[TW; 2018] Solo Series | Kaohsiung City

Kaohsiung City

I lost count of the number of times I have been to Kaohsiung City; it is not my favourite city in Taiwan, just happened I would like to travel around the southern side of Taiwan this time and I thought it would be nice to fly in from there.

Just a small guide of how I spent my time in Kaohsiung which you may include some of them into your itinerary.

Accommodation

Start Hotel 星行旅

Start Hotel 星行旅;
No. 182, Liuhe 1st Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

I arrived Kaohsiung in the middle of the night, and main door is locked but thankfully I had roaming data with me to make a LINE call to the owner to remotely open up the door for me to retrieve the key from the main desk. I managed to meet the owner the next day, such a friendly lady which makes this place a plus point!

Just a small room in the basement, with thin partition walls segregating the rooms.

There is a snack corner at level 2, free flow of instant noodles, drinks & snacks! Superb generous owner!

Verdict: Yes definitely a nice place to stay in Kaohsiung! Maybe not the single partition rooms, but those double or more sized room where you wont be able to hear your neighbour snoring at night!

Edible

Lao Chiang Milk Tea 老江红茶牛奶

Lao Chiang Milk Tea 老江红茶牛奶, http://www.laochiang.com/;
No. 51, Nantai Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

Found this place via google, many people recommended it for breakfast. Being a Egg Pancake fan, it is a must go for me!

Verdict: Normal Egg Pancakes with slightly above average Milk Tea. Suggest to get a good spot or visit their cafe branch, otherwise you will be having your meal under the sun.

i-mei Food 義美食品

i-mei Food 義美食品, http://www.imeifoods.com.tw;
No. 25-3, Zhongzheng 4th Rd, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

Stumbled across i-mei while walking along the streets, my family is a fan of their popular puff series; which I can't resist and grabbed a few packs of it, though I had to lug them back to Taipei, silly me.

Cafe' De Parfum 達頂咖啡

Cafe' De Parfum 達頂咖啡, https://www.facebook.com/Cafe.de.parfum.tw/
No. 195, Linsen 1st Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

 This cafe was found via google while looking for nice cafe spots walkable distance from the accommodation.

Verdict: Yes, this is how big the portion it is for 1 person brunch meal! After finishing the fries and sides, I really have difficulty finishing up the bread and vege. But worth the price! It also has a rather nice atmosphere and a good street view!

Doable

MU Hair 造型美髮沙龍

MU Hair 造型美髮沙龍, https://www.facebook.com/MAX1UNO2/
No. 68, Zhongshan 1st Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

I love to visit the salon in Taiwan, firstly they are cheaper than Singapore, secondly I just feel I will be in good hands. With the previous disappointing salon experience in Taipei, I decided to visit one in Kaohsiung. I booked a slot 1-2 weeks beforehand as I'm visiting during the weekends, and I let the designer decide the colour and everything. She estimated a price for me, and towards the end she told me the final bill will be slightly cheaper as she over-estimated the amount of dye. Such a honest salon, how can I not give them a thumbs up! But my hair is not suitable for colour dye, the red faded off within weeks, and I'm back to the brownish-gold dye. Nevertheless it was a good experience, the designer LINE-d me to check on my hair condition and such a few days after my visit. Recommended and I may consider returning back there in the future.

Walkable

Other then the Cijin Island (which I will post separately due to the large number of photos), here some places to explore in Kaohsiung!

Central Park Station 中央公園站

Never had a chance to take this iconic escalator!

Upon exiting the station using the escalator, happened to have a 文青 (art hipster) event!

Grabbed an ice-cream and sat on the grass patches, it was a great way to enjoy the live band!

定夏手工冰淇淋【台南區】, https://www.facebook.com/定夏手工冰淇淋台南區

Actually I dropped my scoop of ice cream within seconds after the purchase, the guy was so sweet to replace another scoop for free! This gesture made the ice cream tasted even better! (':

After finishing the ice-cream, decided to stroll around Central Park, most of the shops were about to close for the day. No idea where did I randomly strolled.

There was this alley where one after another stall are all selling the famous Brown Sugar Bubble Tea. Abit hesitating whether to have a drink after having an ice cream just moments ago, until I gave in at the final stall at the corner. It was the best decision ever!

黑老大-黑糖波霸鮮乳, https://www.facebook.com/pg/twblackboss/about/?mt_nav=1;
 No. 17號, Wenheng 1st Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City

This was the only Brown Sugar Milk Tea I had in my entire trip (I was trying all kinds of bubble tea), and I missed it the most and badly. HOW CAN BROWN SUGAR WITH MILK TASTED SO NICE. I never a fan of those pearls, but their pearls was like amazing.

Liu He Night Market

It was just a stone-away from the accommodation, never a fan of Liu He NM due to the large crowd, but it was practically empty that night! Felt abit worried for those stall owners. ):

Tried this bowl of beehon with fried fish, just average, nothing amazing.

Abit ironic that without the crowd, Liu He doesn't have the night market atmosphere and it was rather boring. But with too much crowd, it shooed away tourists like me who hated crowds.

Anyway, if you need ideas for your Kaohsiung, you can refer to these past posts, which may be relevant in your planning, otherwise DM me on ig or comment below or drop me an email!

[TW] Kaohsiung 2011

[TW] CNY Kaohsiung 2013
[Living in TW] Kaohsiung 高雄 P1
[Living in TW] Kaohsiung 高雄 P2
[Living in TW] Kaohsiung 高雄 P3
[Living in TW] Kaohsiung 高雄 P4
[Backpack TW] Part 6 - Kaohsiung
[TW] PART 1 - Kaoshiung