Kenting, Taiwan
垦丁,台湾
22 May - 24 May 2016
Actually, I'll be in Taiwan for 4 days 3 nights, but I'll only spend 2 nights in Kenting, and the last night I'll be in Kao Hsiung. As you guys might know, I've already been in Kao Hsiung last year and I really liked it. Kao Hsiung is a very nice place to be in, so I spared one day just to explore Kao Hsiung again.
My flight tickets were booked through TigerAir, as always. As for my accommodation, I've relied on Agoda again for the best offer and lowest rates that suits my needs.
My flight tickets were booked through TigerAir, as always. As for my accommodation, I've relied on Agoda again for the best offer and lowest rates that suits my needs.
Expenditure:
2-ways flight ticket + 15kg check in luggage for return flight HKD 1040
Capsule Hostel, Kenting Street HKD 326.66
FX Inn, Kao Hsiung Zhong Hua Road Branch HKD 231
A Total Of HKD 1597.66 (SGD278.63)
Cash used in Kenting : less than HKD1500
Grand Total : ~HKD3100
PSST!! Click on the pictures for a better look at them! Please?
2-ways flight ticket + 15kg check in luggage for return flight HKD 1040
Capsule Hostel, Kenting Street HKD 326.66
FX Inn, Kao Hsiung Zhong Hua Road Branch HKD 231
A Total Of HKD 1597.66 (SGD278.63)
Cash used in Kenting : less than HKD1500
Grand Total : ~HKD3100
PSST!! Click on the pictures for a better look at them! Please?
Day One
As usual, I ended my work at 8am. Right after I've punched out from work, I rushed over to the hotel opposite to retrieve my luggage that I've safe-kept last night. My flight is departing at 9.35am, so I was really afraid that I would miss the flight. I took a taxi at the entrance and reached the airport in 15 minutes. After checking in, I went through the immigration and head over to the airport lounge for some breakfast.
My mum got me the Priority Pass that allows you to chillax at the airport lounge for some drinks and food before your flight is ready for boarding. Because I've always been travelling by plane since 18, it was actually a very worthy package. But the bank will need you to spend a certain amount on your card to keep this Priority Pass going.
The flight was on time, surprisingly. They're actually ready for boarding a few minutes earlier than scheduled, which was a first to me on TigerAir Taiwan. The plane isn't crowded and I had the window seat! The flight only took around an hour to reach KaoHsiung, which is also the same time needed to get from KL to Penang. So excuse me if I'm travelling to Taiwan a little too often.
The flight was on time, surprisingly. They're actually ready for boarding a few minutes earlier than scheduled, which was a first to me on TigerAir Taiwan. The plane isn't crowded and I had the window seat! The flight only took around an hour to reach KaoHsiung, which is also the same time needed to get from KL to Penang. So excuse me if I'm travelling to Taiwan a little too often.
The flight attendants gave out samples of beauty products to all the ladies on board when we touched down in KaoHsiung. It was raining lightly when we landed, but the sky cleared out by the time I passed immigration. There isn't long queues through the customs which was great news!
Once I'm in the arrival hall, I went to exchange TWD at the currency counter. The rate is always constant around 4.XX. So I changed HKD3000 to TWD12060. After that, I went to sign up for the mobile package with Taiwan Mobile 台湾大哥大 and opted for the 5 days package with unlimited internet access. I was only able to get the 3G package instead of the 4G, because I've already applied for it in November 2015, and we're only allowed to apply for the 4G package once a year. But it's still fine as long as I get the unlimited internet.
Alright, they have this bus service that goes directly from the airport towards Kenting. But the next bus is 12.40pm, and it was only 11am+ at that moment. So I opted to go with the suggestions that I've seen online, which is to go to KaoHsiung Main Station to get the express buses towards Kenting. There were a few private cabbies that offers you to carpool with a few other passengers and fetch you to Kenting directly at the airport as well. You can negotiate with them if you want to save time travelling by bus.
