Ken Ting, Taiwan

Ken Ting is a seaside holiday area surrounded by a National Park. It had the feeling that it was a place on holiday itself as many shops were closed and while there seemed to be many colourful tour buses in the parking lots there were not many people about. Maybe they had heard about the Super typhoon that was on its way towards Taiwan!

Above the beach is a nuclear power station. We were puzzled by rows of rusty and abandoned- looking vans and trucks along the streets. At night they turned into stalls selling all sorts to the tourists.

We had difficulties finding access to the sandy beach below our hotel. There were chains and fences blocking off the beach. After a long walk to the far end of town we finally found an access that had a hotel name on it. The beach had a noisy restaurant and a bar but there were not many people around.

We wanted to venture into the National Park but the office was closed and there were no signs of people going into the park so we walked as far as we could in the time we had.

Clare and her sister Karen have made life very easy for us. Karen has given us a cellphone to use and we have instructions written in Chinese characters with little speech bubbles that say "Show the bus driver" or "Show the hotel clerk". Both Karen and George have called us to check we have made our deadlines and we have found shuttle buses meeting us with our names in large black letters on their boards. We feel like VIPS!

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

We were invited to drink tea at the Buddhist temple where George and his sister stay. It was a lovely peaceful place surrounded by orange groves. They had recently had a new Buddha (for health and well being) made for the temple. It is possible for visitors to study and stay at the temple but there were only 7 residents when we visited.

Janice's mother was a nun residing at the temple. There was also a nun who was 83 and she said we were the first foreigners she had ever spoken to. At first the nuns were very shy and reserved but after awhile we were asking each other questions and sharing some jokes. We were showered with gifts of food as we left to head for Kaohsiung city.

Kaohsiung (pop 1,509,131), also written Gaoxiong, is Taiwan's largest port and probably the world's fifth largest one. It was a popular place for lovers and to watch the sunset.

The Love River running through the middle of the city used to be badly polluted but now had walkways, cafes and is another place for lovers to meet.

George and Uncle Su put us on a bus to Ken Ting from here.

Tainan, Taiwan

We were picked up from the golf resort by George, his younger sister (a Buddhist nun), Janice (from Taipei, studying The Teachings of Buddha), and a monk from Thailand who taught Buddhism. We picked up George's friend "Uncle Su" and headed for Tainan City (pop 725,000)

Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan. The Chinese settled there in 1590 and then the Dutch based themselves there from 1624-1662. We visited the reconstructed Dutch Fort Zeelandia and a German Trading Post from that time. It was also the capital until 1885 when it moved to Taipei.

There was a huge statue of Matsu the sea goddess near the port.

Uncle Su took us to a shop to eat a local food- Anping bean jelly- it was a jelly made from soybean and you could have it with tapioca (pearl), lemon, red or green bean topping. It was delicious. It was so popular that huge tourist buses pulled in and in no time the visitors were fed and on their way.
George and Uncle Su
We visited a vegetarian restaurant in the evening. It had dishes made from soy bean that looked and tasted like meat dishes. It was superb.

We had a great time and a lot of laughs! We tried these interesting looking vegetables. They grow underground and taste like a nut.

Moon festival, Taipei

This is a time when many people visit their families. The official holday date was Tuesday but some businesses closed on the Monday to allow their workers to have a 4 day holiday.

We visited the Longshan Temple in Taipei and it had bus loads of visitors taking offerings to the temple and praying.

George Su gave us some traditional Moon cakes and pomelos ( huge grapefruits with a thick skin and bitter pith). There were many places selling all kinds of moon cakes packaged in red and gold. The cakes are round with a pastry like covering and stuffed with all sorts of sweet fillings- red bean, green bean, peanuts, longans etc.

Beihe, Golfing Taiwan

The Su family organised a stay at the Wing on Golf Resort. It was a lovely peaceful place in a rural area. We were the only Westerners in the place. The clubhouse was so big it had a 40 room hotel on the top floor. There was a disco room, karaoke bar and pool tables. Two busloads of people came in while we were there.

For the golf fee we got a cart with a male English speaking driver/caddy and a female caddy. We teed off at 7 and a local Taiwanese club member joined us and he had left home at 5am to play at his home club. The caddy selected and cleaned our clubs and balls. It was a strange feeling to treated in such a way!

The driver had previously worked as an aircraft mechanic but left the factory as the work conditions were unhealthy. This job gave him opportunities to fly to Europe and USA and this helped improve his English. Although being a caddy did not pay much he enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle and outdoors and had applied to join the police force. He had never played golf but wanted to.

We had to hire clubs and just used our hiking boots as we didn't have any golf gear with us. It was John's first game for over 7 months and he thoroughly enjoyed it although by the time we finished it was 33 degrees and about 90% humidity.

Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

Karen organised a bus for us to Sun Moon Lake. It is the largest freshwater lake in Taiwan and at an elevation of760 metres above sea level it was a cool relief from the hot 30+ temperatures we have been at for a long time.. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel on the lakeside and were treated to a night display of sound and light at the lake fountain and fireworks from the lookout nearby.

The town was very small with many hotels and restaurants but most visitors had returned to work after the Moon Festival so it was quite deserted. We only saw one other Western couple in the town. A local bus went around the lake and you could get on and off as you pleased all day to visit the various temples, gardens and walkways beside the lake.

Several different tribes live near the lake. We saw many beautifully coloured butterflies, frogs, tortoises and birds.

Taipei, Taiwan

Kevin and Karen (Clare's sister) and George (Clare's dad)

We had arranged to meet our Taiwanese friend Clare and her husband Graham in Taiwan. Unfortunately Graham ruptured his tendon and was unable to fly. We had met Clare's family at their wedding in Rotorua so were keen to catch up with them in Taiwan.

We stayed at a lovely hostel and George, Karen and Kevin took us sightseeing. We have been on the go since we arrived and Karen and Clare organised an itinerary for us with hotel, train and bus bookings. It has been wonderful to have our own travel agents!

We haven't been able to do any postings on our blog as we have been on the go or haven't found places that have the internet or that can load pictures to the site. I have only been able to load one picture here but will load more at a later stage.

It took us longer to get to Taipei City from the airport than the flight took from Hanoi. Taiwan is the second most densely populated country per capita after Bangladesh! We also arrived at Moon festival time. Many businesses gave their workers a four day weekend to enjoy the festivities and to travel to their families. Consequently, the trains and buses out of the city were fully booked. We stayed and visited the sights in the city and it was easy to get around on the MRT underground train and the local buses.

Grand hotel

We visited the famous Grand Hotel, the Giant Ferris Wheel and Taipei 101 building. 101 refers to the number of floors and it was the tallest building in the world until recently. The views at night were spectacular. It took a very smooth 36 seconds to get to the 69th floor and 46 seconds to return to the ground floor!

We spent a day at the Royal Palace Museum and it was incredible. Some of the treasures were over 5,000 years old. The treasures were shipped to Taiwan from China for safekeeping when the Nationalist fled the mainland. It was the best thing that could have happened as they may well have been lost forever if the youth had got a hold of them and destroyed them during the "Cultural Revolution".

We spent an afternoon at The Aboriginal Museum which showcased the culture and customs of the various tribes of Taiwan. It was very interesting to see experts espouse the theory that Taiwanese and Maoris had common ancestors!