Taitung to Kenting Beach

Our drive south continued on day 6 of our Taiwan adventure. More dramatic ocean scenery, driving through towns that reminded me of Cullen Bullen or Capertee. William is opening up a bit more as he drives, answering questions a bit more fully. It is hard though, you can see him working hard on the English, while trying not to drive into the ocean. He told us that China has stopped issuing travel visas for Taiwan. It is just about killing the local tourist trade. One friend of his lost 80% of his hotel business as a result. He says Taiwan will never grow economically, because China draws all the skilled and talented locals. He also thinks his own people are lazy and complacent in terms of business, so it is a two way street.

Three times now, during these conversations, William has driven us either up a dead end, or overshot our turn off. Less chat, maybe? Note to self.

The journey went inland. Now it was winding mountain roads through poor villages, until, voila, the west coast appeared.

We were taken to Sanxiatai and a bridge with the catchy title “The Eight Arch Bridge that Looks Like a Giant Dragon Stretching Across the Sea”

Really great spot. The walk across the wordy bridge was hard on the artificial joints with its snaky dragon shape, but at least we saw people in the water here. Not relaxing though, working; snorkelling fishermen, three of them, pulling in a catch to sell to the local restaurants.

We arrived in Kenting. It is a bit like the Gold Coast, without the high rise. Go Kart Racing joints, Starbucks, Maccas, KFC, along a neon strip leading into the town. It’s all water sports here, but with an emphasis on safety. Water can be dangerous.

Our accommodation is right on the beach, with a pool outside our door. The place is huge, Michele and I have to grab a shuttle to get to the kids block, but that may not be a bad thing. To be honest, they are cramping our style. Off the leash, we might give the night clubs a burl. I wonder if the RSL has a meat raffle?

All settled in, we took off to the street markets. This was bigger and brassier than our first try in Taipei. Lots of really weird food choices, every type of animal that lives in the sea, boiled, broiled or oiled and many more western options too. And as Bill Lawry would say “big crowd in.”

First morning in Kenting, William took us off to our snorkelling stop.

Once more, safety was paramount with life vests and full body suit. Strangely, and to everyone’s relief, the instructor said “can everyone swim?’ And then left us to our own devices; I wonder if he will lose his job as a result. He snorkelled around us taking photos. It was fantastic. The water was crystal blue and the colours of the fish were mind blowing. A truly memorable October 4.

Then, our hearts all a flutter, we took off for the southernmost tip of Taiwan. They have got a light house. It is white. They put it there to help the ships see at night. Um....oh.....yeah, that’s pretty much it.

By the way, William thinks having the yellow caps is an excellent idea. He is the one who insists on us having our photo taken in every tourist spot, in our caps.

The sign says “ be very, very careful..”

Ok. True story. We got back to our digs and there was an incident. I take full responsibility for it, no blame shifting. In a crazy moment of dragon fruit fuelled insanity I left my perch on the beach and plunged into the wild seas. In no time, the beach official was onto it, thank God. The photo below captures the moment when, shame faced in front of my distressed sons, I was hauled out of the water. What made me risk my life by entering the raging tempest without a life jacket and orange flotation device I will never know. I can only say how sorry I am for risking, not only my life, but the honest official doing his job.



That’s better! Fully safety prepare to battle angry ocean dragons.

And you can’t swim in the pool without an attractive bathing cap, either.

Safe crossword activity.



The best photos are always the candid ones. 

Sorry about this.


We had a free and easy day. Lovely beach with the violent seas in the background. It is no surprise, they are cautious.

Seriously, it is a worry that very few people we have seen can swim. They live on a small island. Instead of building pools, teaching the skills they seem to have gone to the safety extreme. There must be a reason they are so cautious. I will grill William. But not when he is driving!