Kaohsiung and Turtle Island

I did not embark on this part of the journey alone anymore. Last Sunday, I traveled to Kaohsiung on the west coast of Taiwan with Alisa, whom I met on a city tour in Taipei. On our first evening, we were greeted by Monkey Mountain with a great view of the city, a beautiful sunset, and a delicious dinner with Taiwanese delicacies and Yaya, a super nice Taiwanese girl I met at the hostel in Taitung.

The next day, we planned a trip to Turtle Island. However, renting a scooter took much longer than expected, as we had trouble finding a scooter rental in Kaohsiung. (Here, every other house looks like a scooter rental, as there are dozens of scooters parked outside, but it turned out that they belong to the residents and are not for rent). But eventually, we were successful and headed south to Donggang, where a ferry was supposed to take us to Turtle Island.

On the island, we initially had limited success swimming with turtles, which is supposed to be a popular activity there. We found a very beautiful beach and spotted some turtles, but also sea urchins, so we quickly left the water... Luckily, we met a diving instructor who showed us a bay where turtles are always present. And there they were! I can now cross swimming with turtles off my to-do list ;) For those planning to visit Taiwan, Turtle Island is definitely worth a visit!

The day ended with a visit to the Ruifeng Night Market, where we enjoyed tasty food and strolled through the numerous stalls. After such an eventful day, we took it easy the next day and went for a walk around the Lotus Pond, admiring the Tiger and Dragon Pagodas among other attractions.

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For this part of my journey, I was joined by Alisa, whom I met in Taipei. On Monday, we took a train together to go to Kaohsiung on the west coast of Taiwan. On our first day there, we enjoyed the view over the city from the top of Monkey Mountain, watched the sunset on the beach, and had a tasty Taiwanese dinner with the wonderful Yaya, whom I met at my hostel in Taitung.

The next day, we planned to visit Turtle Island. However, we had some difficulties finding a scooter rental. (In Kaohsiung, almost every other shop appears to be a scooter rental, but as it turned out, those scooters belong to the residents and are not available for rent). Eventually, we found a proper scooter rental place, got a scooter, and drove south to Donggang, where we took a ferry to Turtle Island. The island is named after the many turtles that live in the waters around it. At first, we were not very successful in swimming with turtles. Although we found a beautiful beach and spotted some turtles, we also encountered sea urchins, so we quickly retreated from the water. However, we were lucky to meet a diving instructor who showed us a bay where turtles are usually seen. And there they were! Now I can finally cross "swimming with turtles" off my bucket list ;) For those planning to visit Taiwan, Turtle Island is definitely worth a visit.

The day ended with a visit to the Ruifeng Night Market in Kaohsiung, where we enjoyed delicious food and explored the numerous stalls. After such an eventful day, we took it easy the next day and went sightseeing at the Lotus Pond, admiring the Tiger and Dragon Pagodas, among other attractions.