CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR IN TAIWAN
PART I - KAOHSIUNG & KENTING
高雄 | 墾丁
It actually took me a while to decide where to spend my Christmas and New Year this year. At first, Shibby and I decided to travel to Chiang Mai for the festive season. I had even done my research and came out with a detailed 2-week itinerary. However for some reasons, we ALWAYS face a sudden change of travel plan because of very random change of mind. EVERY TIME. That's why we can never plan early.
Don't get me wrong, I still want to go to Chiang Mai very bad! Since I resigned from Emirates, my travel plans would focus more on this side of the world which I didn't get to see much when flying.
When we decided to travel to Taiwan this time, my friends were like, 'Taiwan is too mainstream! That is so not you!'
Well I was surprised too with my own decision to go to Taiwan. Taiwan is more like a fun easy place for you to eat, shop, chill, and to just spend great time with your travel partners, which is not usually my travel style. But this time, I'd love to have a different easy Christmas holiday with Shibby, and we'd always wanted to go to Taiwan together, so why not?
Since I have been to Hualien before, this time we travelled from south to north along the west coast of Taiwan. I wouldn't want to squeeze all my 17-day journey in one post, which would be overwhelming for you to read too. So I have divided my Taiwan trip into 3 parts.
Travel Period: December 18, 2018 - January 3, 2019
- December 18 - 21: Part I - Kaohsiung & Kenting
- December 21 - 27: Part II - Tainan, Taichung & Nantou
- December 27 - January 3: Part III - Taipei
Weather
A lot of people were telling me that I should reconsider visiting Taiwan in December because of the very cold weather and strong winds. December is the off-peak season. I was quite worried at first but I have to say, the weather in Kaohsiung and Kenting were PERFECT when I was there. It was 20+ degree Celcius and a little tiny bit chilly at night, which still wasn't 'cold' in my opinion. I was wearing like it was summer, even though the locals were reminding me to put on more clothes because it would be 'very cold'. It got a bit windy in Kenting when going up hill, but it was not unbearable. The sky was blue and sunny without rain at all during our stay.
Transportation
It's highly recommended to get an EasyCard 悠遊卡 if you want to get around Taiwan using public transport. You can use this card not only in Taipei to take trains and buses, but also in Kenting and Kaohsiung too.
Public transportation in Kaohsiung is great, which includes trains, trams, and public buses. It was easy to get around! With the KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡, I could use the train for free for 2 days (more details below). The train lines in Kaohsiung are easy to understand and navigate.
In Kenting, we were mainly using an electric scooter to get around. That's actually what most tourists will do. But make sure you have either a license or experience riding a motorcycle or a scooter, if not you have to go through a lesson with the rental shop (see our experience below). The shop we rented from is called 長泓電動車. Click here for their exact location on the map.
Between Kaohsiung and Kenting, we used Kenting Express Line 墾丁快線 which were booked through Klook.
Getting Connected
Throughout the trip I was using this pocket WiFi I rented from TravelRecommends. It's really convenient that you can do self pick-up and drop-off in KLIA or KLIA2 anytime before/after your flight. Their counter is open 24 hours a day.
The price is only RM12/day for usage in Taiwan with unlimited data, and it can be shared by up to 5 devices, if I'm not mistaken. Even though the official website says the average lifespan of a fully charged pocket WiFi is 6 hours, my pocket WiFi could last from morning until night without any problems from my experience.
It's really helpful to have a good pocket WiFi during your trip so you can still get connected on the road or in your accommodation that has lousy signal, lol.
Itinerary
Day 1:
Landing in Kaohsiung ➡ Pier 2 Art Center 駁二藝術特區 ➡ Dream Mall Ferris Wheel 夢時代摩天輪 ➡ Dome of Light 光之穹頂
Accommodation: 85 Pin Win Hotel, Kaohsiung 高雄 85品雲套房
Day 2:
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館 ➡ Kaohsiung to Kenting
Accommodation: II Piccolo Polpo Hotel 迷路小章魚
Day 3:
Sail Rock 船帆石 ➡ Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 ➡ Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點 ➡ Longpan Park 龍磐公園
Day 2:
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館 ➡ Kaohsiung to Kenting
Accommodation: II Piccolo Polpo Hotel 迷路小章魚
Day 3:
Sail Rock 船帆石 ➡ Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 ➡ Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點 ➡ Longpan Park 龍磐公園
Accommodation: Casa Aperta 迷路為了看花
Day 4:
White Sand Bay 白沙灣海灘 ➡ Houbihu Fishing Harbour 後壁湖漁港 ➡ Kenting to Tainan (via Kaohsiung)
Day 4:
White Sand Bay 白沙灣海灘 ➡ Houbihu Fishing Harbour 後壁湖漁港 ➡ Kenting to Tainan (via Kaohsiung)
Accommodation: Famous Hotel
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We took an early morning flight to Kaohsiung 高雄. Landing in the morning, we decided to check in first and then go out sightseeing. From Kaohsiung airport, we took a train to Sanduo Shopping District 三多商圈站, where our hotel was located.
KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡
Before the trip, I was honoured to receive the KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡 from Taiwan Tourism Bureau. This pass gives you:
After collecting our luggages from the locker, we then went to the Kenting Express Line counter (located near the escalator going down to the bus stop) to exchange for our bus tickets. All you have to do is to show the Klook voucher on your mobile and choose your preferred departure time. They will give you the return ticket at the same time, so please keep it nicely for your return trip.
Kenting Express bus bay is just on the same row as the one to Fo Guang Shan. Basically all buses depart from the same platform, so it shouldn't be hard.
It took a little more than 2 hours to reach Kenting. The thing is we didn't know that the bus has many stops in Kenting, so we just waited and waited until we realized that we had missed the stop closest to our hotel. Make sure you press the bell button before you reach the stop, else the bus would not stop at all! Use your Google map or something to keep track of your location. Thankfully we had our pocket wifi from TravelRecommends with us, it literally saved our lives many times throughout the trip.
So we got off at the next stop as soon as we found out we missed our stop. We had to wait for a bus going the opposite direction to bring us back to the previous stop. Yes, we had to pay for that. 50 NT$ each person for a 5 minute bus ride. *facepalm
Don't make the same mistake like us.
Thanks to the hotel staff WeiBo 微波 for waiting for us to check in. She's one of the loveliest girls I met in Taiwan - bubbly, full of energy and so eager to help. She provided us with a map and tips on what to see and do in Kenting, besides offering to help us arrange for scooter rental. I could immediately feel the warmth and friendliness of the hotel.
We checked into a beautiful clean room on the 3rd floor facing the sea. Too bad it was already dark I couldn't see the view yet, but I was loving every bit and corner of the room. Shibby especially loved the Marshall loudspeaker he wouldn't stop playing music throughout our stay.
The room and its deco gave me a soothing Mediterranean feel, and I especially liked that big bathtub! This room would be perfect for couples who want to spend a romantic holiday near the beach in Kenting.
Waking up to blue sky and ocean in front of your balcony is the best feeling ever! Oh can time just cease so I can fully indulge in this moment for a little longer?
Oh did I tell you that the room comes with a balcony for you to just relax and chill in front of the ocean?
Before it's too late, let's go for breakfast! (Got too attracted to the room and its view that I almost forgot that breakfast was going to be over soon!)
In fact, this hotel originally started with a bistro before they decided to make it a hotel+bistro. Their open kitchen made it a very unique experience for us. Watching your meal being created from start to finish was really interesting.
As expected, everything was good especially their handmade bread, which goes perfect with their French butter! I loved their fruit smoothie too.
Ahh I wish I could stay here longer! But little did I know that a more stunning room was waiting for me that day. 迷路 purposely arranged our 2nd night's stay in another hotel of theirs called Casa Aperta 迷路為了看花, located in Mountain Guan 關山. We'll come to that later. *wink
However, it can get quite strict over here to rent a motorcycle/scooter. When the owner found out that we had no motorcycle license and experience riding one (including electric scooter), he refused to rent it to us. He told us that his electric scooters are too fast for us, so he called another shop with slower scooters. To summarize:
DAY 1
Landing in Kaohsiung ➡ Pier 2 Art Center 駁二藝術特區 ➡ Dream Mall Ferris Wheel 夢時代摩天輪 ➡ Dome of Light 光之穹頂
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| KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡 |
KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡
Before the trip, I was honoured to receive the KPP Pass 高雄好玩卡 from Taiwan Tourism Bureau. This pass gives you:
- Unlimited free Kaohsiung train rides 高捷 (excluding trams) valid for 2 days
- Love Boat ride 愛之船
- Gifts from Pier 2 Art Centre 駁二好禮
- Dream Mall ferris wheel 夢時代摩天輪
- Ice popsicle 枝仔冰城經典傳統冰棒
- Bubble milk tea 茶藝復興珍奶
- Souvenirs from partnered shops 旗鼓鹽商圈等輕軌沿線86商家精選優惠好禮
Since I needed to take a train to the hotel, I could make good use of the pass already. The pass is actually a card like your Touch n Go or Easylink card that you use for public transportation. Before being able to use it, you have to activate it. I went to the information counter at the train station, and they activated it for me. Bear in mind that it will be valid for 2 days only.
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| First look of Kaohsiung - Sanduo Business District |
So we finally managed to find our hotel. The location was not clear at all and it took us a while to find it. It's located in a building where you find corporate offices, shops and many 'dodgy' hotels. Check-in was the weirdest. The man at the desk, who wasn't even the receptionist, gave us our room key after making a phone call to the hotel's person-in-charge.
