Kaohsiung
What's your favorite Taiwanese city?
What's your favorite Taiwanese city?
As much as I love my hometown of Taipei, I must say my favorite Taiwanese city would be Magong. As I've gotten more "mature" (read old), I started to prefer smaller, more laid back cities.
As much as I love my hometown of Taipei, I must say my favorite Taiwanese city would be Magong. As I've gotten more "mature" (read old), I started to prefer smaller, more laid back cities.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Which ones have you seen?
I haven't been to all of them either. Some of the cities that I've been to as a kid and really want to explore now include Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Chiayi.
I've seen Taipei, Taichung, some of Taoyuan, some of Tainan, some of Puli (in Nantou) and Kaohsiung. I've been to other places like Hua-lien but I was too young to remember anything.Which ones have you seen?
I haven't been to all of them either. Some of the cities that I've been to as a kid and really want to explore now include Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Chiayi.
Taipei - my first impression (after leaving it for Taichung when I was 5) was the chaotic traffic, not so pleasant air quality, gritty, crowded but surprisingly clean (as in rubbish-free). That's after I went back to Taiwan in 2007 after spending 12 years overseas. MRT is cheap and clean. Stayed there for the first 4 months and I visited there every now and then during my stay in Taiwan.
Tainan - visited there with my mum when she visited her childhood friends. Stayed there for only a few days, therefore I can't really judge. It's less crowded than Taipei and reminds me a bit of Taichung in the early 90's.
Taichung - visited there when I was in 成功嶺 for a month. When we get a day or two of holiday from 成功嶺 those who live near Taichung or those who are willing to pay for high-speed rail went back to their hometown. People like me who live a bit far and are not willing to pay for HSR went to Taichung to spend the day. I was very eager to visit Taichung again because I moved from Taipei to Taiching when I was 5, stayed there for 5 years before I went overseas. My memories of Taiwan was basically my memories of Taichung. My first impression after 12 years....... not very good. The traffic is more chaotic than Taipei, and the streets are littered with rubbish... I did get to visit my childhood school and my former home, which was a big plus. Other than that, I didn't go elsewhere with such short period of time.
Zhong-li in Taoyuan - I did my military service as a 替代役, not your normal army/namy/air force kind of military service. I served as a public servant rather and a soldier. My service type is 環保役, and the place where they trained us is in Zhong-li. During the day we'll go there and took lessons, and we'll return to our dorm which is in 楊梅. I didn't get to explore Taoyuan because we just travel between zhong-li and 楊梅 by our special chartered bus. My only impression are the views I've seen through the windows of the bus.
Kaohsiung - the place where I served my military service, at the Kaohsiung City Hall. I stayed there for a full year and I actually get to experience and explore the city. During the day I'll go to the Kaohsiung City Hall to work, where there are a lot of other 替代役s like me there. After work I'll go back to the dorm they prepared for us. I bought myself three 2nd hand bicycles for cummuting. The first two I bought off the bicycle shop were stolen, bicycle-stealing is pretty rampant in Kaohsiung
. I learnt my lesson and on the 3rd time, I boght myself a recycled 2nd hand bike from the environmental protection berau, and it never got stolen again. I visited most major tourist spots in Kaohsiung on my bike, places like qi-jin, the former British embassy (turned into a cafe/restaurant hno, 澄清湖, love river etc. I enjoyed every moment of my stay there, and personally I see Kaohsiung as my hometown now, instead of Taipei where I was born, or 三芝 where my 戶籍 is at or Taichung where it was my home before I went overseas. Kaohsiung was clean, the traffic condition is good, but the downside is the air quality. Some days the sky can be as clear and blue as Sydney or Auckland, the other days you can see a thick, white smog covering the sky, and the air has a chemical smell to it. Puli in Nantou - visited a buddhist temple there, Puli is littered with temples, and it's a good place to build a temple. It's hidden far away from the worldly tempation of the major cities, and it seems like a nice little town to retire to.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
