When I woke up on Thursday morning, much earlier than was desirable, it looked like we might get a blue sky. We didn’t. But the cloud did lift enough to allow us to see mountains that hitherto were hidden from us, apart from when we were actually on them stomping through the bamboo forest. Personally, I didn’t want the weather to improve too much, we were leaving and after three days of low cloud, mist, drizzle and rain it would be a tad unfair for the weather to clear up just as we were on our way.
We got the 0900 bus to Chiayi, another windy road trip with nice scenic views of tea plantations, mountains, and the mist in the valleys below and on the mountain tops above. For anyone who gets travel sick it might pay to stick to the train. The only train leaves at 1430 and we had a bit of travelling to do so wanted to leave earlier.
Once back in Chiayi we bought tickets for the next train to Kaohsiung. Yes, we were about to backtrack, something I usually try to avoid when travelling, but we had time to see one city before returning to Taipei and decided that Kaohsiung would be it. We were on a local train, stopping at every station. To give you some idea, Kaohsiung was stop number 29, two hours and five minutes south, which was fine as we weren’t in a great hurry.
Once checked in to our hotel, we went exploring. Before getting on the MRT to see the outdoor art display, we bought our tickets for the train to Taipei on Saturday. Until now we have just shown up at the station and bought them on the day, but I figured it might get busy on Saturday (because it is the weekend and also because Sunday is Mother’s Day). The first two trains we tried were fully booked, but we got two seats (not together) on the 1112 departure, which would get us to Taipei at 1600. We looked at the high speed train option but it was twice the price, although it would only take 2 hours. It was probably booked up anyway. We shall never know. There are also coaches but given a choice between train and coach, the train will almost always win.
The MRT took us to the Pier 2 Art District where there were some cool sculptures on what used to be a railway marshalling yard, with the rails still in place. There were some old steam locomotives and rolling stock sitting there looking ready to go back to work. There were also some old warehouses where young people were putting together displays of their art.
Wandering on from there we found ourselves at the waterfront. Someone from Auckland council should visit and see what a waterfront can be. Restored warehouses from when this area was the port prior to the introduction of containerisation (the container port is on the other side of the harbour) now house restaurants, cafes and quality souvenir shops in them, there was a play area for kids, and great landscaping throughout; basically a nice place to be.
There were also some nice examples of normal things, like utility boxes, being turned into works of art. along with some nice murals. It just takes some creativity and bureaucrats willing to encourage it.
Having spent some time at the waterfront watching the boats we wandered back to the MRT and headed to a local restaurant owned by a German and his Taiwanese wife. The Kraut had seen them on TV in Germany and followed them on Instagram (this restaurant was one reason we chose Kaohsiung). It was a very good dinner; Currywurst (Mmmm, Currywurst…) for the Kiwi and Schnitzel for the Kraut. It was interesting to talk to an ex-pat about how he came to be in Taiwan and start a business.
The weather? Warm, humid, and cloudy.
It was raining in the morning when the Kraut went out to get coffee, but it had stopped by the time we set out to visit another reason for choosing Kaohsiung: Cijin. Cijin is an island very close to the city, a 5 minute ferry ride away, and is the oldest part of Kaohsiung. Once there, we hired bikes and set out to explore. We saw the Cihou Fort, which wasn’t terribly exciting but offered good views of the island, and would have offered good views of the city if the sky hadn’t been so hazy.
The lighthouse was next, then through a pedestrian/cycle tunnel to the coast and around the pedestrian/cycle path and almost back to where we started. Then we headed to the other side of the island. This side has the deserted beach.
As we headed south along the coast we came across some strange, seemingly useless but interesting objects. The Rainbow Arch was one example, thought it seemed to be very popular with the selfie set. Another example was whatever it was where we took a photo of the bikes. There was also an amphitheatre being reclaimed by grass and a seashell museum. Overall, a fun way to spend a few hours.
Back on the ferry to the mainland and then on the almost-new Light Rail to the Exhibition centre to see what was there. We found some more artworks and landscaped gardens and also a good view of Sky 85, the 2nd tallest building in Taiwan. We rode the Light Rail back towards where we started, getting off a couple of stops early to enjoy the art district some more. More artworks, more old warehouses containing nice shops (not tacky souvenir shops), restaurants, etc. This whole area charmed us, they have done a great job of putting this area to use and making it a nice place to spend time.
Having explored the area, and worn ourselves out, it was time to head back to the hotel, with a stop at Formosa Boulevard Metro Station to see the Dome of Light, a very large glass artwork which encircles the ceiling of a large open area in the station. This was well worth the small detour.
We really liked Kaohsiung, it is smaller (only 2.8 million people) and more laid back than Taipei. The waterfront area/art district was a very pleasant and interesting area to spend time in. The weather improved throughout the day, going from rain to overcast and hazy, from warm to hot, from very humid to not so much so. We weren’t looking forward to the hot and humid weather waiting for us in Taipei, but we had things to do there.
The Slideshow below is of some the art we saw in Kaohsiung
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If anyone has any questions about travelling in Taiwan, feel free to contact us at thekiwiandthekraut@gmail.com
The Kiwi & The Kraut 
It’s great to see your enthusiasm for Taiwan. The MRT station in Kaohsiung is pretty cool – glad you made the detour. Enjoy the train back to Taipei.
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