Oh well. I didn't expect much given the low price. And we were only staying here for a night. (Now thinking back, this hotel was actually not too bad compared to the one we encountered later on in Tainan. *facepalm)
Pier-2 Art Center 駁二藝術特區
Right away we went out to make use of our limited time in Kaohsiung even though we were quite tired from the lack of sleep. Off we went to take a train to Yanchengpu station 鹽埕埔站, where the Pier-2 Art Center was located. This district is divided into many areas showcasing different art exhibitions.
First, we went to exchange for gifts by using the KPP Pass. We received postcards and notepads! If you're not sure where to exchange for gifts, look for C5 and the Ask Me sign.
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| From the station, walk a short distance to Pier-2. |
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| Free postcards and notepads! |
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| Where you exchange for a free popsicle! |
Across the street, this is where you find the ice cream shop 枝仔冰城 to exchange for a traditional popsicle! They have so many different flavours to choose from. I like that they're not too sweet.
From Pier-2, we slowly walked while enjoying the art and scenery. It was full of happy vibes and the weather was perfect. We walked to Sizihwan 西仔灣 to try to look for the free bubble milk tea shop 茶藝復興. Ahh finally hands on our first bubble milk tea in Taiwan!
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| Enjoying our traditional popsicles! |
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| Our first bubble milk tea in Taiwan! 茶藝復興珍奶 |
When asking to exchange for free items, you may find those staff looking confused by the different look of your KPP Pass. The designs of Taiwan passes change from time to time, so as long as your card is valid, you don't have to worry about anything.
I wanted so much to go and take the Love Boat ride, but the sky turned dark at around 5pm already. Ah well. :(
Dream Mall 夢時代廣場
So from Sizihwan 西仔灣, we took a tram to Dream Mall to check out their ferris wheel! Tram rides are not included in the KPP Pass, so you have to pay for each ride with either cash or your EasyCard 悠遊卡. It's 30 NT$ for a ride.
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| Dream Mall 夢時代廣場 |
One thing we noticed about Kaohsiung is, the whole town was very quiet when we were there. We were all the time like, 'Where is everyone?'
For instance, in Dream Mall, all the Christmas deco was up with so many beautiful lightings, but the mall was so empty with so few people!
Anyway, to get to the Ferris Wheel, you need to go to the mall's highest level (press RF in the elevator). There was no queue at all and it was nice to enjoy Kaohsiung from high above! It takes around 15 minutes to complete a rotation.
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| Dream Mall ferris wheel 夢時代摩天輪 |
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| Kaohsiung skyline |
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| Beautiful Christmas lightings in Dream Mall |
Dome of Light 光之穹頂
After Dream Mall, we decided to go see the Dome of Light. Shibby had been waiting to see this! It's a glass art display designed by an Italian artist. Located in Formosa Boulevard Station 美麗島車站, Dome of Light has become a common sight for the tens of thousands of people transiting through the station each day.
Everyday there will be light shows at 11am, 3pm, and 8pm. On Friday, there's an extra show at 7pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the show is also available at 5pm and 7pm.
It's not really spectacular but okay to keep you engrossed with the music and light. To be honest, Shibby and I were quite disappointed. Thanks to all the edited pictures on the internet that make it look better than in person. The actual colours of the display in fact look faded and old.
Now it's my turn to fool you into believing that it looks like this in real life. :P
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| Dome of Light 光之穹頂 |
Now finally we got to get our dinner! We took a train back to our hotel and grabbed some noodles nearby.
Oh I knew this was going to be fun as I had to translate basically everything to Shibby for the coming 2 weeks. Even the menu. But guess my translation passed!
DAY 2
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館 ➡ Kaohsiung to Kenting
Rise and shine! Today we checked out and went for breakfast in 7-11, where you can find great varieties of snacks, food and beverages! 7-11 became our best friend in Taiwan.
Today we planned to visit Buddha Museum before heading to Kenting. If you've done enough research, you'll know that the most recommended way to go to Buddha Museum is from Zuoying station, where you can catch a public bus.
It's not hard to find the bus stop in Zuoying station. We immediately found the sign for bus E02 Harvard Express to Fo Guang Shan (FGS), where a lot of tourists were waiting. A lady approached us telling us that we needed to wait for an hour for the bus to come, and offering us an option to share a taxi with other people. This is another popular method of transportation in Taiwan - 拼車 (carpool). In many touristy places, you'll find drivers asking around offering carpool service.
Harvard Express costs 70 NT$ each person. A carpool to FGS would cost us each 100 NT$. Considering that we would save a lot of time and get more comfort, we agreed with the lady. So Shibby and I shared a taxi with a few other tourists going to FGS.
It took us about half an hour to reach there. Once you reach there, it's recommended to take note of the return Harvard Express bus schedule so you'll be able to estimate when you have to leave FGS.
