During my two years living in Japan, I've tried to travel as much as I could within the motherland because, why not? I ventured out to Korea with a few of my friends in September, but wanted to try a new country again. This time, my friend and I went to Taiwan! We chose Kaohsiung, the southern area and stayed for three nights while exploring around. Before I continue, I would just like to say that if you ever plan on visiting Taiwan, be prepared for extreme humidity. I thought Hawaii was pretty humid until I came to Japan, which made Hawaii look like nothing. Then we flew into Kaohsiung and the humidity stunned us. It was constant sweating unless we were in an air-conditioned place. The heat and humidity actually forced us to go inside for a few hours during the hottest time of the day until it wasn't as bad later around 4pm or so. That being said, it was still a memorable trip! It was interesting, frustrating, rewarding and humbling to experience a different culture.
We stayed at a hostel and that by itself helped us save a ton of money. As long as we had a bed, AC to combat against the crazy humidity, access to shower and somewhere safe to place our belongings, we were all set. Transportation was also dirt cheap, especially compared to how expensive it can get in Japan! A local train token was anywhere between 20-50 TWD (or 80-200 yen) and thank goodness for their cheap prices because we would have had a somewhat hefty transportation cost if it was anything like Japan!
A friendly warning: do be cautious when you're walking on sidewalks or even in crosswalks! A good chunk of the traffic consists of mopeds and the people riding them have no problem going onto sidewalks and those traffic lights? More like guidelines since many of them didn't bother to follow them anyway. Anyway, I hope you enjoy part one! :)
Pier 2 Art Gallery which, interestingly enough, is all outdoors! The town was looking for a way to bring in more tourists and this was their answer! Very similar to Hyewa Mural Village in Seoul ^^
If you're into stationary and DIY crafts, this is your store! Bandon Grocery Store isn't so much of a grocery store as it is a stationary one. Photography inside isn't allowed, but it was brimming with dozens of notebooks, washi tape, bags, pens and pencils, cute stationary and there's even a section on the second floor where you can choose your favorite paper and cards to make your very own book! They also sell fruit smoothies and ice cream inside =]
Dome of Light at Formosa Boulevard Station on the MRT. It was designed by an Italian artist and with a diameter of 30 meters, it is the world's largest public art made with individual pieces of colored glass. This beauty actually took four years to make and tells the story of human life: water (birth), earth (growth), light (creativity) and fire (death and rebirth). We saw lots of photographers here and heard the clicks of many selfies as well. Definitely stop by this station if you go to Kaohsiung!
If there's space, that means a moped will be parked there.
The main public library. It has eight floors filled with books, magazines, music and computers for anyone to use. Did I mention that the chairs here are super comfortable? I saw at least ten people on each floor sleeping on them =] We actually ducked in here to escape from the heat after lunch and picked up some English magazines to read for awhile. Not super productive, but the heat and humidity outside became unbearable after awhile and inside was so nice and cool with the AC.
There's also a rooftop garden at the library! I didn't stay outside very long because of the heat, but it was nice to see the views of the city.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!
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