Sweet Journey: Kending - Everything I could possibly want! Part 1 亲切的台湾: 在垦丁..

Its hard to put into words how much I miss Taiwan.. In the last couple of years, I have visited many places but Taiwan has always left me longing to go back. It's a place that I treasure, hold close, and regard dearly ^ ^

The first time I heard about "Ken Ding"


All pictures below other than those marked with sources are of my own photography

My pink little ride! This is the electric powered motorcycle I rented whilst in Ken Ding, it's was my first time driving an electric motorbike!

Taiwan is situated in the southeast coast of China, in April of 2014, I flew from Hong Kong to Taiwan, the flight was 1hr and 30 minutes. As soon as I arrived, I immediately set on a journey to the place I wanted to visit most in Taiwan but regretfully couldn't visit the last time I went to Taiwan^ ^



Ken Ding's Nightmarkets

"Food that I could eat until my belly is round"

Ken Ding is small city in the Southern part of Taiwan, to get there from Taipei, you take the high speed rail to Gao Xiong which takes about 1.5hrs then it's another 2 hour bus journey from there to the Kending, Hengchun Township. Even though I'm used to travelling, I actually found the journey to be quite long, especially the bus ride.

When I arrived in Kending, it was already dark. Getting off the bus, we entered the main high street of Kending town which is also the most buzzing place during the night. I was overwhelmed with how busy it was, there were people everywhere, flashing lights coming from all directions, loud music being played at every bar and even food stalls littered all along the street. The smell of the BBQ and kebab stalls were so inviting, no surprise that there were many people queuing to get a taste of the delicious night market food ~。~ Source.

Because this was an impulsive trip, I hadn't made lodging arrangements so I looked around for a decent hotel on the main street and set my luggage down. I then went out to the night market heaven straight away!^ ^

"Taiwanese Sausages / Flamed Prawns"^ ^

These red colours always excite my appetite..

Source.

"The Chewy Lamb BBQ Kebabs"^ ^

Under the stall sign is a picture of a Taiwanese celebrity eating this Lamb Kebab, his expression seems to indicate more than satisfaction..^ ^

"Big Milk" souvenir foods for a little humour..

"Nemo Cone Icecream"^ ^

This ice cream uses a cone in the shape of a kissing fish where the ice cream is put in it's mouth. The cone itself is really detailed, especially the fish scales which look just like the real thing. The taste is really good too, cool and fresh, just what I needed! ^ ^

"Fried Oreo's "^ ^

These Oreo's' are dipped in flower and then oil fried. You can choose to have different kinds of toppings in addition to the chocolate and strawberry. I personally chose some banana slices and M&M sweets to go with it. The taste is surprisingly different to an Oreo biscuit. You would expect it to be crunchy because that's how Oreo biscuits usually are, but this was softer and more chewy. Looks wise, this snack is only slightly bigger than the original Oreo biscuit - a very small and tasty snack!
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Alcoholic Jelly Shots! ^ ^

At this stall, you can basically pick any kind of alcohol you want and they'll have a Jelly shot version of it! To be on the safe side, I tried just one jelly shot and it tasted so good! I could hardly taste any alcohol in it at all, so I bought another one and the rest is history..^^

"Dressed up dogs join in the Night market fray "^ ^

If it's one pet the Taiwanese people absolutely love, it's the dog! As you wander through the Night market, the dressed up dogs are spectacles in and of themselves. As you can see there are many different cute outfits for these doggies to wear, some of them even have their own shoes!^ ^

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"The Bars"

Believe it or not, there are bars tucked in between and throughout the night market everywhere.

In most of these bars, there will be live shows usually with transvestites who will entertain with a variety of acts. Pole dancing is quite common but the fun part is when they engage with the audience often picking on the couples. They'll take the guy up to the stage and do some pretty embarrassing things to make the girls quite awkward, lap dancing, teasing, stripping etc. = =



"Tattoos"

Source.

These Tattoo's are actually temporary ones which use some dye and can last up to a week. You can't be on contact with water for the first 2 hours but after that they are smudge free. I had one done in colour in the shape of a butterfly, it's actually more like a little fairy with colourful wings. You can choose to have them tattoo any part of your body but I thought having it on the chest would make me look a little more exotic especially at the beach.



"My dear Seaside"

This is the beach located at the south side of Kending, it's called Baisha Wan which is loosely translated as "White Sand Gulf". The beach here has beautifully blue waters and equally blue matching skies, one of it's unique points is the strong tides that create some beautiful ocean washes. Owing to the strong tides in this area of the beach, water sports activities are very popular. It's basically a variety of different rides that are towed along by a speedboat at high speed. It's actually quite terrifying because it's so hard to avoid falling off whilst been tossed and turned at high speed. I tried a few of these activities and lost my voice through screaming very loud. ^^

Tips when travelling without a tour group to Kending:


  1. Kending's most ideal vacation times : All year! Kending's climate is tropical so the average temperature is around 24 degrees C. In April of each year, there is even a Spring Music Festival. Unfortunately I missed it this time round but I will definitely try to make it next time!