It's a beautiful Buddha museum with a lot of interesting stories to tell. It offers great cultural experience even for non-Buddhists. Before we visited, I thought it was going to be another temple with a Buddha and a worship area. Instead of that, it's a very well designed huge museum park where you and family/friends can possibly spend your full day here. 2-3 hours is definitely not enough if you want more than just taking photos.
When we were leaving at 2pm, we saw tons of tourists from tour buses entering. It's recommended to come here in the morning to avoid crowds.
This time we didn't wait long for the Harvard Express bus to come. Bear in mind that you have to have your coins ready when paying for the bus fare onboard. Else, you can just use your EasyCard 悠遊卡. It costs 70 NT$ per person. The bus will bring you back to Zuoying station. The ride took us only 30 minutes!
Now it's time to head down to Kenting! The high speed rail doesn't go to Kenting, so we had to take a bus - Kenting Express, which is actually quite convenient and easy. Before the trip, I booked a return shuttle ride to Kenting from Zuoying station through Klook.Today we planned to visit Buddha Museum before heading to Kenting. If you've done enough research, you'll know that the most recommended way to go to Buddha Museum is from Zuoying station, where you can catch a public bus.
Transportation to Fo Guang Shan 佛光山
Together with our luggages, we went to Zuoying station 左營站 to find the bus stop. If you have bags, I suggest you to store your bags in a locker at the station because you wouldn't want to drag your bags all the way to the museum and back. The main luggage storage area was already full unfortunately, but thankfully we found another locker. Follow the red big sign saying Baggage Locker and you should be able to locate it. It's 50 NT$ for a big bag, 40 NT$ for a small one, valid for 3 hours. |
| E02 Harvard Express Line to Fo Guang Shan |
It's not hard to find the bus stop in Zuoying station. We immediately found the sign for bus E02 Harvard Express to Fo Guang Shan (FGS), where a lot of tourists were waiting. A lady approached us telling us that we needed to wait for an hour for the bus to come, and offering us an option to share a taxi with other people. This is another popular method of transportation in Taiwan - 拼車 (carpool). In many touristy places, you'll find drivers asking around offering carpool service.
Harvard Express costs 70 NT$ each person. A carpool to FGS would cost us each 100 NT$. Considering that we would save a lot of time and get more comfort, we agreed with the lady. So Shibby and I shared a taxi with a few other tourists going to FGS.
It took us about half an hour to reach there. Once you reach there, it's recommended to take note of the return Harvard Express bus schedule so you'll be able to estimate when you have to leave FGS.
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| Take note of the return bus schedule upon reaching FGS |
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館
The museum is divided into two parts: Fo Guang Shan 佛光山 and memorial centre 佛陀紀念館. We only had time to go to the memorial centre, where the Big Buddha statue is.It's a beautiful Buddha museum with a lot of interesting stories to tell. It offers great cultural experience even for non-Buddhists. Before we visited, I thought it was going to be another temple with a Buddha and a worship area. Instead of that, it's a very well designed huge museum park where you and family/friends can possibly spend your full day here. 2-3 hours is definitely not enough if you want more than just taking photos.
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| Fo Guang Shan |
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| Entrance of the memorial centre/museum |
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| Shibby looking serious learning about their history |
When we were leaving at 2pm, we saw tons of tourists from tour buses entering. It's recommended to come here in the morning to avoid crowds.
This time we didn't wait long for the Harvard Express bus to come. Bear in mind that you have to have your coins ready when paying for the bus fare onboard. Else, you can just use your EasyCard 悠遊卡. It costs 70 NT$ per person. The bus will bring you back to Zuoying station. The ride took us only 30 minutes!
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| Harvard Express Line |
Kenting Express Line 墾丁快線
Tip:
A lot of activities and tickets are cheaper on Klook than official fares.
For example, a one-way Kenting Express from Zuoying to Kenting would cost 401 NT$ (around RM 55), but on Klook you can buy return tickets for just RM 80.
If you want to save even more, you can use my promo code WANDERCHU20 to get another RM20 off as a first time Klook user. So you'd pay only RM60 for return bus tickets.
After collecting our luggages from the locker, we then went to the Kenting Express Line counter (located near the escalator going down to the bus stop) to exchange for our bus tickets. All you have to do is to show the Klook voucher on your mobile and choose your preferred departure time. They will give you the return ticket at the same time, so please keep it nicely for your return trip.
Kenting Express bus bay is just on the same row as the one to Fo Guang Shan. Basically all buses depart from the same platform, so it shouldn't be hard.
It took a little more than 2 hours to reach Kenting. The thing is we didn't know that the bus has many stops in Kenting, so we just waited and waited until we realized that we had missed the stop closest to our hotel. Make sure you press the bell button before you reach the stop, else the bus would not stop at all! Use your Google map or something to keep track of your location. Thankfully we had our pocket wifi from TravelRecommends with us, it literally saved our lives many times throughout the trip.
Don't make the same mistake like us.
