But as soon as you reach the foot of the mountain range you are in a very different place. The flat populated plains change to precipitous forested ranges. The mountains are sliced by deeply cut valleys created by typhoon fed rivers.

The brief two months of Southern Taiwan’s mild winter have now past. In a few weeks the tropical rains will start and the stifling humidity will have people searching for cool relief. These last two years we have found that relief in the many pools and waterfalls accessible along the mountain range. Here are some of our favorites and directions on how to find them.

Chingtang waterfall(欽堂瀑布). This is a gem of a spot. It is a short walk up an overgrown and rock fallen path off the Southern Cross Island highway at one of the last places you can reach the main river before the road rises above the river bed. It is not sign posted which makes it quiet and secluded. Of the 5 or so times we have stoppped we’ve always had the place to ourselves. Its great for a cool swim or a BBQ. Park on the side of the road opposite the huge rock scree. Use the Google map below to help find it.

The same waterfall immediately after a typhoon

Meiya waterfall (美雅) This is one of a number of waterfalls in the Maolin National Scenic area. Not ideal for swimming and the walk up to the waterfall itself requires some scrambling over rocks since the suspension bridge and path was washed away in a typhoon a couple of years ago. One of the bridge’s main pillars can be seen under the pile of rocks below.

On one of the two cold weekends a year it is worthwhile visiting the Duona hot springs (多納) deep inside the Maolin National Scenic Area. Though not glamorous, the half dozen concrete baths have varying temperatures and there is always a friendly crowd.

If the water is not too high, walk up river a little to find hot water seeping from the riverbed.

There are a couple of other waterfalls at Maolin like this one at Lovers Valley. Not so great for swimming though.

Dajin waterfall (大津瀑布) This is close to the Maolin National Scenic Area and a short climb up an incredibly wide and well made path. It is well signposted and quite popular.  China Post published a great article on Dajin waterfall last year.

Rainbow waterfall(彩虹瀑布) is an all day adventure to reach. Firstly you need to enter the Sandimen police check point which means you will require some ID and 10yuan along with a reason you wish to enter. This is probably the last roadside checkpoint police station that remains along the mountains. I wouldn’t be surprised if it too is closed down shortly.

Follow Pingtung county road 31 to the very end. Even through the narrow laned Dashe (大社) village. Be prepared to wait as the locals park and chat on the road and aren’t in any hurry to move along.

Follow the small narrow road to the point where you are comfortable you can still drive back then follow the track on foot until you reach the river bed. Follow the river bed until you find a waterfall. From the police station it is probably 40mins drive, 20 mins walk on the track then 30 mins walk up the river bed. Not ideal after rain as you need to wade across the river a few times. Great for seclusion, swimming or a BBQ. There are a number of other great waterfalls and trails inside the Sandimen area that are well worth visiting.

Liangshan waterfall (涼山瀑布) is actually a series of pools and waterfalls with a covered BBQ area and clean toilets. The main pool is mostly shallow and safe for kids. It is a great spot and very popular on the weekends. Make sure you walk the 20 minute path from the main swimming area to the large waterfall at the end. About halfway along the trail are a series of steps that lead down to a great little swimming hole.

Anping water hole (安平) This is our favorite local BBQ destination as it is the quickest and easiest to reach from Daliao and Kaohsiung. It has a great swimming area for kids with large flat shallow areas. It is reasonably popular but we always meet the nicest people there. One guy told me you can avoid paying the 50yuan parking fee by continuing along the road past the parking area and walking down a small path. I say pay the parking and enjoy the amenities. Well, those that remain after a typhoon in 2007!

Laiyi(來義) is another of our favorites. Follow the rough old road to the very end and pay the 50 yuan parking fee. Don’t stop at the beautiful pool immediately under the KTV slot machine station, unless you have a penchant for listening to woeful karaoke. Walk up river a little and stop by one of the many pools. We have occasionally seen river tracing groups here as the river is great for tracing.  China Post wrote on a waterfall immediately behind the closed police post in Laiyi though we have never visited it.

Nanhe river (南和) is yet another of our favorites. There is no waterfall and the river can be a bit rapid. But the point we visit is the joining of two rivers with a suspension bridge over the top. There are plenty of pools and places to BBQ.

