Taiwan Day 2

Taiwan Day 2 - Ken Ting + Kao Shiung

There are quite a number of tourist spots in Ken Ting. So those that we didn't manage to go on the first day, we left it to today to cover them. Woke up early to hunt for the breakfast place we have decided the night before.

The tomato room

And the interior of the breakfast joint, featuring graffiti on the walls though not so clearly here in the picture

And our friendly mascot, Chel Chel, is finally out for a breather, posing with our scrambled egg pancake, which was nothing fantastic in my opinion

And the wild boar sandwich, this falls into the "not too bad but not wow either" category

And then Chel Chel insisted on one family picture with our breakfast

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After breakfast, it was more scooting away to more discoveries. The roads are very easy to navigate and in this case, we were heading towards the west side of Ken Ting. So it was simply one road that's gonna bring us to the various tourist spots that we wanted to see. The awesome thing about scooting around is that we can stop whenever we liked and wherever we wanted to.

Simply park by the side of the road and go trigger happy on yet another one of their rock formation. Zzz..

So zzz that we decided to have a little bit of fun here. An awesome reflection I must say. This was taken at a random stop along the way that had a very awesome view of the ocean but beware of the super strong winds that could blow you over the cliffs. The winds was unrelenting so there is not a single photo of us without our hair screaming around

The lighthouse that is a must go for that "been there done there"shot. This is nestled in a gated compound so you'll need to pay to get in. There are gardens and "mini-caves" to visit so it's not all that bad. What's more, there are some shops at the end of it all where you can consider buying some souvenirs

And of course, we went to literally the southern most point of Taiwan. There was a barricade blocking the road stating no vehicles allowed so being law abiding citizens, we took the really long walk down to this tourist spot…until we noticed there were other tourists on their scooters further down the road. Only then did we realise that we could actually ride down. #$&;*%&! So if you are riding, you can go all the way in until you can see a 500m sign. From here, all you can see is this sculpture and the view of an endless sea (South China Sea if I am not wrong). It is only a very small platform and was so crowded we simply took some picture and left

But not before another snap request from Chel Chel. And then the long walk back…up slope…@&;#^@&^&;! 

And then it was time to go back and to return the scooter

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So before checking out, we went to this small unassuming eating house nearby that is on my darling's recommendation list. This turned out to be the best meal so far in Taiwan. Sometimes the best dishes are made not in restaurants, but by the love of, in this case, the granny of the house.

It was in fact quite intimidating at first. We went past this shop the day before but didn't dare to go in because everyone was simply so cosy we weren't even sure if it is open for business to outsiders. But this time round we were adamant on trying granny's cooking today!

The interior of the place that was way too "homely" to be a eatery. This place is frequented by the locals, from the aunties next door to the construction workers nearly

Here, we ordered the seafood fried rice which had awesomely crystal-like beads of rice

And the dumplings, which were slightly too heavy on the flour but considering the quantity for the price (of which I cannot remember but it was definitely very affordable), it was definitely worth it

Two dishes was all it took to be our lunch, and to be named the best meal so far on our trip

And some final snapping on the balcony before we left

The view overlooking the blue ocean. Great view but too chilly to be staying outside for long to admire

This is the reception area feat. the horrible staircase, of which I had to carry our luggage 3 storeys up the steps

The reception area also acts as a holding area for your luggage and the best thing is there are no locks, barricades or sometimes, no one around to give you even the slightest sense of security. Basically it all about the trust around the neighbourhood

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Next up was Kao Shiung! And so we left Ken Ting at about 12 plus in the afternoon and took the 2-hour bus ride back to the HSR station, Zuo Ying. 

Oops…we accidentally sat on the reserved seats

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And from there we took the local train to the Farmosa Boulevard station.

Named one of the most beautiful train station in the world! Don't play play!

Other than murals on the glass ceiling, there were...glowing pillars…ok I am bullshitting. They weren't glowing. Just illuminated.

And so after dragging our luggage for perhaps 500m or so from the station, we finally reached our second hotel!

We booked the second cheapest room from Kindness Hotel for that little more extra living space

It was still pretty cramp so I cannot imagined if we have gotten the cheapest room. But nonetheless, it was extremely clean and comfy

Not too much of a view from the room but that was really one of the least concerns

And the super clean bathroom it's amazing how they can do such a good cleaning job. There were separate shower gel and shampoo dispenser for the men and the ladies, both of different scent

Nothing much here but just to show the corridor

This was the reason we chose this hotel, apart from the awesome location, they had a snack counter in the cafe that was open 24/7 for the guests. Here you see a coffee machine and the various drink dispensers. There is also laundry services at the back of the room

And you would think the food is so-so but let me tell you this pop corn machine pops the tastiest pop corns around, and which led to one story of the day. And it goes like this. I was doing laundry one night and after dumping all the clothes into the washing machine, I then took a cup of pop corn wanting to share with my darling who loves her pop corn. So while in the lift, this Singaporean guy who must have thought I was a PRC, said to his friend in English "You must be joking", perhaps hinting that I was cheapskate in taking the free pop corn all the way back to the room. But that only serves to make me think that Singaporeans are very much self-centred and full of themselves. And dude, I thought I saw you munching on the snacks everyday in the cafe. Hypocrite. What I do is none of your business.

And back to happier stuffs. There's an assortment of flavours for the ice cream. And there's also some cakes and pastries that were available in front of the reception area. And the people at the reception are definitely worth a mention because they are so courteous to the point that it's a bit extreme. They greet you every time they see you. Even if you just step out of the hotel and turns back in less than a minute later.

 Bicycles are also available for you to borrow should you wish to ride around the neighbourhood but well…my darling doesn't know how to ride one so we walked to the Love River which was around 800m away in the direction of SUCCESS!

We were hoping to catch the sunset but as usual, we were slightly too early and didn't want to waste time waiting for the sun to set. So we didn't manage to see any sort of light up as well

We were so tired from all the walking that we decided to just catch a bus to go down the road to 新掘江/ 玉竹商圈,which is the Kao Siung's equivalent of Ximending, and also the place where we first saw our beloved soft toy, Ted from the movie of the same name. Although very tempted but we decided against buying it

The shopping district isn't very big so off we went to the Rui Fang night market, which was one the more awesome night markets in my opinion

An ever professional street performer, staying in character even when he was packing up and leaving to take the bus we assumed. Lol

The entrance to Rui Fang night market

The night market has a very compact but vibrant food section where you can find almost all of the so-called novelty food creations available in Taiwan

And where almost all the stalls are recommended by one TV station or another

Here we have the fried century egg, which wasn't fantastic. But be adventurous in trying out the different food here. There's this brand of bubble tea that was the best I have ever had that I believe everyone should go for. No pictures unfortunately but I think it goes by the name of Black Sugar Big Brother or something like that. Lol

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Other than the street food, there are also a lot of stalls selling clothes, toys etc. and of course game stalls, which my darling finds fascinating that I am no longer attracted to playing, considering I threw darts until I couldn't move my arm the following day when we first visited Taiwan. Lol. And that being said, the day ends here and tomorrow is another adventure!