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| Had to wait here for the bus going the opposite direction to send us back to the previous stop. So hungry seeing all the street food! |
II Piccolo Polpo Hotel 迷路小章魚 民宿
Finally we found our lovely seafront minsu 民宿 (homestay/hotel) called II Piccolo Polpo Hotel 迷路小章魚 located in Nanwan 南灣, Kenting. For those who know how to read Chinese, isn't that the cutest hotel name? It literally means 'Lost Little Octopus'.Thanks to the hotel staff WeiBo 微波 for waiting for us to check in. She's one of the loveliest girls I met in Taiwan - bubbly, full of energy and so eager to help. She provided us with a map and tips on what to see and do in Kenting, besides offering to help us arrange for scooter rental. I could immediately feel the warmth and friendliness of the hotel.
We checked into a beautiful clean room on the 3rd floor facing the sea. Too bad it was already dark I couldn't see the view yet, but I was loving every bit and corner of the room. Shibby especially loved the Marshall loudspeaker he wouldn't stop playing music throughout our stay.
The room and its deco gave me a soothing Mediterranean feel, and I especially liked that big bathtub! This room would be perfect for couples who want to spend a romantic holiday near the beach in Kenting.
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| Seaview room on the 3rd floor of II Piccolo Polpo Hotel |
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| 迷路小章魚 民宿 |
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| Marshall loudspeaker in every room! |
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| Fun bath times before bed! |
DAY 3
Sail Rock 船帆石 ➡ Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 ➡ Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點 ➡ Longpan Park 龍磐公園
Waking up to blue sky and ocean in front of your balcony is the best feeling ever! Oh can time just cease so I can fully indulge in this moment for a little longer?
Oh did I tell you that the room comes with a balcony for you to just relax and chill in front of the ocean?
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| Waking up to this view |
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| Room balcony |
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| View from our room |
Before it's too late, let's go for breakfast! (Got too attracted to the room and its view that I almost forgot that breakfast was going to be over soon!)
In fact, this hotel originally started with a bistro before they decided to make it a hotel+bistro. Their open kitchen made it a very unique experience for us. Watching your meal being created from start to finish was really interesting.
As expected, everything was good especially their handmade bread, which goes perfect with their French butter! I loved their fruit smoothie too.
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| A little bar next to the open kitchen in II Piccolo Polpo Bistro, located on the ground floor |
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| Breakfast that comes with bread, appetizer and a main course! |
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| See you again 迷路小章魚! |
Scooter Rental in Kenting
We then checked out and walked to a nearby scooter rental shop, 海之家 recommended by the hotel. Getting around Kenting by a scooter is a must-try experience!However, it can get quite strict over here to rent a motorcycle/scooter. When the owner found out that we had no motorcycle license and experience riding one (including electric scooter), he refused to rent it to us. He told us that his electric scooters are too fast for us, so he called another shop with slower scooters. To summarize:
- If you want to rent a motorcycle 機車, you need to have a license.
- If you don't have a license, you can only rent an electric scooter 電動車 (normal speed) provided you have experience riding one.
- If you don't have a license and any experience at all, like us, you can only rent the slowest electric scooter, AFTER you pass a quick lesson with the shop owner.
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| 長泓電動車 |
This shop I'm finally renting from is called 長泓電動車. You can view here for their exact location. Their service is really good and they provide free pick-up and drop-off at your hotel. The rate for a scooter is 800 NT$ for 24 hours.
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| Scooter lesson: 慢慢來 慢慢來 (slowly slowly) |
Shibby went through a scooter lesson with them while I was waiting at the shop. It's actually not that hard to learn (based on my eye judgement haha), but it's good that they want to make sure you know how to ride before you rent.
After just one round of practice, he passed and happily departed from the shop!
Wait, what? Max speed is 25 km/h only? *faint
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| We were the slowest on the road. *cry |
Anyways, now time to get our priority right. Our plan today was to go along the coast and hopefully we'd finish all the spots before sunset! We were also reminded to return to the scooter rental shop to change our battery after all the sightseeing.
Sail Rock 船帆石
Not long after leaving the shop, we came to the Sail Rock. You can go nearer to the rock but we preferred to see it from a further distance at the beach.
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| 船帆石. See that rock in the middle of the water? |
Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔
How can you miss the lighthouse when you are in Kenting? Being the symbol of Kenting, Eluanbi Lighthouse is located on Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost part of Taiwan. Built between the Pacific Ocean and the Taiwan Strait, it has a splendid panorama.
The weather was perfect even in December! I was warned many times by friends that it's not wise to visit Kenting in December because of the cold weather and rain. Turned out that it's not true! It was around 20+ degree Celcius and a bit chilly at night, totally beautiful weather, even though you'll find locals who keep 'warning' you to wear more because of the cold weather. *shrug shoulder
There's an entrance fee to enter the lighthouse, which cost 60 NT$ per person. On a bright sunny day with blue sky like this, the lighthouse really stood out. It was a pleasant walk up the hill.
The Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點
From Eluanbi Lighthouse, you can ride a short distance to the southernmost point of Taiwan. Scooter parking cost 20 NT$. From the parking, you need to walk a little less than 1 km to reach the landmark. It's not accessible by cars. To be honest, I was rather disappointed given the walking distance as there is nothing much to see here. The pathway ended with a statue on a small viewing platform overlooking the rocky ocean.
Unless you really have a lot of time to spare, you can skip this place.
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| Where the 500m pathway ended. |
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| Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點 |
Longpan Park 龍磐公園
It was 4 pm and the sun was already slowly setting. I wanted to go to Fengchuisha 風吹砂 as recommended by my good friend who just went recently, but I was stopped by our scooter rental shop owner. She advised me to go to Longpan Park instead, told me that it's similar to Fengchuisha and repeatedly reminded me not to go to Fengchuisha at all. My guess is, it's due to the typical strong coastal wind on the road, and she probably got worried that we wouldn't make our trip there safe with our slow scooter.
Anyway, so we proceeded to Longpan Park first. It's a ride up hill and it gets more and more windy as you go. As the sun was setting, we started feeling chilly on the scooter.
You don't have to pay to enter. The walk to the viewpoint was filled with winds so strong it nearly blew us off our feet, but the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean is stunning and it's an exhilarating experience! This is one of the best views in Kenting, if not Taiwan.
There are no places to find shade here. There's no toilet. Some people say it's good to watch sunrise here. We didn't see sunrise but we saw sunset from here and it gave the sky beautiful colours. Our hotel also told us that this is a great spot to stargaze and see meteors!
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| Pathway leading to the viewpoint |
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| How stunning! |
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| Breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean |
Before the sky turned completely dark, we had to leave, considering the strong wind and our slow scooter, and the fact that there were no street lights. Please be careful when riding your electric scooter as it doesn't emit any engine noise. We almost ran over a couple of young Chinese female tourists who were completely engrossed in taking pictures in the middle of the road.
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| Stopping to admire the sunset on the way home |
As it was already late and we were hungry, we decided to stop by 7-11 to buy our dinner. On the way to the scooter rental shop to change our battery, I felt something wet trickling down my backpack. Smart me for buying soup noodle and packing it in my backpack. I immediately realized what went wrong.
Upon reaching the scooter rental shop, my worst fear was confirmed - my soup noodles had turned into dry noodles, and my backpack was soaking wet from the soup. Yuck. Thankfully the shop owners were kind to help us quickly clean up.
Casa Aperta 迷路為了看花 民宿
Now finally we were on our way to check into Casa Aperta, another hotel of 迷路, which is located in Mountain Guan 關山 on another side of Kenting, far from the town center. The road to the hotel was dark and quiet. Fortunately the scooter shop owner was nice enough to lead us there with his own motorcycle. He was actually worried that we would get lost due to the isolated location of the hotel.
After riding in the dark for about 20 minutes, we finally reached the hotel. My first impression was, this hotel looked huge compared to the earlier one I stayed in! It looked like a big villa with a swimming pool from the outside! Approaching the main door, I spotted a BIG husky lying comfortably on the floor.
Without knowing how our room would look like at all, I was pleasantly shocked and surprised when I stepped into our room located exclusively on the top floor.
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| Entrance to our room in Casa Aperta |
DAY 4
White Sand Bay 白沙灣海灘 ➡ Houbihu Fishing Harbour 後壁湖漁港 ➡ Kenting to Tainan (via Kaohsiung)
We were gently awoken to the most beautiful sunrise by the sunlight seeping through our panoramic glass windows. I couldn't believe my eyes seeing the pink and purple sky right in front of my bed. And this is when I got to see our room in Casa Aperta properly for the first time!
This room totally reminded me of the cave house we stayed in Oia, Santorini. It was simply stunning! Our room type is Double Room with Seaview 海市蜃樓.
Let the pictures speak for themselves.
With this room and panoramic mountain sea views, why did I not check in earlier? *cry
I was curious to explore the rest of the hotel, so we went downstairs for a walk. It was still early and people were still in bed, therefore it was empty other than the husky who was already up and about.
At every corner of the hotel, there are nice areas for you to relax. It's a perfect getaway place to escape the stressful city life. This hotel deserves your attention. If you plan to stay here, you need to spend at least 2-3 days in the hotel to fully enjoy yourself and appreciate its beauty.
Since it was winter when we came, the pool was closed. It would be nice to take your Instagram shots with the pool when you come in summer.
Not long after that, we saw staff coming in to work and start preparing breakfast. This time I didn't want to rush anymore so I came down early for breakfast. Loved the ambience of the whole common area + restaurant that you saw in my pictures earlier. And it felt really warm to watch them preparing and serving breakfast to every guest waiting at the table, with the husky lazying around in the background. It felt like home.
