Table of Contents

Day 4 was a transition day: we packed up in Taipei and headed south to Kaohsiung, a smaller and very different city. With a midday departure, I squeezed in a minimalist gym session where calisthenics saved the day, then we grabbed a quick Mr Donut snack before a swift train ride brought us to our next stop.

Links to the next parts

• Taiwan, day 1
• Taiwan, day 2
• Taiwan, day 3
• Taiwan, day 5
• Taiwan, day 6
• Taiwan, day 7-8

Packing up and heading south

On day 4, it was time to pack our luggage and move to Kaohsiung, our next destination. Kaohsiung is, in a certain way, diametrically opposed to Taipei, and, surprisingly, population-wise smaller than Taichung: 1.5 million versus 2.5 million.

In the morning, we had a chance to take a short break, as our train was scheduled to depart around 12 PM. I had a chance to go to a gym, which, surprisingly, was almost non-existent: a couple of treadmills and that’s it. In this situation, calisthenics truly shines - I was able to have a proper workout just the walls and the floor.

At the train station, we had a quick snack from Mister Donut, a fantastic Japanese bakery. The train was extremely swift, I think only 30 or 40 minutes, and we arrived at Kaohsiung.

Hotel Duo and the Pier 2 district

After the train, we quickly jumped into a taxi and in half an hour arrived at our hotel. The place was called Hotel Duo, and it was a pretty decent, stylish place. If you’ll be around, I strongly recommend checking out this place as a value-for-money option. And it also had a pretty solid rooftop bar!

We dropped our belongings and set off towards a hipster district, Pier 2, which we discovered during a taxi ride. The place was relatively far, about 40 to 50 minutes, but the weather was great, the city pedestrian-friendly, what else to desire?

One thing that stood out immediately is a high consentration of Christian buildings in the city. Quite a few buildings either have a quote from the bible or an image of Jesus.

After a while, we made our way to Pier 2, which was an abandoned warehouse. The place is very similar to Guillemard barracks in Singapore or New Holland in Saint-Petersburg. There are a lot of hipster places that serve ice cream, artistic coffee, craft burgers, etc. Also, there are plenty of exhibitions, art centers, and art shops. Also, the place features quite a few buildings with unusual, futuristic architecture.

Interestingly, near Pier 2, there is a part that is built on top of an old train station. It’s very similar to what we experienced in Taichung. The park has quite a few old, rusty trains with an ice cream store in one of them. Lastly, we spotted quite a few unleashed dogs here. I’m pretty sure this park will be heaven for my dog.

Central Park and the lantern temple

After a short break, around 5 PM, we left Pier 2 and went to a place called Central Park. The park, indeed, is located quite centrally, but it’s quite a small place. Google Maps promised a few modern art installations, but they definitely weren’t worth visiting.

The next stop was a temple, which my wife managed to find on TikTok. The video featured a temple with a stunning ceiling, full of red Chinese lanterns. Once we reached the temple, it was already quite late, and the majority of people had left the location. The spot to contemplate lanterns was blocked by renovation works, so we just managed to look at the ceiling from bottom to top. Thus, I would probably skip the place if I knew about these details.

Night market and local craft beer

Lastly, we went to must-visit place in any Taiwanese city - a night market (夜市). The place was completely different from what we experienced in Taichung. It was completely oriented for tourists! The place had seating tables and beer! And open every day! Not an original 夜市!

We didn’t really get anything to eat there, but got a fantastic bowl of rice with beef at a nearby food stall. Oh, I forget to add that, obviously, we got a pack of dumplings, something you can’t avoid in Taiwan!

Lastly, we walked to a local, surfing-style craft beer place to check out local beer culture. The place was really nice, empty, with a few interesting local beers to offer. Paired with a decent snack (correct, it was dumplings!).