Continuing our scooter journey south, Ms.Essex and I battled the Chinese New Year traffic into Kenting. The highway has two lanes for cars and a smaller third lane for motorbikes. I found myself dodging rogue cars; veering into the scooter lane to get around the frozen lines of traffic. It was frustrating, but after about two hours of it, we pulled into town.
The streets were packed with people and lined with hundreds night market food carts. Behind a cart selling large shrimp, we found our hotel. I was so happy to have a shower after the dirty, windy road. Our room was nothing fancy, but the hotel had made efforts to make it accommodating. Instead of a window, we had a wall mural of a sea view. I actually got a big kick out of it. Another interesting touch, I didn’t find until the lights were out. Black lights lined the molding in the ceiling, displaying a whole starry sky with planets. It sounds cheesy, but I loved it!
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| The photo really doesn’t do it justice. |
Ms. Essex and I walked through the crowds. Since we eat night market food all the time, we chose to get out of the slow moving mass and into one of the vacant restaurants. It was odd all of the restaurants were empty, but I realized that when the holiday weekend was over, all of the night market carts disappear and they get business again. I enjoyed not being on a bike, having a nice meal, and people watching from our window booth.
The next day, we drove up to the national park. Examining the park map, I was shocked to see a nuclear power plant inside the park.
We entered the park and immediately went up an observation deck. After exiting the elevator at the top, my worst nightmare appeared in front of us. It was a restaurant, packed with screaming children, servers dumping left over food into slop buckets smelling of vomit. We went straight for the stairs. One floor down, we got the view with no restaurant and no people.
Ms. Essex and I followed the paths through the trees, caves, and ravines. It was a beautiful park, but something I probably won’t be seeing a second time.
That evening, we met up with our Chinese teacher, who was also on holiday with her husband. We dined off random delicacies in the night market and then piled into their car. They were taking us to see Henchun Chuhuo or Eternal Flame. It is a fire fueled by natural gas that seeps through the mudstone. This is a completely natural eternal flame that has been burning for almost 30 years.
I did make it to the beach the next morning. Everyone always raved to me about the white sands and how beautiful it is. I think I was too spoiled with the beaches of my past travels. It was okay. I wouldn’t wear a swimsuit because of all of the onlookers. The Taiwanese go to the beach fully clothed. And swimming is either not allowed or just not done. I spent the morning sitting in the sand and watching the waves.
It was amazing to see how clear the streets were compared to the night before. The food carts all disappear until the late afternoon.
By noon, we were back on the bikes. We had to get to Kaohsiung before dark.
Advice: A scooter isn’t needed if you are staying in the town of Kenting. Taxis are inexpensive and you can get them to take you to the national park and the eternal flame. The beach is a two minute walk from town. If you want a relaxing holiday, don’t go during a Taiwanese holiday.
Hotel:
Kenting Jin Cheng Guesthouse
No. 92 Kenting Road
Hengchun Township, Kenting, Taiwan
Hengchun Township, Kenting, Taiwan
We paid about $41 per person, per night, but this was during the peak weekend of the holiday season.
Escape From the American Dream 