Blogs from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Asia
October 30th 2011
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
August 16th 2011
Even een kort berichtje want ik spring zo weer op de fiets om dag 2 van de 180km scenic east coast tour te starten, jaja, je bent Nederlander of je bent 't niet ;-) Inmiddels weer heeeeel wat meegemaakt. Zo ben ik met mijn hostfamily naar een bekende tempel geweest. Kreeg daar uitleg en een rondleiding van een monnik. Ik mocht ene rvaag stellen aan de god, twee houten halve maantjes laten vallen en verrek, het antwoord was 'Ja' . Moest nogmaals vragen of dit 'echt het antwoord was (you'd better be sure..) en ja hoor, hoppa, weer een Ja gegooid. Dag kon niet meer stuk. Offer gebracht, wierook aangestoken (bij afwezigheid van een kaars) en op naar het treinstation. Kreeg een heel overlevingspakket mee van de familie (incl poncho...euhm..het is 34 C en blue sky....maar ... read more
July 4th 2011
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
May 19th 2011
Learning from the Kaohsiung Experience This 1-minute amateur video was taken onboard the Kaohsiung Metro (aka MRT) during our final evening in the city. Train announcements were proudly made in 4 different languages (Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka & English respectively) even though Taiwan is a predominantly Mandarin speaking society. I guess this truly demonstrates a world class public transportation system that is affordable & accessible to all segments of the society regardless of race & literacy levels. More importantly, a 人性化 public transport system that truly cares for the end-users. This is one of the many aspects that our profit-driven transport operators could reflect and learn from the Taiwanese experience. .... read more
May 19th 2011
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
May 19th 2011
Thursday, 19th May 2011 After loitering around at the National Stadium and posing pictures with the 2 mascots for the Kaohsiung World Games 2009, Gao Mei (高妹) and Syong Ge (雄哥), we were off to the Lotus Lake Scenic Area (莲池潭) by 4 in the afternoon. Getting to the Lotus Lake from Zuoying Station took us a good 30 minutes by footwork. Along the way, we liked to acknowledge a couple of people for making this journey possible :- 1) We liked to thank SS for using her IPhone Google Map Application to guide us through the way. Without which, we might had lose our bearings. 2) We liked to thank ourselves for ordering a huge portion of egg omelette lunch @ 新光三越 food hall to prepare ourselves for the long legwork ahead. 3) We also ... read more
May 18th 2011
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
May 18th 2011
Wednesday, 18th May 2011 After lunch today, we were off to Xiziwan (西子湾) MRT Station (on the tail of the orange metro line) for our onward journey to Cijin (旗津) Island. On our way to the ferry terminal, it was hard to miss the Mother of all ice shops, 海之冰. For this shop was regularly featured on many Taiwanese shows and highly recommended by our Taichung cabbie, Mr Zhou. As usual, like most places we visited in Kaohsiung, crowds were thin at 海之冰 and it was easy for us to locate a table. And as usual, with our "kiasu" mentally, we ordered a multi-flavoured (综合水果冰) fruit ice. For NT 180, the generous serving was large enough for our party of 4. My only gripe was that it would be perfect if the ice shavings were as ... read more
May 17th 2011
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
April 3rd 2011
Hello everyone so i am about the world's worst blogger. i was going to log on here today and tell you all that i am not going to blog anymore but then i got going and this is what happened... since the last time i logged in (february 17th...) i have seen quite a bit as you can imagine... Went down the west coast of Australia to Margaret River (LOTS OF WINE TASTING) and Denmark (gigantic tingle tree forests), then all the way back up the coast through geraldton, carnarvon (never again), and coral bay (gas = $1.68/litre) to exmouth and ningaloo reef (gorgeous beaches and amazing snorkelling), then back down to Perth. a 2 week camping trip with Sidney and Casey in the smallest car you can imagine with a semi broken tent, the hottest ... read more
