The Wind Up: Part 2

Continuing on our trip south we went to Kaohsiung bus terminal to get a bus to Kenting. When we were approaching the bus terminal we were intercepted by a rogue taxi driver offering us a cheaper deal. You don’t really have to be worried about being swindled in Taiwan, so if this sort of situation occurs you can rest assured. And in very rare circumstances it is better to take a taxi while traveling around, and this was one of them.

He was offering a cheaper ride, and it would be faster than the three hour bus. Catch was we had to wait around for him to find other passengers to fill up the car with, after all if you’re going to make a big trip you’d want to make as much money as possible for your effort.

So after 30 minutes of waiting around and chowing down on 7-11 breakfast goodies, we left Kaohsiung with a minivan full of passengers.

The scenery down was quite sparse. There were more open plain areas and a lot less jungle than i was used to. We drove to several cities dropping off some of the passengers. In one of the rural cities a whole pack of dogs ran out onto the road from nowhere and the taxi driver accidentally ran one over. It wasn’t a pretty experience to hear the dog whelp but I think it was alright, well I assume so, we just drove on regardless.

When we arrived in Kenting we were dropped off at one of the scooter rental places, which also happened to be part of a hotel, how convenient. So we booked a room and a scooter and immediately took off. This was winter time and the cold air ripped through our clothes as we drove. By the end of our scooter trip we were freezing. Our first place of call was the National Museum of Marine Biology. Unfortunately that tale will have to wait for another post, so stay tuned.

After the Museum we headed to a nearby town called Checheng were we had a modest dinner box meal. Still my favourite Taiwanese cuisine comes in dinner box format, I love it and miss it a lot. By the time we finished dinner it was pitch black outside. And I’m not too keen on driving around in cold wind, at night, on a scooter, somewhere in the countryside. But my whining didn’t stop us from heading into the foothills of the mountains. Our third companion, The Lonely Planet, told us that there were some hot springs nearby. Hot springs on a trip are a welcomed relaxer, and Taiwan has plenty of them dotted all around the country.

Hot springs tend to have 3 pools of different temperatures and a cold water pool. They also have high pressured water canons that you use to give yourself a water massage, very relaxing indeed. Somewhere amongst all this Boram lost her locker key which was attached to her arm, and somehow it fell off during the swimming. Some of the locals noticed us looking around rather frantically and they sent a whole swarm of kids to help us look for it. The kids had goggles which made things easier but it still took us a while to find the key. Even the manager came out and was a but frustrated by the whole situation.

When we finally found it we were very thankful and apologetic to everyone who helped us out. Thanks Taiwanese, +1.

In contrast to the warm relaxing moments of the hot springs was the freezing ride back to the hotel in the dark, a good 30 minutes away. When we got back we were so cold we decided to find some tea bags so we could enjoy a warm drink in the hotel. We went outside to find ourselves smack bang in the Kenting night market. So we walked up and down the street looking at all the goods and food. Every town in Taiwan has its own night market and it always makes for a good time to see what they’ve got on offer, even if most of it is the same from city to city.

We went from convenience store to convenience store looking for tea and none of them had any. We finally settled on Milo which was in the last store on the opposite side of town. But it wasn’t Milo as I remembered as a kid, it was some crappy new formula which included milk flakes and it was horrible, warm, but horrible.

Next day we filled up with petrol and headed to the most south point of Taiwan. We followed a foot path through some forest and mangroves ending up a man made deck looking out into the sea. It’s quite an encompassing emotion that I get when I look out to the vastness of sea. It’s easy to feel small. I’m used to Auckland’s harbor views which always has islands dotted amongst the sea which hides the vastness of the ocean. So to look out towards the see in its rawest form was quite humbling indeed.

Like all tips of a country there was a lighthouse. The lighthouse was in a big park in Eluanbi area. What was surprising was the number of tourists walking around taking in the scenery. Kenting is a famous destination in the summer, so I was expecting it to be desolated in the middle of winter. But like most things in my life, I was wrong.

You had to pay an entrance fee to get into the park which helped keep up the maintenance of it. Like previous excursions we were able to scam some student ticked to get in, saving some dosh and making the most of our youth. I wonder how long it will be until those small scams won’t work anymore. Boram lay in the long grass which reminded me of a scene in a fantasy book. It looked comfortable so I did the same, and so did the group of girls following behind us. There were about nine of us lying in the tall grass but as the grass reeds enveloped my peripheral vision I felt quite isolated as I looked into the sky.

The reason Taiwanese come to the south is to bask in the summer sun, relax on the beach, and for the guys, perv at the girls. So since we were in the place dubbed “The Hawaii of Taiwan” it just wouldn’t be right if we didn’t check out the beaches for ourselves. On that particular day the clouds in the sky made a grey marbled effect and the sea was a strange gradient of dark to medium grey-blues. The colours were incredible. I just realised one of the reasons I loved Taiwan was the colours I saw. I don’t think it has anything to do with Taiwan in particular. Maybe I had traveling eyes so I noticed colour more, or the dirtiness of the city made me appreciate natural beauty more when I saw it.

Next time: The National Museum of Marine Biology.