After I woke up in my usual, very early manner, I decided to quietly sit in the living room and practice my Chinese characters. After about an hour or so, BoFu came in and sat down next to me. I showed him the mobile application I was using and he joined right in. The Character would display on the screen and he would wait for a brief period, giving me time to say the character. If I waited too long, he would say it for me and then I would repeat his pronunciation. If I got the character right, he would laugh, smile and nod his head. It was nice, two guys, neither of whom spoke much of each other's language, communicating without really speaking to one another. Soon, it was time to leave for the train station for Kaohsiung. Since we were only going to be gone a couple of days, I removed my laptop and threw everything in my backpack.
After getting breakfast "to go", we jumped on the scooter and headed for the station. Once at the station, we purchased our tickets and made our way to the platform. We were lucky to get two seat together, that isn't always the case. We boarded the train found our seats. The train ride to Kaohsiung is only about 45 minutes and costs about $2 US per person. The ride was mostly through city scapes as Tainan and Kaohsiung are next to one another and almost blend together. We ate breakfast on the train, Dan Bing, of course and an iced coffee, without ice.
The train arrived in Kaohsiung and we exited. JiaJia had arranged for a car to take us to Kenting as the hotels have a special relationship with these drivers to attract more business. A bus would be cheaper, but it is a 3 hour ride and there's no guarantee of a seat. We walked outside of the station and looked for looked like our driver. JiaJia called the driver on the phone and she was right out front. The car was basically a taxi that was chartered for this purpose. Since we were the only ones going today, we had a private car to Kenting for about $30 US.
The taxi wasn't anything different than what you would find in the US. It was very clean and new. The driver was a nice lady from Kaohsiung and this taxi was literally hers. Taxi drivers in Taiwan own their own cabs and still work for a company that dispatches them out. I sat in the back and enjoyed the view of an ever increasing amount of palms and papaya trees as we neared Kenting. The driver and JiaJia chattered in Taiwanese for almost the whole trip. I could pick out words here and there and occasionally, she would tell me what the driver was telling her. Basically, stories of being a taxi driver.
We arrive in Kenting around 11:30. We are led between the buildings, past salon and to the very small hotel lobby. We are told that rooms aren't available until 3:00 PM and if we wait until noon we can go ahead and rent the scooter for the 24 hour rental. There are some girls from Hong Kong waiting in the lobby to take the same shuttle/taxi back to Kaohsiung. They have just graduated college and are taking their graduation trip. I leave my backpack with the hotel owner and we decide to wander around and eat lunch. Not knowing where anything is we walk back to the main road where the shuttle/taxi dropped us off.
Kenting is a popular tourist town, mostly for college kids. The town straddles the main highway with most of the shops and restaurants one each side of the street. As we begin to explore the main drag of Kenting, I notice a couple of places from the hotel is a Levi's Outlet. They are closed now, but will open when more people are on the strip. Being that we're on the coast, the sun feels a lot brighter and I decide I need some cheap sunglasses. The owner is just now opening his store and I quickly find a pair for about $6 US. We walked up the road a ways and thought maybe there was something perhaps down a side street, closer to the shore. We ended up on the beach and went and sat under a tree and watched the tourists playing in the water. There was a strong southerly breeze coming off the South China Sea and it felt good in the shade. Finally I was getting really hungry so we went back up to the main road. 
We found a place to have lunch, "Wonderful K.T." I have no idea what it means, but you pick out your ingredients and noodles and they will cook it all up for you. We chose Ramen-syle noodles and added onions, pork balls, tofu, and cabbage. We sat in the air conditioned dining room and talked as the meal was prepared. They had a hot sauce that was labeled "液體死","Yeti Si" or Liquid Death. I had to try it, being a lover of Srirracha and Sambal, back in the States. I will agree that it is hot, but it's not Liquid Death. A couple of women came in with the cutest little girl. She was about 2 years old and stole my heart with her smile. I took a couple of photos of her as we were leaving.
We walked back over the the hotel lobby and signed for the scooter. The owner showed me how to work the seat compartment and lock for the bike. I backed it out of the garage and slowly maneuvered my way through the narrow space between the buildings to the street. The owner had given us a map and where to go to see the sights along the coast. JiaJia climbed on behind me. Once she was ready, I gave it some gas and off we went down the road. The first we needed to do was get some gasoline. There is one gas station in town. It cost about $3 US to fill the little tank of the 100cc bike. Then we were off again. Headed for "貓鼻頭", "Maobi Tou" or The tip of the cat's nose. We wound around the coast line and even stopped at a tourist beach along the way to walk down to the water. The wind was a bit strong creating a choppy surf. People were playing in the water, but the beach wasn't crowded. Peak season didn't start for another week, when school let out, so traffic was light and the beaches weren't crowded. Local vendors tried to get us to buy a ride on a banana raft. We jumped back on the bike and got back on the road. The roads are in very good shape, making the ride a lot more enjoyable. Every now and then, JiaJia would get my attention and tell me where to turn. We headed down one road that was lined with dense papaya trees on each side of the road. The road also dipped down creating a cool spot and the breeze felt wonderful in the hot sun. Most of the time on the back roads, there was only the occasional car or scooter. It took about 20 minutes to get to park. We parked the bike and went inside the pavilion that accompanied the park.