Their breakfast menu is different everyday. But one thing that never changes is their homemade bread, oh my god. 迷路 knows how to make your tummy happy!
I was eating while repeating to Shibby that the breakfast was much better than most breakfast I had in Australia. The bread, the egg, the hash browns, even the salad. Oh and their typical morning fruit smoothie!
Do I love II Piccolo Polpo or Casa Aperta more? Well to be honest I cannot choose! They are both beautiful in different ways. One is seafront, another one is nestled among the quiet mountain overlooking the ocean from far. One is a quaint little hotel, another one is a huge pool villa with 'Santorini cave rooms'. Definitely highly recommend 迷路 hotels to whoever that plans to stay in Kenting.
After checking out (unwillingly), we carried on with our sightseeing. It was such a beautiful morning with blue sky to ride in Mountain Guan, quiet and peaceful! This part of Kenting looked less touristy to me. Much better than riding on busy streets like yesterday.
It was very quiet when we were there, partly because it was winter, and also it was when the sunlight was the strongest at noon. A few locals were hiding under their big umbrellas by the beach. Also, this part of Kenting is rather far from the main touristy spots around Eluanbi. Staying in Casa Aperta would be perfect for coming here.
If you love swimming and sun-tanning, bring your swimsuit here. They have affordable umbrellas and chairs for rent. If you want to take a shower and wash your feet, you can find shops that offer water facility at a fee. We were sweating like a pig and couldn't stand the strong heat so we went to buy a cold coconut water. I'm not a coconut water person, but I was too thirsty I didn't mind drinking it at all. However I found it to be very expensive at 100 NT$ per coconut! *jawdrop
Shibby and I were comforting each other that we are good people because we were being charitable by supporting their business in this quiet low season, lol.
There'a a parking fee for your bike at 10 NT$.
Houbihu has the largest yacht wharf in Taiwan. Local residents and tourists always come for fresh seafood from the fishing boats just retuning. It's also a great spot for fishing, water activities and there are tourist semi-submersibles which take you to a submarine tour.
We extended our scooter rental for 3 hours more at 100 NT$. Glad we returned safely to the rental shop after a day!
Our Kenting trip came to an end and thankfully the scooter shop owner was again very kind to send us to Hengchun-zhuan-yun Station 恆春轉運站 to take the Kenting Express bus to Kaohsiung.
This time you wouldn't have to worry about missing your stop, because Zuoying station 左營站 is a big central terminal where most people will get off.
From Zuoying station, we took the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) 高鐵 to Tainan 台南. Booking through Klook again (yes you can find most tickets available on their platform), it cost us only RM14 per ticket instead of the official price 140 NT$ (RM20).
At the THSR counter, look for the sign that says 'Advance Purchase' and queue there. Show them your Klook voucher on the mobile and your passport, then choose your preferred departure timing. They will issue you a ticket that looks like this.
When passing through the gate to the platform, you can't tap and go like other people, but you have to show your pink-coloured ticket and your passport to the staff who will manually open the side gate and let you enter.
Finally, our first THSR experience! Punctual, clean, and fast. Impressive!
I had heard too much about Tainan before the trip. Everyone says Tainan has the best food in Taiwan. A lot of my friends have been telling me how much they love Tainan and their food. My mind was full of great imaginations until we checked into our hotel in Tainan that looked like a horror movie set to Shibby, lol!
Check out the Part II of my trip - Tainan & Taichung. :P
We were gently awoken to the most beautiful sunrise by the sunlight seeping through our panoramic glass windows. I couldn't believe my eyes seeing the pink and purple sky right in front of my bed. And this is when I got to see our room in Casa Aperta properly for the first time!
This room totally reminded me of the cave house we stayed in Oia, Santorini. It was simply stunning! Our room type is Double Room with Seaview 海市蜃樓.
Let the pictures speak for themselves.
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| Sunrise from the room |
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| Double Room with Seaview 海市蜃樓 |
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| This room is a popular spot for wedding proposal. |
With this room and panoramic mountain sea views, why did I not check in earlier? *cry
I was curious to explore the rest of the hotel, so we went downstairs for a walk. It was still early and people were still in bed, therefore it was empty other than the husky who was already up and about.
At every corner of the hotel, there are nice areas for you to relax. It's a perfect getaway place to escape the stressful city life. This hotel deserves your attention. If you plan to stay here, you need to spend at least 2-3 days in the hotel to fully enjoy yourself and appreciate its beauty.
Since it was winter when we came, the pool was closed. It would be nice to take your Instagram shots with the pool when you come in summer.
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| Reading area and restaurant |
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| Meet the gorgeous husky! |
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| This is also where you have breakfast. Love their open kitchen! |
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| Pretty little corner next to the swimming pool |
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| Perfect chilling area with seaview |
Not long after that, we saw staff coming in to work and start preparing breakfast. This time I didn't want to rush anymore so I came down early for breakfast. Loved the ambience of the whole common area + restaurant that you saw in my pictures earlier. And it felt really warm to watch them preparing and serving breakfast to every guest waiting at the table, with the husky lazying around in the background. It felt like home.
