Places I've Been 10: Kaohsiung

After the beach and plenty of scooter rides, we headed back to Kaohsiung, the largest city in the southern part of the island. I have to admit I really enjoy Kaohsiung, to me it has the best part of a big city. It seems less crowded, you can walk on sidewalks or along the river. I find Xin Zhuang quite tense as I fight to avoid scooters, people, and buses. I seemed much more calm there. It could have been the not working business but I'm not going to nit pick. On the last day we explored a bit, and headed to a small island on the coast of Kaoshiung. So I did accomplish my one goal for Dragon Boat Festival: to get off the island! We found another beach and market on the island and had quite a good time.





Squid on a stick is a popular snack down South. You can't walk five feet without seeing a stand selling it.



Together with friends in Kaoshiung.



Market on Cijin island off of Kaohsiung.



See you walk five feet and squid on a stick.


Would you like to pick out your seafood dinner?








Love River in Kaohsiung

Just Pictures: Night Market in Kenting

I tend to take a lot of photos at night markets. I find people are they same everywhere, they just want to eat and buy stuff, which are the only things you can do at any night market in Taiwan. Every city has a few and they are all the same and all still a little different.

Places I've Been 9: Kenting

This past weekend was the Dragon Boat Festival. Holiday traditions include watching or competing in dragon boat races and eating sticky rice dumplings or zong zi. The story goes that a famous poet Qu Yuan was upset with a change in politics during the Zhou Dynasty and committing suicide by throwing himself in the river. The local townspeople who admired him threw food into the river so fish would not eat his body. This is why we eat zong zi. Many people supposedly raced out to retrieve his body or scare away schools of fish, which is the reason for the dragon boat races. While the reasons are lovely, the best part is that we had a four-day weekend!

Three friends and I decided to hop on a train and head down to Kenting and Kaoshiung for the weekend. We boarded the high-speed rail at 8am, and one and a half hours later were on the southern side of the island in Kaoshiung. It is the second largest city in Taiwan. From there, we hopped on a bus for the three-hour drive to Kenting National Park. The park covers the entire southern tip of the island. It a very popular beach destination, mostly I believe because it is warm year-round.

By 1pm, we were in Kenting. We jumped off the bus and rented our scooter. It’s bring your own transportation in Kenting, so I finally got my chance to drive a scooter!I think all skip over the part about my jumping on a scooter without knowing how to drive one and the antics that followed.

After some relaxation and night market snacks, we drove out to the lighthouse, which is the southernmost part of the island. I was just proud that I made it form one edge to the other in a day. We drove out there the next morning, and driving back on an empty highway along the coast might be my new definition of happiness. I even had a little pink helmet!

We spend an afternoon on the beach where I learned some new things. Many Taiwanese people don't know how to swim. I have found this curious because it is an island. As westerners, we had to explain our summer being dropped off at the neighborhood to endure a morning of swimming lessons taught by some teenage life guard. I did however see one father pick his kid up and throw him into the ocean, and I thought "See that's how you learn to swim!" Your dad throws you unwillingly off the deck. It might be cruel, but it worked.


Trip to the lighthouse in the dark.



Oh yeah..looking cool!






Jealous yet?



At the lighthouse!