Kaohsiung Take 2

I have to say my weekend in Kaohsiung may have accidentally  been one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in a while! Our hostel was withing walking distance of so many places, the subway was easy to get to and reliable, and the views around the city continued to amaze us!

We woke up Saturday morning well rested and decided that today would be the day, we saw a couple monkeys the evening before but we hadn't really been able to hike the Shoushan mountain (also known as Monkey Mountain) that we had come to tackle and decided to see what we could do about it today.

We weren't 100% on where the trail head started {still wining it like yesterday!} but we had a map and a rough idea. When we came to this location, we were sure we were on the right track!

--- Silly us! Of course it's not that easy! Though beautiful, this trail goes up only about 10 feet haha! --

We continued walking around looking for a trail to climb and though we never found it the changing views still kept up entertained! 

Eventually, as frequently happens in Taiwan, a man drove past on his scooter and could tell we were lost (apparently 2 white girls on the side of the road with maps, phones, and confused looks gives us away!) He kindly stopped and gave us directions, and in our defense, we hadn't been far off! Sadly by the time we get headed in the right direction poor Brody had had enough (he's a trooper for 5 years old though!) and we decided to call it a day with no more walking!

We headed back into town and decided to take it easy for the afternoon and rent an electric bike...for 3! As if we don't get enough crazy looks being the "token white people" in Taiwan, an electric bike was exactly what we needed haha. We drove though the town for several hours taking in the views; ocean, mountains, and green parks {oh my!...haha}

Some of the 'critters' I ran into during our afternoon...hello giant Transformer man, light up dragon, and Chinese bear!

We spent a little extra time at the Pier 2 Art District and fell in love with the area. Kaohsiung was once known for its factories and industries and shipped items around the country by train, nowadays the trains are not as readily needed so they re-purposed the entire area.  The land consisting of the train tracks was covered in grass to make an interesting park where people can rent kites, bubbles, and enjoy the metal sculpture work placed around the park. The buildings that had once belonged to the  train industry were cleaned up and now house rotating art exhibits and small cafes...right up my alley!

After our ride Kristin decided it was time for her and Brody to head home...but I wasn't quite finished exploring so I talked to Jason, booked a 2nd night, and I was on my way! I spent the evening exploring the Love River that runs through the city, tried to pay a visit to the Cathedral in town (it was closed...but there was a surprise "visitor"!), and enjoyed myself at the night market before treating myself to a 30 minute foot massage (umm hello...only $9...you can't possibly pass up the offer!)

Check out who's front and center! :)

The Love River by day and Night

Night Market
{Top Left to Right: Oyster omelets, papaya milk, fresh seafood (it's still moving!), sausage kebabs} 

*** Stay tuned for day 3 folks...it only gets better I PROMISE! ***