Their breakfast menu is different everyday. But one thing that never changes is their homemade bread, oh my god. 迷路 knows how to make your tummy happy!
I was eating while repeating to Shibby that the breakfast was much better than most breakfast I had in Australia. The bread, the egg, the hash browns, even the salad. Oh and their typical morning fruit smoothie!
 |
| Lovely breakfast at Casa Aperta |
Do I love II Piccolo Polpo or Casa Aperta more? Well to be honest I cannot choose! They are both beautiful in different ways. One is seafront, another one is nestled among the quiet mountain overlooking the ocean from far. One is a quaint little hotel, another one is a huge pool villa with 'Santorini cave rooms'. Definitely highly recommend 迷路 hotels to whoever that plans to stay in Kenting.
After checking out (unwillingly), we carried on with our sightseeing. It was such a beautiful morning with blue sky to ride in Mountain Guan, quiet and peaceful! This part of Kenting looked less touristy to me. Much better than riding on busy streets like yesterday.
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| Oh I love Kenting! |
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| When you didn't take up the scooter lesson, you can just pretend. |
White Sand Bay 白沙灣
First we came to White Sand Bay. Seriously, I didn't even know that this is where the movie 'Life of Pi' was filmed, until I googled it now. Wow.It was very quiet when we were there, partly because it was winter, and also it was when the sunlight was the strongest at noon. A few locals were hiding under their big umbrellas by the beach. Also, this part of Kenting is rather far from the main touristy spots around Eluanbi. Staying in Casa Aperta would be perfect for coming here.
If you love swimming and sun-tanning, bring your swimsuit here. They have affordable umbrellas and chairs for rent. If you want to take a shower and wash your feet, you can find shops that offer water facility at a fee. We were sweating like a pig and couldn't stand the strong heat so we went to buy a cold coconut water. I'm not a coconut water person, but I was too thirsty I didn't mind drinking it at all. However I found it to be very expensive at 100 NT$ per coconut! *jawdrop
Shibby and I were comforting each other that we are good people because we were being charitable by supporting their business in this quiet low season, lol.
There'a a parking fee for your bike at 10 NT$.
 |
| White Sand Bay 白沙灣 |
Houbihu Fishing Harbour 後壁湖漁港
Then we moved on to the next spot: Houbihu Fishing Harbour. Again, it was extremely quiet here. We once thought we'd probably gone to a wrong place.Houbihu has the largest yacht wharf in Taiwan. Local residents and tourists always come for fresh seafood from the fishing boats just retuning. It's also a great spot for fishing, water activities and there are tourist semi-submersibles which take you to a submarine tour.
 |
| Where is everyone else? |
We extended our scooter rental for 3 hours more at 100 NT$. Glad we returned safely to the rental shop after a day!
Our Kenting trip came to an end and thankfully the scooter shop owner was again very kind to send us to Hengchun-zhuan-yun Station 恆春轉運站 to take the Kenting Express bus to Kaohsiung.
Kenting to Tainan (via Kaohsiung)
Remember I told you to keep your return Kenting Express ticket properly? This is when you will need to use it. Hengchun-zhuan-yun Sation is a small building with a counter and some chairs for you to wait for your bus. When we got here, we just had to ask them when the next Kenting Express bus to Zuoying station is. We chose a timing we wanted and waited for the bus to come. No need to issue another ticket. How convenient is this! I booked mine via Klook at a cheaper price. |
| Kenting Express ticket issued earlier |
This time you wouldn't have to worry about missing your stop, because Zuoying station 左營站 is a big central terminal where most people will get off.
From Zuoying station, we took the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) 高鐵 to Tainan 台南. Booking through Klook again (yes you can find most tickets available on their platform), it cost us only RM14 per ticket instead of the official price 140 NT$ (RM20).
At the THSR counter, look for the sign that says 'Advance Purchase' and queue there. Show them your Klook voucher on the mobile and your passport, then choose your preferred departure timing. They will issue you a ticket that looks like this.
 |
| THSR ticket |
When passing through the gate to the platform, you can't tap and go like other people, but you have to show your pink-coloured ticket and your passport to the staff who will manually open the side gate and let you enter.
Finally, our first THSR experience! Punctual, clean, and fast. Impressive!
I had heard too much about Tainan before the trip. Everyone says Tainan has the best food in Taiwan. A lot of my friends have been telling me how much they love Tainan and their food. My mind was full of great imaginations until we checked into our hotel in Tainan that looked like a horror movie set to Shibby, lol!
Check out the Part II of my trip - Tainan & Taichung. :P
1 comment
Hi, just wanna ask you, is the KPP pass is free or we have to pay for it?
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