Kaohsiung 高雄 and Kenting 墾丁 Weekend

This past weekend Lana and I went traveling again this time we went to the south of the Island to Kaohsiung City (高雄) and Kenting (墾丁) both are two of the hottest cities in Taiwan during the summer. So right after school on Friday July 26^th we were ready with our luggage to leave but before we ate Din Tai Feng with our friend Dengxiong because he has never had it before and you can’t come to Taiwan and not eat Din Tai Feng. Then we were off to the bus station bound for Kaohsiung  which is the second largest city in Taiwan. When we got to Kaohsiung we needed to find our hostel which had directions on the website and we found the street it was located but needed to call the owner because we were a little lost. Turns out we were close by but we didn’t see the entrance so he came and showed us where the hostel was.

Since we arrived when it was dark we decided to go to the famous Love River (愛河) and ride the ferry. When we got to the river there was a long line so we bought our tickets and waited our turn. After the love river we headed over to 85 Skytower the tallest building in Kaohsiung and second tallest building in Taiwan only to find out that the sky tower closed in 8 minutes. We then decided to go to the head back to the hostel to get ready for Saturday because we were going to Kenting which is a two hour ride from Kaohsiung  and go to the skytower Saturday night instead.

Before we got to our MRT stop we went to look at the Dome of Light in Kaohsiung  which was really beautiful and is the largest glass work in the world. Once we got to our MRT station we were on our way to the bus stop to go to Kenting but were stopped and asked if we wanted to take a van instead. We were told that it would be faster than riding in the bus because this time of year is very popular for native Taiwanese to go to the beach so traffic would be backed up. Being we wanted to be back to Kaohsiung at a decent time to do other sightseeing we didn’t want to waste time waiting in line to ride a bus so we decided the van was the best choice. On our way to Kenting in the van we stopped by the side of the road in Kaohsiung  and I thought the driver was going to get food for the ride to Kenting however he went to the trunk of the van to let a lady who was riding back there out. Out of the 8 passengers that were in the van none of us knew that there was another person riding, it was so surprising to see someone get out of the trunk just like nothing happened. When we got to Kenting there was so many people we decided to eat lunch and then look for a taxi that would take us around the remaining 4 hours for a decent price before we wanted to go back to Kaohsiung.


The taxi driver took us to the Kenting Marine Biology Aquarium where I saw a Beluga Whale and many other animals. We then headed to the beach because Kenting is most famous for its beaches. However when we first arrived I saw one beach filled with people but the beach we went to was rocky but there was no one and I could walk in the water and cool off from the hot day of 111ºF not including humidity!! We then were headed back to Kaohsiung  with the same taxi driver that took us around Kenting.

Once we were back to Kaohsiung we went to go to the 85 Skytower that looks over the city. Next we went to the Dream Mall that is the largest shopping mall in Taiwan that also has a rooftop amusement park with a Ferris wheel. On our way to the Dream Mall to ride the Ferris wheel we passed the Top City mall that happened to be showing a Korean movie that I wanted to see called Covertness however I wanted to go to the Dream Mall and ride the Ferris wheel. We then checked if the Dream Mall had the movie but it didn’t so we then rode the Ferris wheel and went back to the Top City mall to watch Covertness. It was another eventful weekend!

Second Week of School & Taipei Trip #2

The second week of class seemed to go smoother but I still have to listen carefully in class to make sure I understand what the teacher is saying. Tuesday July 16^th I felt my first earthquake which was strange because I felt my desk chair and building move but didn’t realize it was an earthquake. The earthquake that I felt was located on the other side of the island in Hualien County and was a 5.3 but I could still feel it in Taichung, turns out that we had 4 earthquakes that day in Taiwan  but I only felt one it’s weird how far one can travel. On Wednesday July 17^th I went to the movie Pacific Rim with 8 other of my language classmates, which is fun getting to know different people. However, when we were waiting for the bus to come a person on a bike stopped and I could see that she was going to come over to us she just kept saying Americans, turns out she was homeless and wanted money. So I guess the Americans stereotype it is thought we all have a lot of money and being college students we don’t have an unlimited amount. But as soon as she realized none of us was going to give her money she got back on her bike and rode off.

