South Korea & Taiwan Blog 11: Hualien to Kaohsiung
Day 21 – Thursday, 27 April Hualien
Cloudy, 24ºC
We had a quiet day planned for today, so we got up at 9am, walked around the corner to “Wake Up Brunch” for … brunch ( waffles, bacon and eggs drinks T$262/$13 ). Wandered back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and walked to the train station to pick up our train tickets for tomorrow’s train to Kaohsiung, then walked across to the west of the Station to Taroko Car Hire, to hire 2 scooters ( 125cc, T$6000/$30ea for full day ) at 11am.
Rode out and got used to being in traffic and riding on the right!. The car drivers are very courteous and there are lots of scooters around, with many dedicated scooter lanes and even a scooter only tunnel under the railway line.
There is also a system set up at most junctions where the scooters have a separate box to use to wait for the lights to change; for example if you are at a Xroad junction and wanting to turn left ( ie across the oncoming traffic ) there is a painted box on the right side of the junction to wait. When the lights go red for the traffic you were in and the lights for the cross traffic turn green then you can go, as you are at the front of the traffic with the green light.
We headed down through the main part of town ( along Zhongshan Rd ) to the beach, had a look around then north along the coast, past the Port to Chisingtan Beach/Qixingtan area ( an enclave of hotels and apartments next to the airport with nothing else around it ). We bought some snacks for lunch and drew T$4000 at the atm, then headed further along the beach to park near end of runway. Sat and watched people come and go, many were taking a photo next to a large rock with writing on it which says “Seven Star Lake”, which apparently is the name of the beach…
Walked back to the scooters then west through more rural areas to another runway which is part of a military base, but seemed like it was disused. We rode on back to town ( down Zhongshan Rd again ) towards the river, then along the river and up Matyrs Hill, had a bit of a walk through the park to stretch the legs then down again. Headed west through town towards J’an, then back northwest past Tzu Chi university, and then back to bike hire place at 2pm. We dropped off the bikes then walked back to the station, had a Starbucks cold drink, and sat and watched people for a while. There is always something happening at a train station.
Back to hotel at 3pm, and relaxed.
Headed out for tea at 6:45pm, back to same place as last night, then bought cakes on the way back to the hotel at 8:00pm
Day 22 – Friday, 28 April Hualien to Kaohsiung
Fine, 26ºC in Hualien
Fine, hazy, 28ºC in Kaohsiung
Got up at 8:00, packed our bags, got ready, and checked out then walked to the railway station at 8:45am. Grabbed some Starbucks breakfast ( beef and cheese croissants and frittata sandwich ) and ate on the seats out front of the station. Much warmer day today so it is nice to sit in the shade. We grabbed some snacks from the Family Mart then headed upstairs to get our train platform, then down to the platform at 9:45am. The train rolled in at 10:20am, we jumped on to Car 2 ( seats 46 and 52, so not sitting together ) and left at 10:25am
The train to Kaohsiung ( pronounced KOW-schwing ) travels down the east coast, but mainly inland through what is known as the Rift Valley ( a long valley which opens to the coast at both ends ). The line then cuts inland through the mountains and then heads north to Kaohsiung across the plains of Gaoping River valley.
We arrived at Kaohsiung Main Station at 2:50pm and up through station ( the station is undergoing a major rebuild, but is already looking very impressive )
We walked north then north and east about 250m to find Hotel Kindness ( T$11,520 / $600 for 4 nights ), checked in, then up to our room ( 1003 ). We later learned that the hotel has a complimentary ice cream and cereal bar in the lobby.
We sorted ourselves then out at 3:45pm, walked north along “Shoe Street” ( lots of shoe shops ) then to Starbucks for a coffee and cheese cake, and to cool down.
Headed back south to our hotel at 5pm.
Out again at 5:45pm, caught the MRT subway ( topped up our Ipasses with another T$100 ea ) to Kaisyuan Station, then walked to “Dream Mall” ( the biggest in Taiwan, with an amusement park on the roof ), walked up through some floors then dinner at TGI Fridays ( T$1600 / $80 for steak, chicken and 2 drinks ). Much more expensive than we are used to and not really worth the money; we are much happier with local food!
Walked back to some shops then out to catch the Light Rail/Tram 2 stops back to Kaisyuan and back to Kaohsiung Main Station on the MRT, and back to hotel via the ubiquitous 7/11 at 9pm.