Asia III: Kaohsiung

We arrived on a high speed train that traversed Taiwan - far north to far south - in under 2 hours. And let me say: it is HOT in the south of Taiwan. Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second largest city and one of the 5 largest container ship ports in the world (ie: if it says "Made in Taiwan", it came thru this port).

We met up with Mandie's sister Carry, their dad and some family friends who live in Kaohsiung and we going to show us the town. So, more walking and more eating. We started by walking thru a mountain (via a tunnel) and onto the campus of the National Sun Yat Sen University. From there we walked along the coast and climbed said mountain (via a staircase) to the former British Embassy.

After descending, we walked to a dock and took a ferry across the harbor to the old section of town which has a 3oo year old temple and a row of seafood restaurants. Our hosts picked out the one with the freshest catch and we feasted on whole sweet n sour fish, clams with thai basil, bird chili and 5 spice powder, head-on shrimp, fried oysters, asparagus with clams, ferns with glass eel, steamed crabs, fish miso soup, fried rice and noodles. The meal ended with ripe cherry tomatoes that we dipped in a sweet flavored sugar that I was told was "plum powder". This was one of the most memorable evenings on the trip - fun companions, excellent food and good spirits all around.

The next morning we walked around downtown Kaohsiung, just taking in the city before once again boarding a train to Tainan and the resort where the wedding would take place. Here is a Phineas' eye view of Kaohsiung:

The park and school across from our hotel.
Parking

Typical City Street Scene

Supporting local businesses