Make use of the Google map to find your way. Be warned, the Pingtung county roads are windy and its very easy to get lost. It is worth noting that many of the places I describe above were found while getting lost trying to find something else!

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If you have any questions, suggestions or corrections please leave a comment.

Most of Kaohsiung has been built in the last 60 years. The first half of that period people were poor and the national identity characterised Taiwan as a temporary refuge before returning to the mainland. There was neither the money nor the pride to build beautiful houses.

The last 30 years Taiwan has increased its wealth but I contend it is yet to find a pleasing national style that combines concrete, steel and ceramics beyond simple functional boxes.

On a couple of recent outings I captured a number of interesting houses in Kaohsiung.

Initially the intention was to capture some of the old wooden houses that might have some Japanese architectural influence. There are a few wooden houses in Kaohsiung, they are old and quickly vanishing. I read they are difficult to insure.

If you look up past the overhead power lines and rust stains some other small gems can be found.

Like these few with a tinge of 1960’s art-deco influences

The deep red brick houses can be quite attractive. Most red bricks are porous so they don’t make practical exterior walls unless they are eaved or are double course.

There is still the odd traditional house to be found inside the city.

A three story house squeezed onto a slither of land.

An old dormitory house of Taiwan Power Company. The sign still rests above a chained closed door.

Here are a few examples of styling on facades.

But you really have to look hard to see past the plain old ugly.

There are plenty more pictures in the Kaohsiung Houses album section.

Night time view across the small pocket amongst which we live.

View larger map

Fongshan Military Academy This covers a huge tract of land. Though reasonably benign, it is an important military training ground that is a continual source of small arms practice fire. And surely a target of one of the 1400 odd missiles China will use one day. Let’s hope they are accurate enough to miss our place

Mental asylum Not in itself a threat, but placed between the military academy and the land-fill it an indication of the quality land use of the area.
Daliao landfill Or should that be “land-full”. A large hill now exists where a valley once was. They are now filling a valley right next to the full one. This is uphill from our house and not more that 500 metres away.

Traditional grave sites These are a common sight all over Taiwan. Hills are auspiciously good locations to place a grave. Grave sites are auspiciously bad to live near. And we live near hills full of graves

Christian cemetries Approximately 5% of Taiwanese are Christians. We live just one kilometre from 100% of Kaohsiung Christian graves.

Kaohsiung airport This was once a very busy and noisy airport. Now with the high speed rail much of the old noisy regular domestic flights have gone. Daliao covers the take-off flight path for the airport.

Daliao industrial zone This is where chemicals are concocted, boats are made, sewage discharged, recyclables recycled and poisoned residents ignored.

*China Steel refineryThe largest is Taiwan. Located adjacent China Shipbuilding, Taiwan’s largest shipbuilder. The source of much of Kaohsiung’s air pollutants.

Missile silos The Sky Bow missile placement that has been pixelled out in Google Earth. If the military academy is not a Chinese missile magnet, this installation certainly is.

Petrochemical plantsThe source for all sorts of odours. Environmental groups have successfully restricted development of this zone recentley. It has (rightfully) been the source of much local protest over the years.

Linyuan Oil refinery This is part of the larger chemical and steel industrial area. When passing through Linyuan you can constantly whiff the hydrocarbons.

View from the top of LinYuan hill adjacent the missile silos. Looking across to the Gaoping river, petrochemical  and oil refinery plants

Currently based in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea he didn’t hesitate to up-anchor and sail the 5500 odd kms to visit us. After 8 weeks of sailing and stopping off at small islands through PNG, Indonesia, Micronesia and the Philippines he finally arrived in Kaohsiung. Thanks to a good mobile phone reception just beyond sight of land north west of Luzon I quickly alerted him of Typhoon Nuri that was looking like crossing his path in the Bashih Channel between the Philippines and Taiwan. An extra three day anchored down in the shelter of Santiago Island, Luzon, meant he arrived in Kaohsiung Harbour on the 25th of August. Just 3 days before we departed to Japan for 2 weeks.

Though the timing was bad for us, it fitted in nicely with the Kaohsiung International Regatta held on the 6th and 7th of September, a practice run for the World Games here in Kaohsiung next year.

Keen to enhance the race’s “International” standing, Leprena II was enthusiastically encouraged to participate as the Australian entrant. Two TV stations and a newspaper interview helped promote the event and catapulted this solo-sailor into a minor local celebrity.

