All articles filed in Southern Taiwan

Kenting’s position at the tapered tip of Taiwan island means that unlike most elsewhere in Taiwan (where getting lost might lead to a quick life ending or lengthy life changing experience), this far south most sensible hikers should be able to find their way within sight distance of either the Taiwan Strait or the Pacific Ocean within a few hours of hiking in any direction but due north. Once we’d left the cars behind, Misalu’s choice of footwear made perfect sense, as we found ourselves walking through a high plain grassland, dry in some places and muddy in others.

One of these days the good folks in the Taiwan Motto Making & Sloganeering Bureau will listen to me and adopt Taiwan: Expect the Unexpected as the official slogan of Taiwan tourism. For now I’ll just have to appropriate it as the title for this story about three surprise-filled days I spent in Pingtung, Taiwan’s southernmost county.

When the cool of late autumn/early winter settles in around Taipei and the seasonal rains come, and I find my skin looking ever more pasty-white, Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園; short “Kending”) beckons. It takes up much of the southern tip of the island, is in the tropics – the rest of Taiwan island is subtropical – and always seems to be drenched in sunshine.

A few days spent exploring Siraya National Scenic Area, one of Taiwan’s newest NSA creations, matched with a day in the quiet, history-rich city of Chiayi, is time wisely spent.

Pack your bags! We’re taking you on a multi-day excursion to a region of oyster farms, fish farms, old temples and old-time religion, and distinctive ecology. The plan: a leisurely “drive of discovery” from Tainan City’s coastal Anping District, perhaps Taiwan’s richest historical neighborhood, north to the rustic old fishing-port towns of Beimen and Budai, and on to the Hukou Wetlands in Yunlin County. Don’t forget your camera … or your appetite, for adventure and for seafood.

“Drink the water of Dashu,” goes an old Taiwanese saying, “and you’ll ever be thin and beautiful” – a fine reason, if any were needed, to visit this pleasant riverside Kaohsiung City suburban area in southern Taiwan. Most visitors to Dashu are, however, not concerned with such cosmetic foibles, and instead flock to the area with a more spiritual motive – to pay homage to a Buddhist holy relic held at the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center.