Anyway, I took the MRT towards KaoHsiung Main Station 高雄车站 and hoped to find a bus there. I'd like to clarify that I did not do much research before leaving for Taiwan, and the Taiwan internet package takes a moment to be activated. Another thing I'd like to mention, is that there's three types of public train transportation in KaoHsiung, the KMRT 高雄捷运, TRA 台铁 and the THSR 高铁. KMRT is like the normal MRT/MTR/LRT in other countries, the TRA is what we usually call the classic train tracks style transport, and the THSR is their high speed trains that is usually opted for when we'd like to travel across states.
KaoHsiung Main Station is where KMRT and TRA meets.
After exiting KMRT, I went to the TRA tourism counter to ask for directions to for the Kenting Express Bus 垦丁快线. The guy suggested me to go to ZuoYing 左营 station to catch the Kenting Express Bus, which as he said, will be faster compared to the buses available nearby KaoHsiung Main Station.
See, this is when things go wrong. He is actually talking about the ZuoYing 左营 station of the KMRT line, which is equivalent to the Xin ZuoYing 新左营 station of TRA line. But little did I know, that there is also a ZuoYing 左营 station for TRA line, which is 1 stop before Xin ZuoYing 新左营 station of TRA. I know, it's complicated. So please communicate properly with the counter guy and clarify which train line he's talking about.
I wasted quite some time stopping at the wrong station and waiting for the next train to arrive. When I finally reached the correct station - ZuoYing KMRT 左营捷运站 / Xin ZuoYing TRA 新左营台铁站, I caught on the 1pm Kenting Express Bus. There's signage that leads you towards the ticketing counter, and after you bought the tickets, just head down towards the road side Platform 1 to board the bus.
In short, to rectify my mistake. Just take the KMRT straight from the airport towards ZuoYing station with no interchange in between. It's 13 stations apart, and once you reach ZuoYing KMRT station, look for the signage towards Kenting Express Ticketing counter to board the bus directly. See? Easy-peasy.
Once I'm in the arrival hall, I went to exchange TWD at the currency counter. The rate is always constant around 4.XX. So I changed HKD3000 to TWD12060. After that, I went to sign up for the mobile package with Taiwan Mobile 台湾大哥大 and opted for the 5 days package with unlimited internet access. I was only able to get the 3G package instead of the 4G, because I've already applied for it in November 2015, and we're only allowed to apply for the 4G package once a year. But it's still fine as long as I get the unlimited internet.
Alright, they have this bus service that goes directly from the airport towards Kenting. But the next bus is 12.40pm, and it was only 11am+ at that moment. So I opted to go with the suggestions that I've seen online, which is to go to KaoHsiung Main Station to get the express buses towards Kenting. There were a few private cabbies that offers you to carpool with a few other passengers and fetch you to Kenting directly at the airport as well. You can negotiate with them if you want to save time travelling by bus.
Anyway, I took the MRT towards KaoHsiung Main Station 高雄车站 and hoped to find a bus there. I'd like to clarify that I did not do much research before leaving for Taiwan, and the Taiwan internet package takes a moment to be activated. Another thing I'd like to mention, is that there's three types of public train transportation in KaoHsiung, the KMRT 高雄捷运, TRA 台铁 and the THSR 高铁. KMRT is like the normal MRT/MTR/LRT in other countries, the TRA is what we usually call the classic train tracks style transport, and the THSR is their high speed trains that is usually opted for when we'd like to travel across states.
KaoHsiung Main Station is where KMRT and TRA meets.
After exiting KMRT, I went to the TRA tourism counter to ask for directions to for the Kenting Express Bus 垦丁快线. The guy suggested me to go to ZuoYing 左营 station to catch the Kenting Express Bus, which as he said, will be faster compared to the buses available nearby KaoHsiung Main Station.
See, this is when things go wrong. He is actually talking about the ZuoYing 左营 station of the KMRT line, which is equivalent to the Xin ZuoYing 新左营 station of TRA line. But little did I know, that there is also a ZuoYing 左营 station for TRA line, which is 1 stop before Xin ZuoYing 新左营 station of TRA. I know, it's complicated. So please communicate properly with the counter guy and clarify which train line he's talking about.
