#12daysintaiwan - Kenting (Day 2 - 4)

Fish said that at the rate I'm updating, I'll take forever. Let's see...

So the second part of Day 2 continued with getting to Kenting! That's the southern part of Taiwan and a surfer's paradise. So I made myself a list of to-dos in Kenting:

• learn to surf
• experience the atv again! 
• spend some time at the beach
• play some water sports
• get myself tanner

So, it turned out to be car-pooling of sort and we shared the cab with a Hong Kong couple, which I then found out they booked the trip to Kenting just 2 days before flying. Apparently Kaohsiung (the nearest airport to go down to Kenting) is very near to Hong Kong (fine I'm suaku..Hk is near to Tw!) and many Hongkongers go to Taiwan as a short get-away! (just like how Singaporeans fly over the weekends to KL) And this is one of the reasons why many locals thought Fish and I were from Hk! (And then they-thelocals- will start talking in the weird Hk-Mandarin accent - if you know what I mean)

Oh and I didn't mention the important part of this car-pooling! The cost! It's just NT400 per person (or SGD17) which is just a mere dollar extra as compared to taking a coach! And travel duration is halved! (so happy we got a good deal!)

One of the things you shouldn't miss having when you're in Kenting is that Jumbu (Rose Apple or 蓮霧 lian wu). In comparison with those you get in Singapore, Taiwan's Jumbu is far better and sweeter and jucier! You know, I never enjoyed having Jumbu in Singapore, and the first time I had sweet and juicy Jumbu was on my last trip to Kenting, so I was determined to have it again this time round! (glad that the driver dropped us at a stopover that sells fruits). We got mango as well and it was awesome too! If my memory didn't fail me, we got the fruits at about $2 per box, considering the portion is much bigger than what you get from the fruit stalls in hawker centres in Singapore.


The driver dropped off the couple first at their hotel which was really grand and pretty newly-renovated (used to be a base where the ex presidents/ maybe just Chen Shuibian have their talks when they're in that area).


So we got off at our Inn/ hostel (民宿) at 南島旅店 (JJ Inn) which was located along the main/busy street of Kenting (where it will be happening in the night).

• Cost per night: Average NT2600/ SGD110 (As it was summer holidays and a weekend, our room rates, or rather all the accomodation in Kenting were more expensive than non-peak periods

(*Note: there's plenty of lodging along the street so do not worry lack of rooms' availability!) Our room was on the 4th level and thank god for the helpful owners, they helped us with our luggages up the flights of stairs! (Note again: even though you should be happy you'll be spoilt for choices of accommodation along Kenting street, many/ if not all, don't have lifts. Partly because they're called 民宿 not for nothing, and they have small spaces so having lifts is pretty impossible)

Oh and did I not mention we got our late lunch from 7-11? Guess what? We got the bento sets again! Can't get enough of them, seriously! This time round we chose Mapo Tofu and Java Curry. Both were delicious (and we had a serious talk of bringing them over to Sg hahaha). And of course, not forgetting coupling our bento with milk tea from 51嵐 (Singapore's Koi, and that's pronounced lan3 just in case you can't read).







(damn it, why is it I'm not at the content yet after such a long introduction)

We got our asses off the bed and the plan was to go for some water sports (failed because the beach we went had really huge waves and there wasn't any water sports services) and then to Eluanbi lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻) for the sunset (it was a very nice one from the last trip I had to the lighthouse!) and I had to bring fish to experience the sun slowly sink into the horizon. We decided on cycling after some contemplation between that and the bike (we decided to leave it to the next day where we had one whole afternoon). So we began cycling, and it was really great enjoying cars driving by, the road that seemed never ending, the trees at the side of the road waving to us as we cycled past. Taiwanese are really nice people, because the sun was setting (we paddled really hard and long and it seemed forever though the trip was suppose to be just an hour) and the sky got darker, a motorcyclist shouted to us that we shouldn't continue because we didn't have proper headlights or gears.

Anyway halfway through the journey, the smart alec JY jammed break the bicycle, thrust forward (I didn't fall!) and the bicycle's front wheel went out of shape (I didn't know until the uncle told me). I tried fixing the chain back but it didn't work so we had to give a call to the really nice bike-rental boss. He came down with a new bike and urged us to get on with our journey because the sun was setting! On route to the destination, we stopped by 香蕉灣 (direct translated to Banana Bay), and it was just scenic. Really beautiful.

By the time we got to the lighthouse, the sky was really dark and all the lights in the park were off. Thank god for fish's powerful lights from her Nokia, we navigated our way to the lighthouse area. I didn't know the lighthouse had such beautiful view when darkness fell. And looking across to Kenting where it shone, the horizon was simply beautiful (I'm short of adjectives to use). The stars were out too!









We cycled back and had the best 1 hour back.We rode in the pitch darkness (because there was this long stretch of road that didn't have any street lights, we depended on our phones to lead us forward), sang to our hearts' content like the nature and darkness were our audience, and I had the best view of stars in my life (the stars were one of our audience too!). I have never seen a whole sky of stars before. It was picturesque. The stars stretched across from one end of the road to the other, and this was only magnificent at the stretch of road that didn't have street lights. We can't have such a view in Singapore because our city is so brightly-lit. Much as I wanted to capture the sky on my camera, it didn't work and I made a photograph in my mind. It still is as clear when I dig back my memory for the data! :P



By the time we got back to the main street, it was literally flooded with people! I knew it was the summer holidays (& the weekends) but the amount of people there is no joke! After returning the bike, we went to our inn and that's when we realised the distance we cycled! 13.5km to the destination and another 13.5km back. Madness! But a good training for us! The night was spent along the street, so this is something you shouldn't and won't miss while you're in Kenting!