Then on Friday our friend Dengxiong took us to eat Korean food with 2 other language classmates at the place he works. I was told that I needed to try soju which is a Korean alcohol that I found to not be a sipping alcohol. We had ordered so much food, we ordered Korean pork BBQ and beef, steamed egg and I ordered Bibimbap (which is a mix of rice, vegetables, and beef). It was so much food that we could not finish it all, had we known that it was going to be so much food we would have known not to have ordered as much as we did. I also got to try kimchi (spicy cabbage) that was very good. I also wanted a picture of how they deliver mail in Taiwan and had to hunt down one to make sure I had a picture.

Saturday we decided we were going to go to Taipei to visit more sites since the first time it rained. We got there and was getting ready to go to our MRT stop but alas I was approached for the first time and asked if I spoke English, and what the swimming stroke was called that the swimmer did not move their torso and I said breaststroke and was

then asked to spell it. It was my most weird encounter since I normally do not get approached when I am with other people. When we got to the MRT stop it was time for lunch so we went to California Pizza Kitchen because I had never been and they had very good pizza.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

Then we went to Sun Yat-sen Memorial (國立國父紀念館) to take pictures then were off to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial (國立中正紀念堂). The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial is a square that has the famous monument and landmark, which was so beautiful to see and then we went to go see the changing of the guards.  After the changing of the guards we went to the museum attached where I could see history of Chiang Kai-shek. We then headed to Danshui (淡水) and ate chicken that was far too big to eat by myself it needed at least 2 people to eat. Then I wanted to go see the traditional market because last time we were in Taipei it was raining and I did not get to buy anything.

After buying gifts I wanted to go to the biggest night market in Taipei the Shilin (士林) night market but we wanted to see if our friend James wanted to do something because he lives in Shilin. He took us to another night market that sold mostly food I would not eat except that I got told that Douhua (豆花) is very sweet and I needed to try it later I found out it was a Tofu pudding. After walking around the night market we were going to try Tappanyaki where they cook the food right where we were sitting. After walking around the night market I kept hearing about the massages in Taiwan but little did I know they are not like the massages in America because they hurt but after getting my back realigned from all the traveling in buses it felt good. It was another good day of sightseeing in Taipei.

First Week of School

So first day of school Monday July 8^th … it’s different than American schools as in no English is spoken because most teachers know very little English. Thrown into that environment was difficult to adjust to coming from the American Chinese class that I am used to where Chinese was taught and explained in English. The start of class Monday I was put in A3 from the scores of the placement test which started with the second book, and I thought that it was going to be at my level. So the A3 class had 3 other Americans however, I thought A3 was easy because I could understand. So after class I told the office that I wanted to switch to the B1 class and they told me that they were in the middle of the 3^rd book and if I would be able to be okay and I told them I would work hard.

 Tuesday July 9^th was my first day of the B1 class. First before starting class they got to ask me any type of questions to get to know me better as in where was I from and how many years I studies Chinese in the states. Since I learned simplified characters in the states and in Taiwan they study traditional characters it was difficult to get used to reading traditional. The B1 class had 3 people from Japan and 2 people from Europe. The teacher in B1 seemed to be a better fit because she is willing to work with me if I don’t understand something we covered versus the other teachers in A3. The B1 book is better for my learning style because it has English to explain versus the book for A3 which had no English. The second day Wednesday July 10^th in B1 wasn’t as bad as the first day because I knew what to expect it but was still difficult to translate what they were saying from Chinese to English then to answer to translate my answer from English into Chinese. Coming back from class I never knew that 3 hours of straight language class was so tiring so most of the time I have to come back to my room and take a nap and recover then start the homework starts or review vocab.

Wednesday night we are going with our landlord to KTV (Karaoke) because I have never been to one before especially in Asia where it is really popular. We didn’t get back from singing until 3 am from singing karaoke and we had school the next day so it was tiring but fun. Thursday July 11 we heard that there was going to be a typhoon coming so we were going to be prepared so after school we went to the mall to buy groceries because when a typhoon comes people are supposed to stay inside. To prepare we went to Top City which is a mall in Taichung where people can buy groceries so I bought meat, cheese, and bread just in case.  I also stocked up on water because a typhoon can be really unpredictable. So the weekend will be filled with catching up with sleep from traveling and preparing for school on Monday.

