Kaohsiung Day 1

Day 1

After extreme rain warnings and a flight delay, I arrive in Kaohsiung to a bright blue cloudless sky. It came as such a shock to me seeing as I had checked the weather app every day for the last month and had not seen one day without rain. I headed to the metro and was easily and quickly able to make my way to my hostel. I dropped off my bags and headed to explore my neighborhood (Central Park).

First stop, boba!!! Taiwan is the home of bubble tea which has been my favorite thing ever since my cousin introduced it to me back in 2008. Being in Taiwan where you can find it on every corner for very cheap is amazing. I got a lemon flavored green tea and headed into the park to see what the locals do on a Sunday afternoon in Kaohsiung.

After a little photoshoot/stroll around the park, I found a few interesting gatherings. One was a group of teenagers (maybe 50??) doing some sort of dance game. A song would come on and those who wanted to or knew the choreography ran in and danced for about 15 seconds until a new song came on and new dancers ran in. It’s safe to say Kpop is a global phenomenon as almost every song they danced to was from a Korean artist.

Then I saw what I think was some sort of bird competition! A huge group of people all with parrots or other kinds of exotic birds were standing in a group! I didn’t stay very long to see what was happening but it was interesting.

Finally, my room was ready so I headed back to my hostel and got to see my little room which I love. It’s like a pod room but with with a curtain instead of a door.

After charging up my phone, I headed to Pier 2 which is an art center by the water. It was so nice to walk around inside all the cool shops and get a glimpse of the intriguing art pieces. Even though I went near sunset, it was still scorching and the stores provided me with a brief escape from the hellish temperatures.

At the end of Pier 2 is a large park where you can buy a kite or play with giant bubbles. There are still more sculptures scattered around too. It was a perfect place to catch the sunset.

Finally, I got some dinner at Ye Shu Shu Shi American Restaurant. I had a spicy chicken burger with french fries and it was so good! One of the waitresses asked if she could sit and practice her English with me. It was so nice just to sit and eat with someone. People can be so scared of traveling alone but when traveling solo, you are never truly alone!