When a colleague was invited to speak at Modern Web 2017, I tagged along for a few days of travel and learning. The conference was on the 10th, so we planned to start in Kaohsiung and work our way north to Taipei over several days.
We had originally booked an 8 a.m. flight on the 4th to Hong Kong, with a connection to Kaohsiung that should have landed around 1 p.m. But luck was not on our side: the weather was clear and the plane was already at the gate, yet it developed a mechanical problem. We were rebooked onto an afternoon flight and did not reach Kaohsiung until around 8 or 9 p.m. To add to the annoyance, one corner of my suitcase was smashed in.
My China Telecom SIM stopped working as soon as we reached Hong Kong, so my phone was offline from that point on. At the airport, the first three tasks were withdrawing cash, buying a portable Wi-Fi device, and getting a transit card—I chose the iPass rather than the EasyCard. Once those were sorted, getting around became much easier.
We left mainland China and, effectively, the Great Firewall, so I immediately opened Google Maps to navigate to the hotel we had booked on Booking.com. Neither of us interpreted the map correctly, and it took a ridiculous amount of effort to find the place. The hotel was ordinary but had everything we needed. After dropping our bags, we went out to find a spot we had noticed on the way—a place that looked like a nightclub but was actually A-Guo Goose. We ordered two dishes, and both were unexpectedly good. The woman selling drinks was cute, too.
Cijin Peninsula
We had not rested properly all day. Back at the hotel, we skimmed a travel guide, made a rough plan for the next day, and went to sleep. Breakfast at the hotel had plenty of variety and tasted fine. Then we headed to our first stop: Cijin Peninsula.
At the metro exit, a local guy enthusiastically tried to sell us a scooter rental. I am usually wary of overly enthusiastic sales pitches, and I assumed we would find rentals elsewhere, so we brushed him off. Cijin is an artificial peninsula, reachable by ferry, and the view of the harbor from the boat was excellent—definitely worth recommending. Once on the peninsula, the heat became unbearable, so we quickly rented bicycles and rode to the much-praised Star Tunnel. It turned out to be a tunnel with a few constellations painted on the ceiling... wtf?! We went to the fort, but there were no cannons. After searching for a while, we finally found the entrance to the harbor lighthouse, climbed up, took a photo of the Republic of China flag, and came back down.
After touring a few spots around the island, we found Wansan Snack Shop on Dianping. In a port city, we ordered char siu, and it was surprisingly delicious—even my Cantonese colleague praised it. It was unbearably hot, and the free black tea was bottomless. The Dianping recommendation was solid, and the prices were reasonable.
On the way back we passed the guy who had recommended scooter rentals earlier. This time we went up to him on purpose. Because we did not have Taiwanese driver's licenses, we ended up renting two electric scooters and happily rode to the Pier-2 Art Center.
We tried to visit the nearby Love Pier but failed, and discovered that Pier-2 is basically Kaohsiung's 798. Still, the photography exhibition inside was interesting.
Kaohsiung Museum of History
After a quick visit to Pier-2, we went to the Kaohsiung Museum of History. The museum has extensive material on Kaohsiung's culture, artifacts, fishing industry, and the major 228 Incident. I learned a lot. The building itself was formerly the Kaohsiung City Government, and it is grand and impressive. The exhibitions inside are carefully made, with thoughtful layout and displays, and some of the hands-on educational elements are clearly done with care. Anyone who wants to understand Kaohsiung's history should put this high on the list.
British Consulate at Takao
We followed the Love River—yes, that is really its name—to the Rosary Cathedral. The exterior was nice, but inside it is just a place for Mass, so honestly there was not much to see. With time to kill, we decided to go to the British Consulate at Takao. We rode the scooter there and bought tickets, only to run into tour group after tour group; the consulate was packed. The visit was mostly climbing, and apart from the view over Kaohsiung from the top—and the fact that we happened to catch a beautiful sunset—there was not much to recommend. If you want a view of the city, go to the fort; if you want sunset photos, the nearby Xiziwan is good, and both are free. Ha!
As we were leaving, a small incident occurred: a volunteer asked whether we were tourists from mainland China and then launched into a pitch that Falun Gong is a legal religion and that we should not trust the Communist Party's one-sided account. As an atheist, I had nothing but contempt for that kind of behavior.
Braised Pork Rice and the Night Market
Back at the rental shop, we swapped the scooter battery and went to dinner. Dinner was, of course, decided through Dianping. Friends had tempted me with Taiwanese braised pork rice for so long that eating the real thing had become a goal of the trip. We picked Nanfeng Braised Pork Rice, which had a good rating. It was completely different from the Taiwanese braised pork rice at our office—completely! It was so good. Outside was a night market, and experiencing the long-heard-about Taiwanese night market for the first time revealed far too many good things to eat. I only regretted that my money and stomach were not big enough.
At the night market I bought a superb fruit: sugar apple. It felt like opening a door to a new world—sweet, soft, and incredibly delicious.
After leaving the night market, we had intended to follow the recommendation of a guy we had met at dinner and go see the Love River at night. Halfway there, the portable Wi-Fi died, so we had to return to the hotel. Back at the hotel, I immediately bought sunscreen and aloe vera gel to deal with the day's sun exposure. I had no idea whether I would be able to go out normally the next day.
By the end of that first day, Kaohsiung had already won me over. I liked the city that much.