Kaohsiung and Taitung

I felt that three nights was a solid amount to spend in Tainan, and by Friday I was ready to head on to Kaohsiung, the largest city in the south. Instead of Couchsurfing this time around I had booked a cheap hotel; I had looked for a host but, being that it was last minute (as I often do things), no one took up my request. The hotel wasn't anything to rave about, but I did enjoy having a place to myself for a few days.

Kaohsiung is a city of about 2.8 million, and although it's similar in size to Taichung it felt bigger to me. Maybe that was because I was staying in the city center as opposed to the host's apartment in a quieter neighborhood in Taichung. Either way there was something about Kaohsiung that impressed me - I can't put my finger on one particular thing but the city made a good impression on me.

Downtown Kaohsiung; it seems bigger than a city of less than 3 million

On reason I took a liking to the city was the favorable weather compared to Taipei and Taichung. Kaohsiung was sunnier and warmer than the cities in the north, and it wasn't just my luck; the city receives significantly more sunlight than Taipei and even in the winter the average high temperature is in the mid 70s (mid 20s Celsius). Kaohsiung is also warmer than many other cities at a similar latitude, such as Hong Kong, because of the warm ocean current on the coast.

I also enjoyed sightseeing in the city, getting my fair share of exercise walking around town. Despite traffic congestion and the constant buzz of motorbikes the core area of Kaohsiung was easy to navigate, with two metro lines connecting the train station and downtown area to the harbor, the shopping district, airport, and city parks. It's hard to overstate the importance of a metro for me. It just makes it so much easier to get around. There are only two metro lines in Kaohsiung, so it's not nearly as extensive as the network in Taipei, but I still appreciated the convenience.

Station on the Kaohsiung metro, which was completed in 2008

During my two and a half days there I checked out the Lotus Pond with its numerous temples, several city parks, the Love River, Kaohsiung Harbor, and did some much needed laundry. Luckily there was a laundry mat within walking distance of my hotel, cause I was running low on clean underwear!

I took a walk around the Lotus Pond, north of central Kaohsiung, which has numerous temples and pagodas around its banks.

The Tiger and Dragon Pagodas; visitors enter through the animals' mouths.

There was a scenic walking and cycling path along the Love River
(I guess it can be a romantic spot, although I didn't mind it solo!)

Kaohsiung Central Park; it's a bit smaller than the New York version!

On an online expat forum I also found a gym just a few stops away on the metro. The place was old school, with no AC, machines from the 80s, and workout posters from the same era - just my style! Well I'd have liked AC, but the problem is in Asia there are often two types of gyms: the new fancy places that cater to the upper class and charge an arm and a leg for one time use, and the hole in the wall variety that are typically very affordable. I asked the employee what the fee was for a one time workout, and she said they didn't offer one time passes, but that I could just use it for free..not bad!

On Saturday night I had organized to meet up with John, an English teacher living in Kaohsiung; he declined my request to stay with him because his brother was visiting, but invited me out to dinner. Plans changed and he informed me that I could meet them at a bar which would be playing live music. I got over to the spot at around 10 pm and it was pretty dead, but after the bands got going more people arrived.

There were some locals but the bar was definitely an expat hangout, most of whom taught English. I was on the lookout for John but never did find him. I later saw his message that he had arrived late, although we didn't cross paths. It was an interesting night, although kind of awkward for me considering I was by myself, and after a couple hours I headed back to the hotel.

My original plan was to rent a motorbike in Kaohsiung and drive in the mountainous interior of the island for a few days. I wouldn't have tons of time but wanted to get back on a bike and see some of the less traveled spots. During my research on renting bikes I soon realized that it would be hard for me; most shops require an ARC (Alien Resident Card), something non-residents don't have. On the travel forums the name of one rental shop in particular came up as a place where tourists could get a bike; it was a small independent shop whose owner spoke English and didn't mind renting without an ARC card. The rates were a bit pricier than Vietnam, but the cheapest bikes were still only $12 a day for a weekly rental.

A scooter parking lot in Taipei; you'll see more passenger cars in Taiwan than Vietnam, but the most popular mode of
private transport is still by motorbike. I prefer to drive a manual bike but I saw only automatics in Taiwan.

When I got to the shop it turned out that the advertised rates were no longer valid; the guy wanted to charge me over $20 a day instead. Considering I was trying to keep my daily expenditures close to $40, it was a significant increase. When Justin and I were in Yilan, in the north, I saw a motorbike rental shop advertising a daily rental for $5. Those bikes in Yilan were the most basic kind, not the best for the mountains, but still, $20 seemed steep. So in the end I gave up my motorbike plans. I was still hopeful that I could do a one or two day rental along the way, maybe once I got to the east coast.

I checked out the bike shop on Sunday, spent one more night in Kaohsiung, and Monday morning took the train to Taitung. Not to be confused with Taichung, Taitung is a city on the southeast coast of Taiwan. Well really it's just at town, but with about 100,000 residents it's one of the largest on the east coast. I didn't know much about the place but it seemed a good stopping point along my coastal loop.

I took the train from Kaohsiung to Taitung, on the southeast coast.

Couchsurfing opportunities were also limited in Taitung, so instead I booked one of the few hostels in town. Apparently I was there during the slow season; I was the only one staying at the hostel the first night and one of two the second! My stay in Taitung could have been quite boring but fortunately for me a local on Couchsurfing had offered to meet up with me. Joanna (again, not her given name) ended up meeting me both days and was like my own personal tour guide. She showed me around the city, introduced me to some interesting food (including pigs' blood soup and stinky tofu), and drove me both along the coast and into the mountains. The scenery was incredible although, true to my style, I didn't take many pictures. I was still bummed about missing my motorbike opportunity but the car ride was a nice alternative.