  2. Remember to bring Sunscreen and your swimsuits! There's no need to haul a lot of luggage, you can pretty much buy everything you need there. (My bikini and sandals were all bought there)

  3. Kending is larger than you think, you'll likely find it hard to cover the main attractions on foot so I recommend renting a car, motorbike or an electric motorbike. I opted for the Electric Motorbike and all you need is some id and a drivers license. It's great to have the freedom to travel anywhere you please anytime you want.

  4. For the backpacker tourists, the best time to go would be in October, November, March and April. Not only is the temperature NOT blisteringly hot, it's also the off-season so lodging is extremely cheap. When I went, I was able to get really nice discounts without even booking!

  5. Kending is an important place for growing coral reefs. Try not to use excess sunscreen when entering the water as the chemicals in the sunscreen actually harm the geology of the coral reefs. Also, avoid stepping on them! They are actually quite fragile = - =


这些年我走过了很多地方,让我念念不忘的就有台湾。台湾在我印象里,是亲切温和的^ ^

当我第一次听到“垦丁”
台湾位于中国大陆的东南沿海, 2014年的4月,我从香港飞去台湾大概用了1个半小时,到达台北之后,我立刻启程前往我最想去的地方,以弥补上次来台湾的遗憾。

垦丁夜市“让我吃到肚圆的美食”
垦丁是台湾最南部的一个小城市,是一个小岛,从台北坐上高铁1个半小时到达高雄,再换大巴2小时之后终于到达垦丁,因为我很少在路地上坐这么久的交通工具,所以就觉得路途好漫长呀。
到达垦丁已经天黑了,从大巴下来就走进了垦丁最热闹的夜市,我的天哪,那种熟悉又热闹的气氛,到处有音乐声,叫卖声,连烤肉的师傅也合着disco的节奏翻转着烤肉~。~
因为是说走就走的旅行,之前没有定酒店,我急匆匆找了间夜市路边的酒店放下行李,就一头扎进了夜市天堂^ ^

“盛装打扮逛夜市的狗狗"^ ^
台湾人超级喜欢宠物狗,走进夜市就随处可见逛夜市的人和他们的毛绒伙伴,所以狗狗也成了夜市的一大特点。他们很喜欢给他们的毛绒朋友穿上衣服,甚至是鞋子。^ ^

“酒吧"
你不会想象到酒吧也是藏在夜市里滴!
酒吧里通常会有人妖小姐的钢管舞表演,还会和观众互动,让气氛变得很热闹,有些人妖小姐还会故意逗乐找到一对情侣,并调戏男生,而让他的女朋友感到很尴尬= =

“纹身"
最终,在夜市里让我找到了纹身。这是用颜料画上去的,刚画好2小时不能见水,之后可以保持一周时间。我第一次选择了这种彩色的蝴蝶,它有着缤纷多彩的颜色。因为感觉胸口比较方便画,并且不容易碰掉色,所以就选择了在胸口画。

“亲切的海"
这里是垦丁南端的白沙湾海滩,这里有美丽的浪花和垦丁特有的蓝天和蓝色海面。最重要的是因为这里有巨大的海浪,所以也是水上运动的天堂。我参加了各种水上运动,整个过程都在尖叫,因为太刺激啦 ^^
台湾垦丁自由行小贴士:
1、垦丁的最佳旅游时间:全年都可以。垦丁是热带气候,年平均24度。不过每年的4月有春天音乐节活动(非常遗憾我上次去的时候,音乐节刚刚结束,下次一定要赶上)。
2、记得带防晒用品和海边的衣服。当然不用很多行李,那边的商店东西很全。(我的泳装和拖鞋都是在当地商店买的^ ^)
3、垦丁其实比你想象中要大很多,靠双脚逛会太辛苦!!!强烈推荐包车、租电瓶车或机车,后者需要携带驾照,当然也可以租自行车环游海岸线啦!(我就是租的电瓶车,去哪里都非常自由和轻松)
4、背包客们最好选择10月、11月、3和4月左右旅游,天气不会有那么炎热,重点是进入淡季后名宿的房价会有很大折扣。(我人住的民俗因为住的时间久,加上又是淡季,就得到了折扣^ ^)
5、垦丁是重要珊瑚繁殖区域,请尽量少涂抹防晒霜下水游玩,也不要踩著珊瑚下水。防晒霜是杀死珊瑚的凶手之一,防晒霜中使用的紫外线过滤有机化合物对珊瑚礁来说是一种有毒物质= - =


If you are interested in my other blogs related to Travel please check out these other blogs below^^

Kissing Santorini's Magical Blue Sea.
Uncovering the secrets of the River Cam in Cambridge.
Memoirs of Malta : Popeye Village and it's crazy water dance party.
A visual and literary account of my travels to Nepal!
My 12 hour vacation in Portugal.
My adventure to Tenerife.
Discovering the legend of Hainan.
Taking Steemit to one of the 8th wonders of the world^ ^
One night in the Yellow Submarine.
Barcelona and the Sun's Colour Palette.
Hyde Park's bustling summer, and festive winter..

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