Wearing a fisherman’s hat and white beard this old man is Peter.

Although approaching his 70’s he is still as fit as a young man. It took him a month to sail to Taiwan for the upcoming event.

He sailed alone with his yacht from Australia and on the way he was robbed by pirates in Indonesian waters.

 

He tried to combat the pirate with a shotgun but couldn’t and was later tied up and beaten. There are scars left from knife wounds both on his arms and legs but such an ordeal does not dent his courage. Instead it adds more life experiences.

There is a deeper reason for his drive to come to this beautiful island of Taiwan. His son has found his roots in Taiwan.

 

..which has also made him a “Taiwanese” grandfather. Taiwan is just like a second home to him. You may catch a glimpse of Peter at the yacht display area of Glory Harbor this Saturday between 2 and 4 pm for public viewing. For those who are interested please come along and discover the charm and beauty of yachting.

FTV reporter Liao Jing-Hsiong, Kaohsiung.

 

Correction: The pirating occured 3 years ago in PNG waters

The regatta and race by all accounts were very successful. Though suitably built for distance racing, solar panels, wind generator, a hull full of belongings along with a quickly convened crew of locals meant Leprena II came in 5 minutes outside the race time limit to score a DNF (Did Not Finish). Though he was very impressed with the pre and post dinners, hospitality, crystal participant’s trophy as well as a substantial participation reimbursement.

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It is fair to say that very few yachties make it to Taiwan. It took half a day to clear customs and immigration on arrival. A simple sail outside the harbour requires lengthy crew and itinerary registration. Motoring inside the harbour is apparently not permitted as we discovered during a leisurely Saturday cruise.

Leprena II has been moored at the Shaochuantou yacht pier at Sizihwan opposite the ferry point to Chijin Island. It is a great location in the hustle and bustle of Kaohsiung harbour. A popular destination for outdoor wedding photo shoots and now very crowded on weekends as the port-side destination station of the newly opened orange line of the KMRT.

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Both Grandpapa and the boat are a huge hit with the kids. If the success of a sleep-over is measured by how little sleep is achieved I think Leprena II ranks most successful.

He is currently in Hong Kong where his partner Frances will join him. They will return here for another month by which time this very busy typhoon season will have hopefully subsided. They intend returning to PNG via Philippines and perhaps Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

We ventured out while the rain and squalls of typhoon Sinlaku were ravaging northern Taiwan. While there was also a lot of rain falling in Kaohsiung it did not stop people trying out the shinny new rail system.

The KRTC Red line opened back in March and was well covered by Taiwan bloggers. The NH Bushman gave an excellent two part series that covers all the fine details. David on Formosa also summarised an early day trip. The Red line opening provided free travel for a full month to allow Kaohsiungites to acquaint themselves with it. The Orange line provided one week of free travel followed by a month of discount travel if you purchase the contactless travel cards. With the week up today and 3 return trips into Kaohsiung we can attest that the KMRT is a huge success with big crowds joyriding, gawking and trialing the new system.

As with the initial period of the Red line the administration has had a large number of people out guiding and helping passengers learn the ropes.

The crowds last Sunday were small…

but by this Sunday word was out and we were having to cram into trains. Not quite like Tokyo yet.

Back in December the Orange line was still very messy on the surface. Here are a few Dec-07, Sep-08 photo comparisons of some stations.

Fongshan

Fongshan West

Weiwuying

Wukuaicuo

Kaohsiung has come an incredible distance in so many ways since my first visit in 1989. With parks, transport links, air quality and now a great underground rail system. And it isn’t slowing down, there are future plans for the MRT to reach north towards Tainan and east to Pingtung as well as fill in the other areas of Kaohsiung city.
Perhaps we are only at station 2 of the mammoth transformation of Kaohsiung.

When I first arrived in 1989 Taiwan had just lifted martial law. Air raid drills were still common and the military had a very strong presence. You would often see movements of army vehicles and troops and there was a continual coastal watch. I remember being moved off the beach one evening by a couple of soldiers as well as being cautioned, though not badly, for taking photos of the Kaohsiung harbour entrance.

There are still plenty of signs of the military. With a two year national service for all men and an incredibly dispersed military infrastructure no one travels far without seeing an army base or a young uniformed soldier.