Before school starts: Taipei 台北

Saturday July 6^th after a few days of rest after Hualien we decided to go to Taipei  before school starts and see some of the sites since it would be impossible to see everything the first time. We left at 8 am from the bus station and it is about 2 hour bus ride from Taichung to Taipei which felt like a short trip to me since I have gotten used to sleeping in buses. When we got to Taipei we decided that we were going to Taipei 101 which has the fastest elevator has an observatory to look out over the city. We then decided to go to Vapiano’s for lunch where I could pick the kind of pasta I wanted and the kind of noodles and the chefs would make while I watched them add fresh ingredients. Then we decided since we watch Fabulous Boys and they filmed in Taipei  we wanted to have ice cream at the same place where they filmed since we went to their fan meeting in Taichung. 

Once we were done eating ice cream I wanted to take the MRT and go to Xiao Zhu’s store in Ximending (西門町) which is the college part of Taipei. I wanted to go because I saw him in concert when we were in Hualien and wanted to see his store. After the store we then were going to meet one of our friends (James) that lived in Taipei and he was going to show us around except that it was raining. However he took us to Danshui (淡水) where there were vendors selling all kind of things on the street, except that we decided the downpour was too much so we went to watch the movie White House Down instead.

But after we got our tickets there was still time before the movie started so I decided that I needed to try the famous bubble tea that originated in Taiwan. Then after the movie we needed to go and get bus tickets for the ride home because the plan was on Sunday to recover from all the traveling we have done before school starts on Monday. It was fun too see Taipei and since there is much more to do in Taipei I will be back to see more sites!!

Hualien 花蓮: Concert and Hot Air Balloon Festival!

Well once we got back from Orchid Island  we had 2 days to rest…and we were off again to 2013 Summer Festival in Hualien! This festival was a hot air balloon festival and also had concerts each night, so of course when we heard that Xiao Zhu (羅志祥) and Evan Yo (蔡旻佑) were going to be there so we knew we had to go and get train tickets and to book a hostel. Luckily enough there were seats on the train for Sunday June 30th, a day earlier then we wanted but turned out to be a better plan because then we could go visit the famous gorge (Taroko) in Hualien. Next was to book the hostel and since Lana has been to Hualien before she knew where to stay. We stayed at (Hello Backpackers) which I thought was more like a hotel feeling because it was so nice.

Since we got to the hostel late we just stocked up on water for our trip to the gorge Monday July 1st. Monday morning a taxi driver agreed to take us around to popular sites that people go. But before we left there was another American staying at Hello Backpackers and asked if he could come to the gorge too, so of course we said yes. One trail that we were hiking had 3 different temples that were famous and we could walk to and explore. Next was off to the beach which wasn’t like the beaches in Minnesota  instead they were rock beaches that we couldn’t swim in but was beautiful to see. After the beach we had not had time to eat lunch when we were hiking so we went to a famous dumpling place to eat and try the local food.

Then back to the hostel where we could get ready for the concert, I only knew of Xiao Zhu (小豬) the headliner but after the concert I found that liked 2 other bands; JPM and AK.

Tuesday July 2nd was more sightseeing, we went to a museum in Hualien then to a lake to go paddle boating just like in the TV show It Started with a Kiss. We were then off to another place that had beautiful scenery and see wheat reminded me of expensive houses on lakes in Minnesota. After taking pictures we then wanted to go back to get ready for the second day of concerts. Before heading to the concert, there was a guy staying at Hello Backpackers from China  that was also going to the concert to watch the headliner Mayday and was wondering if he could ride in the same taxi. So of course we said yes and became friends except that he spoke really fast Chinese so Lana had to did most of the taking. For the second day of concerts, I only knew 2 people out of the 5; Kimberley Chen (陳芳語)and Evan Yo but didn’t recognize the headliner Mayday. But Tuesday we found out that there were over 10,000 fans that came to the concert that day and seemed crazier than the fans the day before.

We then headed back to the hostel because we knew we were going to get up early Wednesday July 3rd to go see the hot air balloons and possibly ride in them.  From where we were staying it was about an hour away to see the hot air balloons, once we got there we decided it was reasonably priced to just have the hot air balloon go up in the sky. Being it was in the morning there wasn’t many people in line as in if we would have went at night. But once in the hot air balloon it was so exciting to see everything from the air, after the hot air balloons we went to another beach. Then we went back to the hostel to pack and get ready to leave to go back to Taichung. This trip went by really fast however, I will always remember this trip because we knew we had to go and see the concerts of our favorite singers and of course the hot air balloons too!