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My Weekend at Kenting Beach
Entry 5 of 6 | show all | print this entry |
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A couple of weeks ago I visited Kenting beach and national park which is in the most southern tip of Taiwan. To say I had a great time would truly be an understatement. A friend of mine who went to Virginia Tech last year and took some classes with me invited me and planned the trip, her name is Tess. I invited Sara and Tess's friend Renee also came too. We had an amazing time and go to tour most of the historical sites in Kenting.
I thought it was hot here in Tainan, but Kenting is a whole other kind of heat. I mean I probably applied sunscreen every hour because you could tell the sun was piercing your skin, and the the sunblock quickly became kind of useless. Needless to say I have a wonderful summer tan, lol. In spite of the heat, the beauty of the coastal area of Kenting was undeniable. We took a train from Tainan to Kaoshaung and then took a personal taxi van the rest of the 2 hours to Kenting. The driver was really nice and we took a few pitstops on the way there. I was glad because at one of the stops I was able to buy a much needed sun hat, that you will see in ALOT of the pictures. The hat, by far is one of the best purchases I have made since I have been here. While at the rest stop we took time to walk around a bit and take several pictures. While exiting the restroom I was approached by a group of young asian women and asked to pose for a picture with them. Yeah once again my divine color has elevated me to celebrity status here in Taiwan, lol.... I take it all in stride and they were very friendly.
After leaving the rest stop we got back on the road head to our final destination. Although I slept most of the way there I occasionally opened my eyes to gaze upon the beautiful scenery through the van windows. Once we arrived in Kenting we were scheduled to start our first bus tour, it was like 4pm or so. The bus station was very small and reminded me of a old southern bus station from the 1960's movie. We first went to HengChun which was the original gate to the city, yEast Gate of HengchunzThough better known for its year-round tropical warmth, Hengchun is also steeped in history. The four gates of the old town wall have endured the decades and today open a window to the past. Perhaps the best preserved of the four is the East Gate, the top level of which offers a sweeping view of the town. The 2nd floor of the gate was destroyed but the bottom half has been pretty well preserved.
Next we headed to a beautiful temple,(Fuan Temple) Located in Checheng Township, Fuan Temple is Taiwan's largest temple dedicated to the Earth God. The statue of the principle deity is clothed in a dragon robe presented by the Cing emperor during the Guangsyu reign period. Another notable feature of the temple is the oblation furnace, which automatically whisks stacks of offering money into the flames through thermal convection. The temple was absolutely gorgeous, I continue to be amazed by the shear uniqueness, style, and detail of the architecture of these temples. As usual their were a lot of people their praying and giving offerings to the gods. This temple if I remember correctly had 6 temple gods, you can see most of them in my pictures. People also go to the temples to help them make life decisions. They have these 2 wooden blocks that they toss up in the air and let fall on the ground . If one block is facing up and the other facing down then the answer to the question you asked is Yes. If they are both facing down the answer is no and if they are both facing up , the answer is " I dont know". I think you have to do it three times in row or get yes three times in order to move on. I think if its a major life decision then you have to get "yes" seven times in a row or something like that.
After leaving the temple we still had some time on our hands so we walked over to the market behind the temple. Boiled eggs in all different kinds of flavors are really popular here, so while ate the market I tried the salty egg.... it was um salty and not my type of taste. They also had curry boiled eggs and a black egg that no one could really explain to me what it was. Also I gathered that in Kenting they produce a lot of onions of all different varieties. So you can get them really cheap here.. white, purple, etc all kinds of onions. Next we headed to the Hot Springs where we changed into our swimwear and relaxed for the next 3 hours.
The hot springs,(Sichong River Hot Springs) The Sichong River was first developed as a hot spring destination during the late 19th century and today it is considered one of the best spring areas in Taiwan. The high quality carbonic acid spring water is rich in minerals said to improve blood circulation and relieve stiff muscles. Can I just say that I fell in love with the hot springs and could have sat in them all night long. Its funny my favorite springs out of all of them was the "icy" springs. This spring was needless to say extremely cold in temperature and not many people were in it. It was weird though after you submerged your body in the springs water and got over freezing your body actually begin to feel warm, I stayed in this one for a while. The were also springs that had medicine in them for things like backache, skin problems, headaches, etc. Once you arrive at the springs you have to take a shower to cleanse yourself and then you are welcome to head to the natural waters. I tried all of the springs and I found the one that had live fish in it quite amusing. You can see the pictures of the fish attacking our feet, but really they were harmless just tickled. The Hot springs sit in the midst of the mountains and I cant find the words to describe how beautiful the scene was there particularly when the sunset.
Once we showered and got dressed we went to the hotel where the springs was located and had dinner. A traditional kind of food here is Hot pots, I think I discussed this in a previous blog, but its basically vegetables and meat and you cook it in your own individual fire pot. It was delicious and very healthy, there are all different kinds of hot pots. After dinner we headed to where would be staying for the next couple of nights. Renee's dad who is a firefighter had some friends in Kenting who let us stay in the guest rooms at the firehouse in Kenting. Yes thats right in addition to a great weekend I also go to stay in a Firehouse! It was very exciting, I felt like a little kid,lol. The rooms were very nice and the beds to my surprise were extremely soft and comfortable. I was exhausted and went fast to sleep that night.