But even that is changing. The army may soon be voluntary, the newly elected KMT are making wishful overtures of conciliation with China and military spending has been stalled as the two sides of government bicker over Tiawan’s future.

Koahsiung harbour is Taiwan’s largest ocean port. It was well fortified during the Qing Dynasty, briefly coveted by the Dutch and English, occupied by the Japanese and then concrete reinforced by the Nationalists.

A few favourites of the Nationalist era were a string of coastal lookouts and pill boxes. Every bridge and major rail route had small fortified checkpoints. You can occasionally see the remnants of these today.

Like many in Taiwan we live close to a military base. This is a large area that today is more often used by elderly gardeners and hikers. They weed and shuffle between old tanks, overgrown razor wire, trenches and spent mortar casings.

The future of Taiwan is no more certain today than it was 60 years ago. But hopefully that future will be shaped by diplomacy and strong international economics rather than the military concrete and iron of the past.

A large part of the land between the levees is used for orchards and other agricultural use. But there is a small patch on the western side just north of the Wanda bridge that has a model racing car track. Most weekends you can find a few enthusiasts racing their cars. However, last weekend there was a championship race with a large number of cars in 2 divisions racing it out for all the prestige that model car racing has to offer.

These cars are fast. Their drivers are obviously very skilled and it requires a good team to keep the car tuned, fuelled and on the track for the course of the race.

Back in the pits there was lots going on.

Tuning, cleaning, repairing, preparing.

A little prep talk.

And for line honours.

Today much of the manufacturing of Taiwan has moved to China and Kaohsiung has dropped rank to sixth busiest. Though total containers have increased over the years, Kaohsiung harbour today does not have the same hustle and bustle feel as it had back in 89.

Being the resourceful and industrious people they are, it is hardly surprising that the “ex-shipping container” can be seen all over the Kaohsiung country side. Of course this is not anything particularly unique to Kaohsiung or Taiwan. It is simply the prevalence of the twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) that make them so striking as you wander around.

Home sweet home

Just add lights, windows and a pretty girl (missing below) and they quickly become a Betel nut stand.

Slice each wall off and they become panelling for this car yard.

Air filter, carcinogen keeper, cold water supply, illicit drug storage. Who knows?

They make perfect roadside stores.

Add a few bricks, concrete and a window and they pass as housing. Not sure if the YM has been removed by the present or previous owners.

They stack naturally to create economical office space for many yards.

With a little investment in a roof and wall ends they make a great shed.

It is not surprising that the Kaohsiung International Container Arts Festival is held here. The location of the December meet of the Kaohsiung Flickr group.

Keep an eye on the Shipping Containers album in the photos section for more recycled containers.

Wandering around Kaohsiung I have seen that many universities are undertaking construction. This at a time they are struggling to fill courses and the population demographic for future students is looking grim.

The current fertility rate of Taiwan is 1.12. Almost the lowest in the world (2.1 is required for population replacement). The population pyramids for 2000 and 2025 quite clearly show the impending youth drought.

This is just 4 of the 13 university and colleges in the Kaohsiung area.

The first is Fooyin university. This is right behind our house and a place we have an affiliation with. They are currently building a large addition over the top of the existing administration building.

I-Shou university is a fairly new institution with very ambitious plans. There is a lot of construction there at the moment.

Though I was unable to find the scaffolding and construction materials, I believe Wenzao college has recently undertaken some development.

And recently passing Chengshui university near Chengching lake it can be seen that they are also undertaking some expansion work.

Of coarse these are just lay observations and may not actually represent a true over-development at any particular university. But I hope that it doesn’t represent the all too familiar phenomenon here in Taiwan of bubble and bust for the university sector.

It is strangely both ordinary and exceptional at the same time. It is ordinary because once inside, you could be in any shopping mall anywhere in the world. There is nothing particularly Taiwanese, Chinese or Asian about Dream Mall. All international name brands are represented. The polished marble and shining stainless steel are to international standard. Typical public sculptures, floor works and themed promotional posters are as seen in any department store.

But these all make it exceptional for Kaohsiung. The openness, cleanliness and gleaming everything is not the standard Kaohsiung shopping experience.

But if you have kids or are a kid at heart, the truly exceptional part of a visit to Dream Mall is a ride in the roof top Hello Kitty Ferris wheel.

For anyone close by and wondering if a ride is worthwhile, my recommendation would be yes.