Blogs from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Asia

So wurde dieses Land im 16. Jahrhundert von portugiesischen Seefahrern genannt und bedeutet übersetzt: „Die schöne Insel“. Nach der Besatzungszeit der Japaner bis 1945 wurde sie anschließend wieder an die damalige Republik China zurück gegeben, bis Chiang Kai-shek mit seiner Kuomintang Regierung den Bürgerkrieg gegen Mao Zedongs Partei verlor und auf die Insel flüchtete. Wie nicht anders zu erwarten betrachtet man in Mainland China Taiwan heute noch als eine abtrünnige Provinz – ganz im Gegensatz zu den Taiwanern. Diese nutzen, wie mir auch schon während meines Praktikums in Peking aufgefallen ist, China hauptsächlich als Wirtschaftspartner. Als ich am 20. Januar in Taipei ankam verabredete ich mich am selben Abend noch mit meinem taiwanesischen Freund, den ich vor zwei Jahren in London kennengelernt hatte – Facebook hat demnach auch was Gutes. Das erste was mir in di ... read more

Zjutraj smo sli kolesariti po okolici s Chi in njenim tipom. To je drug obraz Tajvana, saj je okrozje Changhuah precej ruralno in hkrati industrijsko oz. tovarnisko. Tako smo se vozili mimo obseznih rizevih polj, ki so tu nekoliko drugacna od ostalih v (JV) Aziji, vsaj zdi se mi. Pa seveda mimo nasadov drugih zelenjav in sadja, mimo papajinih dreves, zapuscenih his, starinskih templjev, kitajskih napisov nenzanega porekla … Kos mo se vrnili, smo se se malo sprehodili po okolici in odkrili (vsaj jaz) park metuljev, tai chi potko (tisto s spikajocimi in zdravilnimi kamencki, po kateri se moras sprehoditi bos), cudovit lotusov ribnik in med roza lotusi zelo redke bele in rumene, mimogrede resili mucko iz jarka, v katerega je padla … Potem pa pocasi standardna procedura: pakiranje nahrbtnika, in ne tako standardno nadaljevanje: v ... read more

Kaohsiung. Its a City where the sun is very strong and that there are hardly clouds that cover the bright blue skies. Its also a bicycle friendly city where cyclists can ride on roads and that be not afraid of vehicle bullying from anyone. Given a relatively amateur like me, its still a bit nerve wrecking when cars and buses pull up beside me. However, I have to agree with my sister on this part, and that is, kaohsiung is better explored on 2 wheels. From the wonderful university architecture to the wonderful chua bing at AH PO Desserts, its a pretty far distance. And cycling along roads and breakwaters does give one the feeling of being in a Taiwanese idol drama.=P The places where one stop and rent bikes can be found at Si Zi ... read more

Thursday, 19th May 2011 We got off to an early morning start at the Taiwan Sugar Museum (MRT: Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station). Located at the northern suburbs of Kaohsiung, this was a disused sugar refinery which operated during the Japanese Occupation. The factory buildings were now restored and the surrounding compounds converted into a large open space. The public was welcomed to roam around the premises for free. The major highlights of our visit was a chance to pose pictures (plenty of them) with the outdoor train cars and locomotives displays next to the main gate. Train buffs would certainly appreciate their visits to this quiet museum and come weekends, visitors could even enjoy an electric train ride experience for a small fee. No visits to the Sugar Museum would be complete without a serving of ... read more

Wednesday, 18th May 2011 Start >> Central Park >> Kaohsiung 85 >> Kaohsiung History Museum >> Kaohsiung Film Archives >> Love River >> Love River Jetty >> Cijin Island >> Old Sze Chuan Restaurant >>End We started Day 5 of our > at Central Park, which was about 10 minutes walk from where we stayed. Effectively, this was a huge open space in the heart of downtown Kaohsiung where the urban spotlight is located. Central Park station was itself an attraction of its own flanked by tastefully decorated sunflowers at the entrances of the station. From the ticket office, we purchased our MRT Pass which gave us 2 days of unlimited travel on the Kaohsiung Metro. Opened in March 2008 to much fanfare, the slick system currently operated on 2 burgeoning lines with... read more

Tuesday, 17th May 2011 We decided to have an early lunch at Paper King (纸箱王) Restaurant before leaving Cing Jing even though our stomaches were still full from the heavy buffet breakfast this morning. The food offerings were limited and the pricing was somewhat expensive for Taiwanese standards. What made 纸箱王 stood out from the crop was that the furnishings and the cutleries used in the restaurant were made of paper products. This unique attraction was certainly a selling point on its own. By 12pm, our driver Mr Zhou had arrived to pick us up for our journey to the city of Kaohsiung, some 150km away. Certainly, I was going to miss my short stay in Cing Jing for its cool weather, the fresh mountain breeze as well as the comfy homestay experience. As we journeyed ... read more