Maobi Tou is named for the massive boulder that is shaped like a cat's head. The "head" points south, hence its "nose" is the southern most point. The climb to the observation point was a bit steep, as are most climbs in Taiwan. Buses filled with Chinese tourists from mainland China were everywhere. Taking pictures and such. I did notice that the buses never stayed that long. Perhaps long enough to look, take a small break, then they piled into the buses to see the next attraction on their tour. I preferred to use our method. It was hot and I bought ice cream from one of the vendors. It's really ice milk, but it was cold and refreshing. Because the wind was blowing a bit hard, it made eating the ice cream cone a daunting feat, as you were trying to eat it before it melted all over your hand.
We wanted to see the sunset from "關山", "Guanshan" Guan Mountain, which was around 7:00 PM, but it was only about 1:30 in the afternoon. We were a bit tired and so we went back to the hotel to see if they were done cleaning our rooms. They were and I took the bag upstairs. The top floor had the coolest view and the hottest rooms. One AC unit per room and they were turned off. There was even an adjoining private "Widow's walk". After a too long nap, it was getting late. We raced to get to Guanshan before dusk. I rode that scooter full throttle and only managed about 40mph. We arrived about 10 minutes after the sun had set. People were walking down from the mountain top to their cars when we arrived. I parked the bike and we went up an extremely steep walkway to a Temple located at the summit. The view was spectacular and you could see the South China Sea to the west and the Philippine Sea (Pacific Ocean) to the east. I took some photos and then we decided to go eat dinner. JiaJia knew about a place not too far, in a cove, that had a great selection of fresh seafood. When we got on the bike, it was beginning to get dark and it hit me that I only had sunglasses and no other eye protection from the swarms of insects that usually come out right after dusk. As we rode through the papaya groves, my fears came true as I drove straight through a swarm of what I think were mayflies. Luckily, none of them hit me in the eye, but I did suffer a couple of welts to the arms and legs.
We snaked around through the little village hoping we would find the restaurant. It was more challenging in the dark. A parade of vehicles seemed to be headed in a certain direction and being that this was a popular place, we followed. It was a lucky choice and we found the floating restaurant that JiaJia had read about. I park the bike and we walked across the gangplank to the restaurant.
The "restaurant" was really a group of about eight smaller restaurants more similar to night market eateries but of a higher quality. The place we wanted to go was closed on Tuesdays so we chose a different one. Not knowing what we were in for, we casually ordered a few dishes, including sashimi, oyster soup, squid balls and a couple of vegetables. I noticed several of the tables of large groups, enjoying their dinner with large elaborate dishes, laughing and talking as they ate. When our dishes began to arrive, the look on our faces must have been that of classic astonishment. The servers brought six dishes to our table that were clearly meant for a large family. We looked at eat other and wondered just how we could eat all of this food. The prices had been very cheap, so I thought we would order several to make a good meal. The dining room was almost silent as the other tables now looked at us and our banquet of food. Murmurings could be heard and they probably wondered the same thing we were. The sashimi alone was enough for a meal for two. JiaJia was raised never to waste anything. There would have to be wasted food tonight because there was no way we could eat it all. In the end, we opted to taking the squid balls in a doggie bag and left. The entire meal cost less than $20 USD. A really good deal compared to all the food we were served. We still wanted to walk around the night market, so we left and drove back to the hotel.
The highway was alive with people. Street vendors had set up their carts and booths along the street as well as all of the stores and nightclubs. Some had big screen displays outside to show the people inside dancing, to entice more customers. We walked up one side of the street and JiaJia bought a cold tea drink. I was still very full from dinner and only wanted something cold. As we reached one end of the "market", I noticed one street vendor serving alcohol. He had a small sampling of a true bar, but the bottles were openly displayed. Kahlua, Bailey's, Crown Royal and Johnny Walker Black. I thought that would never be allowed in the States.
I bought tourist t-shirt and we decided we'd had enough and returned back to the hotel and to our rooms for the night. We agreed that an early start was needed to complete the trip before we went back to Kaohsiung. A cool shower to rinse off was what I wanted and afterward, sleep came quickly.
Follow me tomorrow, as I get lost and visit the number one night market in Taiwan.
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