I wasted quite some time stopping at the wrong station and waiting for the next train to arrive. When I finally reached the correct station - ZuoYing KMRT 左营捷运站 / Xin ZuoYing TRA 新左营台铁站, I caught on the 1pm Kenting Express Bus. There's signage that leads you towards the ticketing counter, and after you bought the tickets, just head down towards the road side Platform 1 to board the bus.
In short, to rectify my mistake. Just take the KMRT straight from the airport towards ZuoYing station with no interchange in between. It's 13 stations apart, and once you reach ZuoYing KMRT station, look for the signage towards Kenting Express Ticketing counter to board the bus directly. See? Easy-peasy.
It was a 2 hour 15 minutes ride towards Kenting Street 垦丁大街. The bus will stop at a few other stops before that as well, which will be announced by the driver and you just have to press the red stop button to alight the bus. It would be better to consult the driver if you're unsure where to alight. The bus ticket is for TWD383 one way and TWD600 two-way. It's be cheaper to get a two-way ticket. But I only bought one way cause I'm not so sure about my itinerary yet.
The bus stopped at the junction where you can see Kenting Street 垦丁大街, DaJanShan Hotel 大尖山饭店 and Kenting National Forest Recreation Area 垦丁国家森林游乐区牌楼. I've placed a red star over the spot where the bus stopped at Kenting Street.
The bus stopped at the junction where you can see Kenting Street 垦丁大街, DaJanShan Hotel 大尖山饭店 and Kenting National Forest Recreation Area 垦丁国家森林游乐区牌楼. I've placed a red star over the spot where the bus stopped at Kenting Street.
It's a short 5 minutes walk towards my hotel - Starry Sky Capsule Hotel 星空太空舱. It's a hostel kinda place, where you only get a sleeping room, but it was way more awesome than regular hostel bunks. All capsules have their own sliding doors that can be locked from both sides, the capsule's ceiling will illuminate the starry sky / galaxy when you off the lights, and the best part was their bathrooms. Instead of the usual dorm styled bathrooms that features one row of shower room with public hand basins, you are able to use the entire toilet/bathroom space with mirrors, basin and all, on your own. I mean, of course you'd have to share the bathroom with others as well, but you can use the space completely by yourself for that 15-20 minutes of shower time you needed, without anyone budging in to use the hand basin in the middle of your shower.
I give this place a five star in the hostel category, cause it's just awesome! Because my sleeping space is at the upper bunk, there's a hand hold at the door to help you climb up as well. There's even a mirror for me to do my make up! Thumbs Up!!! What's even better? At the reception lobby, they provide soft drinks, water and cup noodle for free for their guests!! Woohoo!! Midnight Snacks!!! They will explain to you in detail of your room features and even helped to hoist your luggage up for you!
So after I've settled down and showered, I rested for awhile cause I was just tired from all the travelling from Macau to KaoHsiung to Kenting.
So after I've settled down and showered, I rested for awhile cause I was just tired from all the travelling from Macau to KaoHsiung to Kenting.
I finally picked up my ass and head out for some sightseeing. I wasn't sure how I'd travel around Kenting, cause there isn't public buses that roams around regularly. I've thought of walking, but that idea just sounds too extreme. It was around 5pm when I stepped out to the street, and already the night market is coming to life. The vendors are setting up their stalls and a few of time is already in business. Even though I was super hungry, I decided to visit the beach first. I referred to the maps and walked towards the back part of Kenting Street.
I think the beach is called 大湾, and the path towards the beach ain't that easy, or maybe I just went the wrong way.
I think the beach is called 大湾, and the path towards the beach ain't that easy, or maybe I just went the wrong way.
After I'm done getting some salty wind blowing in my face, I went back towards Kenting Street and attempted to walk down towards other attractions. When I finally walked towards the other end of Kenting Street, I realized it's kinda stupid to try to walk all the way down towards Chuan Fan Shih 船帆石 and ELuanBi Lighthouse 鹅銮鼻灯塔, so I turned back into Kenting Street and decided to roam the night market tonight and decide my transportation tomorrow morning.