The next morning was spent at the beach (*Note: there's 3 beaches along Kenting - 南灣，大灣，小灣 and we were at 小灣 for the day) with water sports and some tanning/ chilling on the sand. We were quite disappointed we couldn't get on the jet ski alone and the water sports (banana boat etc) were very mild. The main reason was an unfortunate incident that happened the day before, where the huge waves took away a few lives with them (partly also due to their negligence despite cautioned not to go far/ too deep in).


We got ourselves a bike (battery-operated) each and much as we thought it would be difficult to learn, it was simply easy. Picked it up in a couple of minutes! So that afternoon we explored the other side of Kenting (南灣 and up). Great sea views along the way (minus the scorching noon sun above us). We settled lunch at a little ranch place for their mui-fan (澮飯) and beef noodles, though we wanted to try their steak (but the friendly owner told us to go back for dinner for their steak). Continued the journey to 白沙灣 (where part of Life of Pi was filmed) & 貓鼻頭 (because a huge pillar eroded and looked like a cat). And another nice Taiwanese lady proved that Taiwanese are really friendly. She told us not to continue riding because we didn't have helmets on (the reason being we had our own caps and the (same) bike rental boss said it's alright). Well, we still went ahead going along with the traffic across this dangerous/exciting cross junction.

• 牛賀 德州大牛排
• I don't have Kenting's address but it's at 南灣 (Nan Wan), just opposite the main beach area so it's not difficult to find! 
• They have branches in Taichung too! 
• Address in Taichung: BRANCH 1- 台中市中港路三段世斌一巷21弄16號 & BRANCH 2- 台中市西頓路三段168-2號

And while on our way back, epic JY is just epic. We were on a slight slope part and the bike had to go so slowly that everyone along that road were practically laughing at me! One of them said I might be too heavy for the bike :( How mean! Though I knew they were joking, it was really embarrassing and I wanted to prove it was not my fault so I got fish to ride the bike. Proved that the battery was dying, and we decided to park at the side of the road and called the boss again for help! I bet he must be wondering why this two girls are so problematic (okay I admit, it's just me). Sought shelter at a nearby temple because the drizzle became heavier rain and the rain was another good experience - the raindrops that pelted on me were hurting my skin! The raindrops were pretty huge I guess! Hahaha.

• Seriously, Kenting trip is epic. 

On the third and last day at Kenting, we got a 8-hour charter service from a really nice lady Xiaoguang (小光) for NT3000 (SGD130). Of course I couldn't avoid going to places I've been before, but anyway, the first stop was Eluanbi (since fish should see how it looks like in the day), and I was still mesmerised by it. I know it's just a lame lighthouse, but it's just beautiful (there I go again lacking of adjectives).

龍磐公園 (Long Pan Park) was as magnificent; and 佳樂水 (Jia Le Shui) was amazing too with the stones being eroded into imaginative creatures along the coastline! Lunch was settled there and that got to be our most costly but great seafood meal! My first time having sea urchin which was still moving despite halving it! Really fresh and melts in the mouth!













I wanted to go back to the desert place where I took on my first ATV experience! But it was partly my fault for not informing Xiaoguang earlier, we had to go to another nearer place at Hengchun (恆春, that's also where 海角七號 was filmed) where we got on the ATV into the 'jungle' area. I must say, even though I was disappointed I couldn't go to the desert again (but please go there for your first time! you'll definitely not regret!), the experience in the jungle with the rocky, muddy roads and annoying leaves and bushes was exciting too! (this is the kind of travel I signed up for for this Taiwan trip. Loving adventures! ) And we got to meet Xiaoguang's dog, Tony the GR, who had a cute shaven name on its fur! Tony is very attached to his owner but when he's into the waters (our last stop at 龍鑾潭) he doesn't want to get out! (and dirtied/wet his owner's car...).

• It was a good experience with Xiaoguang as she's really friendly and easy to talk to. But I thought she could have improved in areas like informing us in the morning for the plan of the day so we could change the itinerary in advance. 
• Tel: 0960631117 (whatsapp)/ 0977777155 (for tourists outside Taiwan to contact)
• kuang1117@livemail.tw (小光)

And so, that sums up my Kenting trip! Oh and remember my To-Do list in the beginning of the post? Here goes on what has been done:

• learn to surf (didn't get the chance! but I'll be back for it!)
• experience the atv again! (yup I did it at a different place! #missionaccomplished)
• spend some time at the beach (love chilling and the little talks we had!)
• play some water sports (yes we did though it could be more exciting!)
• get myself tanner (more than being tanned, we were red the next day. But I love being tanner, much as Bryan said I looked dirty, it makes me look somewhat healthier hahaha)

We got onto a 2-hour ride back to Kaohsiung HSR Station to move on to Taichung! Be back with details in the next post!