Dec. 25: Kenting National Park and Kaohsuing

Our first stop after leaving the beautiful beach-side hotel was Kenting National Park. It has the distinction of being Taiwan's first national park. Two main trails wind through the park which hosts an array of tropical plants not found in other parts of Taiwan. The trails wind up and down mountains so the hike was a little difficult at first.

An interesting aspect of the park is that you are able to see ancient coral reef that at one point was submerged in the ocean before Taiwan became an island. Although you can see this in over place around Kenting, it is most surprising to find so much in the park since you are at a much higher altitude.

At one point we stumbled upon a cave you could walk through. This was all well and good until Dandrich discovered a bat hanging on the wall of the cave. Even though bats are supposed to be a good omen in Chinese culture, I got the hell out after that. We ate lunch at a little cafeteria on a view tower they built on top of one of the mountains. It had a great view.

In the cave during a happier time before the bat was discovered, though as you can see, I was still somewhat leery. 

We then made our way to Kaohsuing which is Taiwan's second biggest city. It is a major industrial center as well since it is Taiwan's largest port. After taking a quick rest at the hotel, we ate a delicious seafood dinner consisting of crab, sashimi, and steamed fish. The catch here was so fresh compared to any other seafood I've had before. I never really liked seafood before but everything is so fresh in Taiwan none of the seafood here has that 'fishy' taste that it does back in Ohio. 

In the evening, we visited the Liouhe Tourist Night Market. Night markets in Taiwan are a big deal. Vendors sell everything imaginable; food, clothes, jewelry, fresh fruit, and more. We ate even more food here. I had freshly made strawberry juice and pork dumplings. One of Taiwan's more exotic foods can be found in abundance here - stinky tofu which smells literally like shit. I have not yet had the courage to try it.