It was getting less excited for me to visit the night markets in Taiwan, cause I felt it's all the same no matter where you go to. It's just interesting to be able to get all kinds of food in one place.
It was getting less excited for me to visit the night markets in Taiwan, cause I felt it's all the same no matter where you go to. It's just interesting to be able to get all kinds of food in one place.
I spotted a stall that does temporary tattoos, so I went for one too! I was choosing from the album when the vendor said I could show him my own picture if I have one. So I whipped my phone out for the tatt that I've always wanted. I was quite satisfied with how it looks until my friend pointed out that it looked like...a penis with uneven ball sacs. It's supposed to be the word 'Love' that connects with a heart shape. Damn. Now I can't unsee that penis on my hand.
It started to rain as I was waiting for my stinky tofu to be ready, it was a heavy downpour that I decided to end my day early at 7.30pm and went back for some sleep. Of course I won't be able to fall asleep so soon, so I did some research while lying on my comfy bed. I've decided to look for some electric bicycle rentals to ease my journey, and hoped for the best tomorrow.
Day Two
I woke up a bit later than planned, and started my journey out at 10am. As I walked down Kenting Street, I spotted a shop that rents out electric bicycle so I rented one at TWD300 for 4 hours. I know it's a little expensive, but I don't really mind. I mean, they're small businesses who're trying to make a living. So...yeah. Alright I should make this clear. Instead of the electric bicycle 电动脚踏车, you should rent the electric bike 电动车. Not motorcycle 摩多车 with real engines, but electric bikes that works with a battery. But if you have a motorcycle license, you should definitely go with the motorcycles, but I don't have it, and I didn't realize that electric bikes 电动车 doesn't acquire you to hold a motorcycle license. Anyway, I started my journey with an electric bicycle, which is still better than just a normal bicycle.
I rode down south towards Chuan Fan Shih 船帆石, which looked really amazing in pictures. I was glad I did not choose to walk all the way down cause it's really quite a distance. The sun was scorching hot and I needed to reapply my sun screen every so often, as I was afraid that I would have excessive sun burn again!
I rode down south towards Chuan Fan Shih 船帆石, which looked really amazing in pictures. I was glad I did not choose to walk all the way down cause it's really quite a distance. The sun was scorching hot and I needed to reapply my sun screen every so often, as I was afraid that I would have excessive sun burn again!
The scenery is just so breathtaking, and I swear I did not edit anything in the pictures. From the blue sky to the emerald sea, it's as real as it can get. I wanted to stay longer to take in all the view, but the sun is burning me so I departed for my next destination soon after I took the pictures. I cycled down another 7-10 minutes until I come to Sha Dao 砂岛 and their Sand Exhibition Hall 贝壳砂展示馆. It's a very beautiful shore that features protruding rocks when the tide is low.
And again, I did not edit any of the pictures, believe me, I don't even know how to edit them! But I'll state it clearly if I was using the Art Shot feature of my camera. Anyway, before I left, a guy came over and asked if I'd like to go around Kenting together. So I figured...Why not? Being with a companion sounds good, especially when I did not have any plans at all. So we rode down south towards ELuanBi Garden 鹅銮鼻公园. He's riding an electric bike so he had to slow down to wait for my electric bicycle.
After we've parked our vehicle, we paid the entrance fee of TWD60 and entered the garden. The entrance ticket has the map printed on one side, so we just followed the path stated on the map. We first arrived at the light house, but we're only able to take pictures from the outside as we're not allowed to enter the vicinity of the light house.
After we've parked our vehicle, we paid the entrance fee of TWD60 and entered the garden. The entrance ticket has the map printed on one side, so we just followed the path stated on the map. We first arrived at the light house, but we're only able to take pictures from the outside as we're not allowed to enter the vicinity of the light house.
We walked along the trail towards the inner parts of the garden that leads to an ancient cave 古洞 and the kissing rocks 亲吻石. It was a warm, sticky and kinda breezy walk along the trail, but the place is amazingly beautiful.
