BANANAS IN BAGS

Anyone know why the wrap them up?

WAX APPLES

Kenting was all about the wax apple. Delicious, when you bite into them it seems as though they are 100% refreshing, sweet water. Heaven.

PINEAPPLE FIELDS FOREVER

I always wondered how pineapples grew. We found the fields on a bike ride down the road from the weird hotspring resort in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately not the season to see them at their prime.

BUDDHA'S HEAD

Fruit of the moment in Taitung, also called the custard apple. The outside of the train station had stores and stores devoted to them. The thing to take home if you're visiting. We were in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to buy one!

THE COLLECTION

The sound of an ice cream truck in the distance...

 but here this announces the arrival of the Taiwanese rubbish truck. It comes most days and makes for a very social time, everyone comes out onto the street to throw their rubbish onboard. A truck for household garbage, one for plastic, one for paper and cardboard. Mine in Taipei comes at 9pm Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri and Sat. This one in Kenting came while we were having lunch.

I HAVE NO WORDS

A typical Taiwan breakfast, this from our Kaohsiung Hotel.

A piece of extremely thick white toasted bread, egg, and some bizarre stuff they call ham. It's not luncheon meat, it's not what I would consider ham, I don't know what it is.

THE KELLERMANS OF TAIWAN

I was happy to leave Kenting, and we got away early in the morning to catch a train to Taitung in the southeast. The train took us right around the southern coastline which was very pleasant. Unfortunately the train ride came to and end and we were forced to continue with our adventure.

KENTING

Kenting is a small town at the southern most tip of Taiwan. Surfing, snorkeling, seafood and sun year round.

We inadvertently spent New Years Eve here (not much sleep was had). It was a pleasant surprise to see that although the people on the beach stayed up all night letting off fireworks , there was none of the drunken ick that happens around NZ at this time of year.

A NIGHT IN KAOHSIUNG

 When you have one night in Kaohsiung, it is pretty obvious that it will be spent at the night market. C and G's first! If I remember correctly, it is the biggest in Taiwan? This can't be verified as the Taiwan Lonely Planet has been thrown in the trash after it lead us astray way too many times.

As we were near the sea, there was an emphasis on seafood, all kinds of crustaceans were on offer. An abundance of fried everything, but thankfully the fruit stalls to restore some kind of normality to your mouth after eating so much of the former, always coated in some kind of seasoning that makes me so thirsty. A kind of peppery MSG perhaps?

TOURING

It's been awhile since I've updated here... oops. Blame it on the fact that I've not been in Taipei for a while and that while I've been here, the weather has been so awful I've had trouble getting out of bed.

While C and G were here, we did a bit of a circuit of Taiwan. It was interesting to say the least. People say that you don't know the true Taiwan until you have left Taipei. All I know is I will be happy if I never have to leave Taipei again, save going to the International Airport!

Taiwan? It's just not for me.

QINGDAO ALL OVER AGAIN..

Look familiar?

We read in a guide book that watching the sun rise on Hualien's beachfront is a must, so at 4am on a Sunday, we pulled ourselves out of bed, hoped and the scooters and made for it.

TAROKO GORGE

Nearby Hualien is a spectacular marble walled gorge called Taroko. We rented scooters in the city and after a few close shaves while puttering around the block of the rental place, we were on the highway.

The gorge itself is 18km of road winding around the cliff side going through plenty of both man made and natural tunnels. There were definitely some tense moments involving enormous buses and disrespectful cars, but I'm still here to tell the tale thank goodness.

The scenery was spectacular though again, not unlike anything we have at home...

HELLO HUALIEN

Just got back from a weekend trip to Hualien, a small city south of Taipei on the east coast of Taiwan. It was lovely to paddle in the Pacific Ocean, I felt closer to home than I have in a while! We spent the weekend on scooters, taking in some of Taiwan's natural beauty, a nice change from the city scenes.