Category: Vacation

So, we visited Cijin Island 旗津島 in our last blog and thought that would be our only encounter to get near the seas. In this episode, we surprised ourselves with much more places to sight-seeing. But first, we had to check in to our new hotel.

Kindness Hotel

Kindness Hotel is a chain of hotels in the Kaohsiung city. Ideal for fun and relaxation, Kindness Hotel – Kaohsiung Station Chen Chien is located in the Sanmin District area of Kaohsiung. Before booking this hotel, we were looking for one with cheap rates and good review. Looking at a review of more than 9 in Agoda, it didn’t take us too long to consider booking and here we are.

Kindness hotel is not posh-looking and some parts may look dated. However, we think they made it up with their good customer service.

After a long day of shopping, the hotel’s cafe is where you would like to chill out. If you are the hotel guests, free supper (Taiwanese porridge and usual food items) is included every night.

There is this soya-bean ice cream machine at the lobby. It is all-day free flow for the guests.

This is how our room looks like. Decent and spacious in the most important part – our beds! How much we paid for it? S$158.81 for 1 day.

The beds are soft and fluffy. How can they resist chilling out over here?

The view from our hotel room.

Good morning, everyone! Let’s try out Kindness Hotel breakfast buffet. Earlier on, we mentioned of the good customer service. Yes, the hotel staff would walk around the tables to ask the guests how was the food quality and anything they can improve or assist. We thought it was a very nice touch by the hotel. Thumbs up for them 🙂

Look at the spread. It seemed more than a lunch buffet.

Nice coffee-making machine for the caffaine addicts.

We would call this as our brunch. The hotel is not stingy in the food servings. We were really full by the time we finished our breakfast and that would last us till the late afternoon.

Another plus of Kindness Hotel. One of the beautiful things of visiting Taiwan is the availability of bicycles for guests to rent and explore the city.

Our overall experience at Kindness Hotel was pleasant. The room could be better but what’s more could we ask for when the rate was just S$158? This is inclusive of breakfast and supper buffet as well. The hotel is clean and is the kind of no-frills stay many are looking for. This is Kindness Hotel address if you intend to book it.

Kenting National Park 墾丁國家公園

We booked a cab to bring us to the Kenting National Park 墾丁國家公園 in Pingtung. This trip took up to 4 hours travel on the road. This is so because Kenting is located at the extreme southern tip of Taiwan. It is famous for its beautiful beaches and lush vegetation, and plenty of differents corals. Along the way, we stopped at some rest points for toilet breaks.

Exhausted from the long road ride but the smell of fresh air and being near to sea waters brought great respite for us!

Kenting National Park is a tourist attraction and don’t be surprised to see flocks of visitors here. Low mountains and hilly terraces prevail over much of the land in the park, along with rugged high cliffs and sandy deserts. The swimming beaches with yellow sands and turquoise waters are wonderfully suited to recreation, and sightseeing on a scooter or bicycle is highly enjoyable.

Local shops lined up near the entrance. We had seen the best of Taiwan night markets so there was nothing much to shop here.

How good is this! Near to the sand, near to the beach. Head down to Kenting which boasts some of the most pleasant climate in the country. We don’t get such natural wonders back in Singapore. Treasured every bits of our trip.

The wind was so strong and chilly.

A further walk up will bring you to Maobitou Park. As a result of the movement of the waves on the limestone reef coast, the terrain of this area resembles a crouching cat looking out at the sea. The inshore fishermen of Taiwan used to refer to the prominent cape as a nose (“bi” in Chinese). Therefore, it was named “Mao(cat)-bi(nose)-tou (head)” (Maobitou), meaning “cat’s nose”!

 Up next, we are going to get nearer to the waters.

Address: No.32, Ln. 125, Hengnan Rd., Hengchun Township, Kenting

Our driver drove us nearer to the coast.

Where we can get up close to the sea waters. Not a good idea to swim here as the currents were strong. It was winter season and definitely no go into cold water.

One trip but many memorable moments were captured.

Lunch at Kenting

On our way to Eluanbi Park, we stopped by at this restaurant for our lunch.

Ordered the local cuisines. A sumptuous spread of dishes right here.

Eluanbi Park 鵝鑾鼻公園

Eluanbi Park was created in 1982 to provide an appropriate venue for people coming to visit Taiwan’s southernmost point and one of the peninsula’s most notable landmarks, the Eluanbi Lighthouse, also called “The Light of East Asia”. It stands 21.4 meters high and is reputedly the brightest lighthouse in Asia.