As we're done roaming the garden, it started to rain but we didn't mind getting wet so we rode back towards Kenting Street for lunch. We stopped at a cafe selling stir fried Chinese food and ordered 3 dishes to be eaten with rice.
After lunch, we went back to the place where I rented by bicycle to extend the rental time. I decided to rent an electric bike instead to make it less tiring for me, however the rental place was out of electric bike. So I ditched the bicycle and went to the place the guy rented his electric bike, He was kind enough to help me pay for my electric bike which costs TWD400 for 5 hours. We even bought raincoats too!
After lunch, we went back to the place where I rented by bicycle to extend the rental time. I decided to rent an electric bike instead to make it less tiring for me, however the rental place was out of electric bike. So I ditched the bicycle and went to the place the guy rented his electric bike, He was kind enough to help me pay for my electric bike which costs TWD400 for 5 hours. We even bought raincoats too!
We then rode to the Bai Sha beach 白砂, which took around 10-15 minutes from Kenting Street. The place was super beautiful! I didn't want to take off my shoes at first, but when I did took it off after that I was so glad that I did. The sands are so comfortable and the sensation when the waves crashed onto your feet is simply amazing. The beach isn't as crowded as we saw at Nan Wan beach 南湾 on the way there.
It was so comfortable there that I was quite reluctant to leave. But we decided to move on to MaoBiTou 猫鼻头 with a storm brewing above us. We rode for another 10 minutes towards MaoBiTou, and as we arrived at the place, it started to rain heavily. We took shelter for 15-20 minutes before the rain finally stops. There's an entrance fee of TWD30 to enter the MaoBiTou Park, which is extremely worth it considering the view that we're able to see.
We still had some time before I have to return my bike, so we rode further down towards Heng Chun Old Town 恒春古城. This part of the town has 4 'gates' protecting them in the ancient times, and the gates are named as South Gate, North Gate, East Gate and West Gate. As we arrived at the town, we first saw North Gate. It was kinda hard to navigate around the town, we almost rode all the way along the highway towards KaoHsiung.
It was already 6pm when we're done roaming around the town, so we went back to Kenting Street to return my bike. I wanted to go back to the hotel for some rest cause I was feeling uncomfortable from being too sticky. So we decided to rest until dinner time. I slept in until 9pm+ and went for the night market again.
I would've eaten and walked more that night but the guy was making me very uncomfortable by trying to hold my hands and shoulder as we walked, so I called it a night and went back to my hotel to rest. I really didn't like it when guys does that, especially when I've made clear movements that I'm not interested. Sigh. I would've toured Kenting even more if I was alone. So...yeah, no more tagging along with people I've just met during travel.
Day Three
I woke up a little bit earlier to get some breakfast before leaving Kenting. I've read online that Smokey Joe's is quite a good place to dine in, and coincidentally, they have a branch right next to my hotel. So I went for some breakfast after showering. I ordered their club sandwich with fries, together with Iced Mocha. I also ordered a serving of bagel to go, just in case I got hungry on the way to KaoHsiung.
I asked for directions to take the bus back to KaoHsiung before leaving, and was told to go to the place where I was dropped off when I first arrived. There're people helping out at the bus stand for the buses and also private car rides. I opted to go with the private cars because the price isn't that much of a difference from bus fares. It was TWD400 per person for the private cars compared to TWD383 for the buses. So I waited for awhile as they tried to rally more passengers, and we left around 11am. The driver fetched us towards ZuoYing Station which houses three rail systems. So from there. I started my one day trip in KaoHsiung.
That's really all for my Kenting trip. Although it was scorching hot and I got tanned from that, I'm still glad that I made the trip to Kenting cause it's just too beautiful. Please do check the place out if you're in Taiwan.
Peace out.
That's really all for my Kenting trip. Although it was scorching hot and I got tanned from that, I'm still glad that I made the trip to Kenting cause it's just too beautiful. Please do check the place out if you're in Taiwan.
Peace out.