Taiwan: Part Wan

What a magical way to end our time in Singapore - waking up at 4am after a night of my insides blasting out of both ends... Perfect!

Off to the airport we went, praying that my stomach demons would leave me alone for at least the duration of our impending flight. 

Thankfully, they did.

Kaohsiung 

With the flight out of the way, it was time to enjoy our first taste of East Asia - Taiwan. We landed in Kaohsiung City on the southern coast of the island and immediately headed to our hotel for a nap, passing through Formosa Boulevard Station's wonderfully vivid Dome of Light along the way. 

An hour or so later, I was drowsily putting on my shoes while Siwan was informing me of the places we'd be visiting that afternoon. First up was Love River, Kaohsiung's equivalent to the River Thames. It was nice to get out into the fresh (semi-smoggy) air and have a look around. 

Afterwards, we headed over to peruse one of Taiwan's famous night markets. Here, we were introduced to the delight that is Stinky Tofu. Let me tell you something about Stinky Tofu - it stinks. Like, really stinks. Really, really stinks. The moment its fetid aroma hit my nostrils, my stomach gave a lurch. Just from the smell alone, we could tell this food would carry the title of 'acquired taste'. We weren't up for trying some though; we thought it smelled just a little too much like rank sewage.

We began the next day with a trip over to Cijin Island, just south of Kaohsiung. We grabbed a bite to eat on the beach and then trekked up to the Cihou Lighthouse which overlooks Cijin. From here, we could see pretty much the entire island, as well as most of Kaohsiung off in the distance. 

In the evening, we wandered back down to Love River. To our surprise, a lantern festival was in full swing, beautifully illuminating the water. 

To get a good view of all that was going on, we hopped aboard a gondola and drifted off down the river. 

The whole place was alive with music and excited chatter; people of all ages had come out to enjoy the festivities. 

It was amazing to be able to experience this piece of Taiwanese culture firsthand. 

So far, it had been a great start to Taiwan! (Except for the whole being ill thing.)

The next day, we made our way down to the peaceful Lotus Pond in the Zuoying District of Kaohsiung. Upon arrival, we were greeted by two towering pagodas jutting out of the surface of the water and connected to the land via a zigzagging bridge. We were advised to enter the towers via the dragon and exit via the tiger as it was meant to turn your bad luck into good luck! 

We had just enough time afterwards to visit the 5 Mile Pavilion and the Chi-Ming Tang temple before having to head off to catch our train out of the city.

Tainan 

Our next destination was Taiwan's historic Tainan City. A little north of Kaohsiung, this city served as the country's capital for over 200 years during the time of the Qing Dynasty. 

We loved Tainan as it is absolutely packed with character and authenticity. 

It's quaint little side streets, tranquil gardens and centuries-old, beautifully ornate temples were a joy to explore. And temples there were aplenty! Around practically every corner, we stumbled upon another one: some small and relatively unassuming, some majestically grand.

We had a totally terrific time touring the truly tremendous Taoist temples of Tainan. 

After a couple of enjoyable days in the city, it was time to pack up and move on once again.