2D: Kaosiung in a Weekend

Although I was born in Taiwan, I left when I was very young. As such, I never got a chance to properly explore the country. This December, I went back for my cousin’s wedding, and when her brother offered to take me around, I leapt at the chance!

The day after the wedding, we took the high-speed rail from Taipei to Kaohsiung, which takes from 1.5 - 2 hours depending on the speed of the specific train you take. It’s clean, quick and way convenient. They even come by with trash cans and food carts so you can eat and drink to your heart’s content.

Kaohsiung was a sea port that became a major thoroughfare during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. During this time, the Japanese spent a lot of resources in order to connect the sea and land transport systems together. You can see this at the Kaohsiung Museum of History’s Hamasen Museum of Taiwan Railway Exhibit. We were happened to hit the centennial anniversary which featured a really cool VR exhibit allowing you to explore the town square during historical times.

Stay

We stayed at a chill motorcycle themed hotel called 237 Hotel. In terms of sensibility, it reminded me of the Portland Ace Hotel. Rooms were clean, pricing was reasonable, and the chinese-style breakfast that comes with your stay was delicious. There are even signs in English that let you know you can request seconds! RECOMMEND: YES!

Good Eats

Like the rest of Taiwan, Kaohsiung has a dizzying array of phenomenal food to offer.

Taiwan Sausage, Fish Cake
Ice Cream
Street Food - Fruits, Squid, Dumplings
Taiwanese Chicken Steak
Mochi Stick

Getting Around

Upon getting off the train, we headed to grab a scooter so we could tool around the area with ease. For international travelers, be sure to bring your license from your home country, as well as an international license. We recommend 555 Scooters, as their process makes it very easy for foreigners to rent vehicles. While it is more expensive than other places, the owner speaks English and it’s one of the only places that will let you rent a vehicle without having credentials from Taiwan. For those that know Chinese, you book online ahead of time at any of the rental agengies right outside of Zuoying Station (where the high-speed rail lets off) for better pricing. Advance bookings are recommended for peak times as scooters are a very popular form of a transport.