Kaohsiung Taiwan Weekend Getaway (Part 1)

"What will you do in your 1st Wedding Anniversary?"

Sometimes... I will have this kind of question before the date arrived. Maybe I want a nice dinner in a romantic restaurant? Surprise cake and flower? Or... what?

But, we're not that kind of couple. we love travel so much that we will spend our 1st Wedding Anniversary by travelling around. Being in the places we've never been there before, Kaohsiung City. The second largest city and south of Taiwan.

We only plan this trip days before because we're too busy and we think that it doesn't need too much preparation because we have internet access on our phones. haha We just need to book a hotel via Booking.com, find out scooter rental service there, book HSR round trip ticket, and print out MRT map. We're glad we have internet banking because we can buy tickets in front of laptop.

Usually I will make a proper plan before we travel to somewhere, especially when we've never been there before. But this time, no. I don't have much time to do that and that's why we call it Weekend Getaway. As our experience in Taiwan, it's also easier for us to find travel information in HSR or MRT Station because there are many brochures in English for us to read and can be the best source there. Another reason is that I have Lonely Planet Taiwan edition book since 3 years ago and we had plan to use it when we're in Kaohsiung.


So, How to get there?

There are several options you can choose.

1. By car if you have one and need at least 4 hours via highway (Taiwan has long highway from north to south) from Taipei.
2. By Scooter maybe 6-7 hours because you can't use highway
3. By local train called TRA, you can buy the ticket on Taipei Main Station or many other local train station. There are several trains you can choose, express or not. The prices and time also vary. If you have Easy Card (I think it's only for iPass), you can use it before enter the train. You can check on their website in here http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/
4. By HSR (In Japan it called Shinkanshen), the fast train. Only took around 2 hours from Taipei but it's very expensive. You can buy it online if you want to or in the HSR station. The destination is not Kaohsiung Station, but Zuoying Station, the last station in HSR line. You can check the price on their website at http://www5.thsrc.com.tw/en/

After you arrived, you can check on Tourist Information Center to find English brochure that can tell you places to go in Kaohsiung and map. You absolutely need MRT map if you want to take public transportation.

Transportation there is convenient, but not as convenient as in Taipei. Because the MRT only has 2 lines which are Red and Orange. You cannot use your Easy Card because the operator of MRT in Taipei and Kaohsiung is different. But if you have iPass, you can use it. So, if you don't have iPass, you can simply go to the information area and buy a new card using your passport or 1Day / 2Day access (cheaper for backpacker), or buy a single journey coin in the station.

If you want to rent a scooter, you can find it on internet actually. There are several options and one of them is the one that we went, which is Louis Shop (http://www.scooters-kaohsiung.tw/), and you can check on prices they offer there, but we have to pay 200 NTD more on the shop (I think the website is not updated). The nearest MRT is Weiwuying MRT Station but you have to walk almost 1.5 km to there (and we did this =.="). My suggestion is that you can go by taxi from Zuoying Station and pay around 120 NTD.

If you want to rent a car, you can simply rent it on HSR Station. We've never rent a car before so we don't know the prices. But I think it's more than 1000 NTD per day.

What are the best places to go?

I'm not really sure how to answer that because it depends on personal taste. Some people like to go to nature area, some like museums, some like shopping, etc. But, if you want to know where we go, this is our itinerary for 2 days. I change a little bit in the timing of HSR because we didn't start from Taipei but Hsinchu City and the times are not exactly as it is, it's just estimation.

Day 1 : 15 August 2016

07.00 - 08.30 : HSR from Hsinchu to Zuoying (Kaohsiung)
08.30 - 09.30 : Put our backpack on locker area in Zuoying Station because our hotel check-in is at 2 PM and find the way to bus stop
09.30 - 10.15 : On the way to E-DA Theme Park, approx. 30 minutes. But the bus will depart after 15 minutes we're inside.
10.15 - 14.00 : Play in E-DA Theme Park
14.00 - 14.30 : Back to Zuoying (the same bus)
14.30 - 15.00 : Get our backpack and go to MRT Station
15.00 - 16.00 : On the way to hotel
16.00 - 17.00 : Rest
17.00 - 18.00 : Go to Louis Shop (take the scooter)
18.00 - 19.30 : Find a restaurant called Escape 41 (mentioned in Lonely Planet Taiwan Edition as one of the best place to see ocean in Taiwan)
19.30 - 20.30 : Eat dinner
20.30 - 21.00 : On the way to Love River
21.00 - 21.30 : Take a romantic boat on Love River
21.30 - 22.00 : Go back to hotel
22.00 - ...       : Rest

Day 2 : 16 August 2016

09.00 - 09.30 : Check out from hote
09.30 - 10.30 : Put our backpack in Zuoying Station (again)
10.30 - 11.30 : On the way to Lotus Pond
11.30 - 12.30 : Take a walk and pictures on Lotus Pond
12.30 - 13.00 : On the way to Cijin Island via Strait Tunnel
13.00 - 13.15 : Windmill Park on Cijin Island
13.15 - 14.30 : Eat Seafood in Cijin Main Street
14.30 - 15.00 : Go back to Kaohsiung City via Ferry Boat
15.00 - 15.30 : On the way to Takao Railway Museum
15.30 - 16.30 : Back to Louis Shop
16.30 - 17.30 : On the way to Zuoying Station by taxi
17.30 - 18.00 : Buy some dinner and heading to HSR platform

Okay.. that's our itinerary but actually there are still many things can be done in Kaohsiung. But because we have limited time, we just choose the best places for us. I will give you detail information about each places later on different part of our Weekend Getaway. ^^