How cute are these mosaic tiles in the bath tub! There are also bath salt and wooden ladle on the tub side should you want to take a bath.
同樣令人驚豔的是浴室的設計，這個馬賽克磁磚拼貼而成的浴缸也太可愛了吧。還有泡澡用的浴鹽和木勺、非常貼心。
The garden through the window.
透過細長的窗戶，可以看到外面的庭院。
Toiletries from Aveda and Neutrogena.
盥洗用品來自 Aveda 和 Neutrogena。
Blow-dry, towels, dental floss etc. are all provided, all you really need to bring is a toothbrush.
吹風機、毛巾、牙線等用品都非常齊全，基本上只需要自備牙刷來就可以了。
To get to the bedroom, climb up the narrow, squeaky wooden staircase.
爬上咿呀作響的木制樓梯，就是臥室的空間。
Love this window and the green shades outside.
非常喜歡這片窗戶和它外面的一抹綠。
On the bedroom door there’s again old wood collected from I’m not sure where. Very charming despite (or because of) the faded colors.
臥室的門上有不知小五從哪裏收來的木頭，顔色已黯淡的畫格外有風味。
The bedroom is entirely lined with tatami as well, and on top of that are futons (Japanese-style mattress) for sleeping. I had a good rest that evening, though a friend who came with didn’t really like how firm it feels to sleep on the tatami – something to consider if that’s a concern for you.
小閣樓的設計也是整片的榻榻米，上面直接鋪了床墊與手工棉被。我喜歡偏硬的床，晚上睡的很舒服，同行的朋友倒是有點不習慣。
Also note-worthy are the windows and screen designs in the house, all custom-made by old craftsmen here in Tainan.
謝宅的木窗和紗門都是請老師傅特制的，工藝很有趣。
It started to rain in the afternoon, and as we didn’t have a set itinerary for Tainan, this gave us an excuse to stay put and enjoy the lovely space of this house.
下雨了，就暫時躲在室內。本來我們在台南就沒什麽非去不可的行程，這個天氣，正好讓我們有機會多享受下謝宅舒服溫柔的空間。
A beautiful pattern emerging from the wall as it dries from the rain.
被雨打濕後又滿滿變幹的牆壁，出現很美的花紋。
And, it’s sunny again.
然後，突然就放晴了。
On another note, there’s a shop close by called 阿堂鹹粥 (A-Tang’s Savory Congee) famous for its milk fish congee. We went there the next day for breakfast but instead of sitting there in the heat, we ordered take-outs to be enjoyed in the comfort of our living room, with plenty of AC.
話說，有名的阿堂鹹粥就在附近，可以去那裏外帶美味的虱目魚粥、油條，煎魚肚魚腸等回到謝宅享用。小廚房裏碗和盤子都非常齊全，這樣就不用在阿堂鹹粥那裏邊吃邊流汗啦。
The house is beautiful after dark as well, I don’t have too many photos here but I’m sure you can imagine how charming the space looks in evening and candle lights.
晚上的謝宅也很美，不過天黑時我已經累了（咦？這麽悠閑的行程居然還敢說累），所以沒有拍太多照片。晚上在院子裏點起蠟燭的感覺，我想你可以想象得出來。
When we were leaving on the second day, the staff gave us each a map (hand-drawn by Kyle himself!) filled with recommendations in Tainan. Everything looks so alluring that I decided right away that I needed to come back again. Soon.
第二天離開的時候，謝宅的工作人員給了我們一人一本小五親自手繪的老台南私房圖，上面滿是誘人的推薦。實在非常用心，讓人忍不住想要在台南再住上幾晚。
It’s truly impressive what Kyle has done with these old houses in Tainan. The spaces are comfortable to stay in thanks to the modern amenities, but also maintain the old nostalgic atmosphere so important to this city. What made the experience even extra memorable were the small personal touches – like the lotus root tea in the fridge and the recipe books on the table – there are details in every corner to be discovered. Each of Kyle’s property is different in size and pricing, the one we stayed at (Inn #4) is around 7000-8000 TWD/night, which is not cheap especially by Tainan standards, but it’s totally worth it. Email them at oldhouseinn2008@gmail.com for booking inquiries, and I hope you will enjoy your stay here as much as I did :)
謝宅保存了老房子懷舊溫馨的味道，卻完全沒有老房子的不舒適感，每個角落都布置的恰如其分，有很多細節可以慢慢發現。謝宅讓這次台南之旅極度美好，希望你也有機會感受一下這個如此暖心的地方。想預訂的話，可以直接寫郵件聯系（oldhouseinn2008@gmail.com），我想你應該也會喜歡上這裡。
Old House Inn 謝宅
地址：台南市中心
電話：+886 0922-852-280
價位： 7000-8000 台幣／晚
入住：2016年6月
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