The admission tickets cost NT$30 (adults) and NT$15 (children).

However, please note that the park will be closed during typhoons period.

This was the trip that we came to know Taiwanese love dogs so much. Many a times they would bring their furkids out together with them.

Take a stroll in Eluanbi Park. Honestly, it wasn’t that impressive when we entered. If we were to compare with Singapore’s Botanic Garden, it would be far fetch. But wait till we delved deeper into the park and find some really interesting spots.

One of the highlights of travelling overseas is to expect lots and lots of walking. When travelling with little ones, it would be wise to bring along your stroller.

Small M loves this shot very well. It looked so natural.

Visitors can choose to take a trail along the sea to enjoy the sea breeze and view or  explore the Eluanbi Lighthouse.

The famous Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 right here. Another attraction checked from our list 🙂

 The lighthouse was severely damaged on two occasions – during the First Sino-Japanese war in 1894 and allied bombing during the Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa in 1944.

An exhibition room at the park provides the history of Eluanbi Park.

Eluanbi Lighthouse gives a panoramic and unblocked view of the sea. This place is that serene and tranquil.

This is definitely a place to explore when you are in Kenting.

You should be here too 🙂

Eluanbi Park is open daily from 7 am to 5.30 pm. Hours of operation is extended from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm during the month of April to October.

Address: 946, Taiwan, Pingtung County, Hengchun Township, 鵝鑾里鵝鑾路301號

Longpan Park 龙磐公园

Situated in Pingtung County is Longpan Park. With a wide range of grassland, Longpan is lying between Jiae road and the Pacific Ocean, and is a spacious place for visitors to watch the sunrise, sunset, and the stars. As a coral limestone tableland, Longpan is rich in slumping cliffs, caves, and fissures eroded by rainwater.

It was beginning to rain when we arrived.

Small M’s hair was flying in the wind! These were our adventures in Kenting before making a long road journey back to Kaohsiung. We were supposed to go firefly watching but had to give it a miss as all the kiddos were totally knocked out in the car. We wanted the kids to experience this one of these days. You can also watch fireflies in other parts of Taiwan. Click here to find out more.

Catch a video on Longpan Park 龙磐公园 here:

Address：Jia-E highway, Hengchun, Pingdong County

Kai Xuan Night Market 凯旋夜市

If you are taking the MRT to Kai Xuan Night Market, take the subway Red Line to the R6 Stop.

Walk out of Exit 2. Cross the street heading south and turn left. You’ll be at the night markets within 5 minutes. If you don’t want to walk, there is a free shuttle to and from the station to the markets.

We read in the airline magazine that Kai Xuan Night Market is touted as the largest night market in Taiwan. So we were expecting the “Shilin” atmosphere when we reached here but alas, it was a big disappointment.

The place was big but the stalls were few. Not the kind of thriving night markets we visited previously.

We did a bit of shopping and eating and didn’t spend much time here.

We couldn’t resist these buttered grilled prawns.

The highlight of our Taiwan trip is about eating and eating.

Big and Small M favourite flour balls. Is there any of these in Singapore? We have a craving for them.

Liu He Night Market 六合夜市

The Liuhe Night Market is a must visit market if you are in Kaohsiung. It is located in the heart of Kaohsiung and is easy to get to by MRT. To come here, take the MRT Red Line and alight at the R10 stop or Orange Line O5 stop. It is the famous Formosan Blvd. station. Walk to Exit 11 which is the Liuhe Night Market Exit and you will be at the eastern end of the market.

Our eyes lit up when we arrived at Liu He Night Market. It was bustling with activities and visitors were thronging the streets. Do you know that the market open from 5pm to 6am!

We find the local Taiwanese are very appreciative of street arts and performances. They would slow down and be entertained by street buskers. Fancy singing “Country Road”?

The best thing to do here is to try the local cuisine.

This friendly stall owner invited us to try their soft oyster omelette and so we did.

Beef noodles stall.

We ate a lot and now we were craving for desserts.

Slurp down a bowl of warm beancurd in the cold weather. We also met a Singaporean couple visiting Kaohsiung and like us, stayed in the same hotel and travelled by the high speed rail.

This furkid was kind enough to allow us to snap a picture of him with Liu He Night Market in the backdrop.

Liu He Night Market has plenty of spaces for visitors to walk and overall it was a pleasant experience exploring it. If you visit Kaohsiung, never leave without visiting these night markets.

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