The next morning Renee's dad's friend( who escorted us most of the weekend) took us to breakfast and then to meet the tour bus at Kenting National park. The first place we went on the tour this time was a place where natural fire comes out of the ground.Chuhuo ("Emitting Fire"), situated in Kenting National Park about 100 meters from the Hengchun East Gate, earns its name from the natural gas that leaks from numerous fissures in the mudstone ground here. When lit, the gas jets alight into dancing tongues of flame. Even though we had a lot of rain the previous week we could still see the flames and enjoy the view.
Next we headed to a part of the island that had a historic bridge that people used to use to travel from one part of the island to the other. The view from the bridge was amazing and we also walked across the bridge and obviously its still very sturdy! Then we headed to Longpan Scenic Area which is located on the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County at the 40.5km point on the Eluanbi-Jialeshuei Highway. The raised limestone tablelands here have highly developed limestone karst formations, including collapsed cliffs, pits and caves. The grassland landscape, swept by the northeasterly winds, presents another unique attraction and, due to the lack of lighting pollution, a popular stargazing spot as well. The view of the ocean and the Taiwan coastline was truly a thing of beauty, as you can see from the pictures. I cant say enough about this tropical paradise, so excuse me if I elaborate a little much on the beauty of this island. Our next stop on the tour was Eluanbi which is a plateau at the southernmost end of the Central Range. The 21-meter-high Eluanbi Lighthouse is one of the most impressive lighthouses in Taiwan. Known as the "East Asian Light, " it is a historic preservation site. Eluanbi Park spreads out over a coral and limestone terrain rich in unusual formations, caves, and animal and plant life. As we walked up the path to view the lighthouse, which was a long path uphill in horrible heat by the way, there was several jewelry vendors selling some very nice pieces. I actually bought a pretty magnetic bracelet/necklace. The lighthouse is actually still in use today. The gift shop was also nice, in retrospect I wish I had spent more time there.
We then saw some of the island more famous rock formations, like the one that is famous because it closely resembles our former President Richard Nixon.. and it really does look like him. After lunch we headed to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.It is divided into three theme areas: Water of Taiwan, Coral Kingdom Pavilion, and Waters of the World, each with a variety of interesting and informative displays. One of the coolest things at the aquarium were the penguins, they were adorable. Towards the end of the tour we visited on of our final stops which was Guanshan, or Gaoshanyan, is a coral tableland about four kilometers from Syunguangzuei. Rising 152 meters above sea level, it offers a panoramic view of the Dapingding Tableland and fishing villages to the north; and Longluantan, Nanwan and Eluanbi to the east. This is also the best place to watch the sunset in Kenting National Park. There also was another temple on the top of Guanshun but you couldn't actually go inside. At the top there were also vendors selling food, like sausages and eggs. Its funny because there were two different kinds of sausage on the grill, brown and white.. well what they do is put the brown colored sausage inside the white sausage when you buy it so it looks like its actually inside a bun.
As you past the temple at Guanshan there is a rock formation that looks just like a turtle. Apparently people place notes on the nose, etc of the turtle and make wishes of love to come true. I was amazed how much it really looked like a turtle down to the greenery growing on the top of the "shell". It was later in the evening and this had been a very tiring day so I was glad that we were now off to dinner, at a seafood restaurant. We met up with Renee's dad friend and his family for dinner and had a wonderful time. The were very gracious host to us the entire weekend. The littlest of their children was so shy but by the end of the night I had him wrapped around my finger, he was so adorable, all of the children were... very beautiful family with hearts to match. We had lots of fresh seafood, sashimi, and Taiwan beer. I am not a fan of any beer but I did try it, it kinda tasted like a corona. While we were there we met several of Taiwan senators and took pictures with them as you can see. Dinner was great and then we headed to the Renee's dad's friend( cant remember his name, shameful I know) home. His wife prepared all kinds of fresh fruit for us to snack on in addition to hot tea. We also had frozen peanuts which I enjoyed, they are just frozen peanuts in their shell. We sat and talked for a while and then went to one of the local night markets. We didn't stay at the market long, I think we were all exhausted from the day. We headed back to the firehouse and passed out for the night.
The next day we did water activities, what are water activities you say? Well you actually get to choose which activities you wanted to participate in . I choose snorkeling, jet skis,jet tubing, and banana boat. The snorkeling was very enjoyable and it was so interesting to explore the coral reef there with all the exotic fish and plants. Now for anybody that knows me knows I like adventure like the next person but even for me being out in the middle of the ocean on that jet ski scared me! I think what freaked me out the most was that the guide kept reiterating that if I fall off the ski "to let go and he would come back and get me"... well this wasn't exactly music to my ears, lol. I think I held that man so tight I probably cracked a couple of his lungs, but I didnt fall off. I didn't fall off the tube either, this is where they drag you at high speeds across the ocean while you sit in an inner tube and brace yourself. I may have had some bruises on my hand at the end but know that I DID NOT FALL OFF. I really did enjoy all the water activities, the water was very warm except in a couple of areas. Unfortunately because we were out in the ocean we couldn't take any good pictures, so you gotta take my word for it.
Okay well that is it for this addition of my blog. All in all it was a great trip and I would love to go back before I leave Taiwan.
Tachien, everyone!
Latest Comments (1)
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WHAT A TRIP!!! (reply)
Jun 25, 2008 16:29 EST by kate_drezek
Hey there! Deb passed your blog on to me - I am so jealous! I cannot wait to hear all about things - including the research! - when you return!
Stay safe and have fun!
Kate :)
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