As we moved up the west coast of Taiwan, we stopped in Kaohsiung for a few days and then enjoyed 10 full days in Tainan over the week of Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year (Tuesday, Feb 17, 2026) is the biggest holiday in Taiwan, and notorious for busy roads and packed trains as everyone travels to see their families. So we decided to have a long stay in Tainan to avoid all of the travel craziness.
Driving to Kaohsiung
We drove the coastal road from Kenting National Park to Kaohsiung. One interesting stop was the Shizi Township Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall. Like most countries, Taiwan has had a long complicated relationship with the indigenous population. Around 100 years ago some Swedish people collected art, clothing, and day-to-day items from from the Paiwan tribe near Shizi. These artifacts have recently been returned to the tribe and the result is a very interesting exhibit. The clothing designs were beautifully done and the head wreath with sharks teeth was amazing.
Exploring Kaohsiung
Ultraman!
Kaohsiung rolled out the red carpet and was having a huge event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ultraman. This was our first encounter with this super hero. Apparently he is as popular in Asia as Superman is in the west. Ginormous, inflatable Ultramen characters floated on the harbor as laser light shows lit up the night, choreographed to the catchy theme song. Our hotel room had the best view (left picture) and even the surrounding buildings were dancing with color.
Delicious Food
Taiwan has an amazing variety of fruit and foods that we had never encountered before. The top pictures are of a custard apple, which is as delicious as it sounds. The fruit in the bottom left picture are jujubes which are sort of like an apple, but crisper and tastier; we bought and ate them every chance we got. Both of these fruits are delicate and have a short shelf life, so they are only found near the source. We enjoyed finding unusual foods in the night markets too. In the lower right Diane is eating coffin bread. It is a thick slice of fried bread with a creamy vegetable filling: so yummy!!
Temple Hopping at Lotus Pond Lake
Lotus Pond Lake is famous for its many large and ornate temples that cover the shoreline. The most famous are the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. Fun fact: you always enter a temple through the dragon and out the tiger, being devoured and reborn while leaving your bad luck behind. We didn’t ever dare go the opposite way.
Amongst the many temples, we found a chicken that lays a golden egg with your fortune inside! We now have an amulet as a souvenir that perhaps we will use in the future as a Christmas ornament.
Metro Station Cats
After visiting the lakeshore temples, we made a point to pass through the Zuoying Train Station. They have created a space specifically for feral cats that live in the station. The cats roam freely in and out of the stores, owning the place really, and sleep wherever they like. They are fed by staff in a small back room. There is an orange tabby named Mikan (ie. Mandarin Orange) at another station that has the honorary position of Station Master. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to see him but his posters were fun to spot throughout the Metro.
Fo Guang Shan Giant Buddha and Museum
The scale of this Buddhist temple is unbelievable. The newer temple complex has the tallest (130 feet) seated bronze Buddha statue in the world. Underneath this statue is a museum that includes a stunning set of jade reliefs and a reclining white jade Buddha representing the moment just before Buddha passed and reached Nirvana. But the star of the site is a highly revered, tooth relic from Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha and founder of Buddhism), saved from his cremation pyre in 543 BCE (no pictures allowed). The tooth is placed high on an alter in an elaborate, crystal reliquary.
The older neighboring complex includes a monastery and has a massive, posed Buddha surrounded by 480 gold Buddhas. We were able to walk through a tunnel underneath the largest statue that showcases the life of Buddha. It is a powerful experience and you emerge with a sense of enlightenment. Truly amazing!
Hiking Shoushan National Natural Park
They call it Monkey Mountain for a reason. Shoushan Hiking Area is located west of downtown Kaohsuing. It was our first hike where there were many mischievous macaque monkeys (say that three times fast). In the upper right picture, Diane shows off her monkey defense stick as she was leery of passing them on the trails. The pictures in the lower left shows how locals are trying to keep monkeys out of their scooters. We were told they will rip the seats and trash the compartment underneath the seat in search of food. While we were there we actually saw a monkey raiding the scooter he was sitting on (lower right picture). We met the scooter’s owner and friend who were chagrined since they are locals and should have known better. Luckily the monkey only got their drink cup and didn’t trash the scooter.
Qijin District
Qijin (or Cijin) is a small, narrow island off Kaohsuing easily reached with a five minute ferry ride. There’s also a road bridge but the colorful ferry whisks happy tourists across efficiently. The weather was beautiful but unfortunately it wasn’t quite warm enough to swim in the ocean. We enjoyed a nice walk along the beach and hiked up to the lighthouse with a panoramic view.
Lunar New Year in Tainan
We checked out of our hotel in Kaohsuing and hopped on the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Tainan. We checked into the Lakeshore Hotel (nowhere near a lake or a shore, but it does have a fabulous pool) for a 10 day stay over the Lunar New Year. Tainan was where the Dutch settled to trade in the 1600s, was the capitol of Taiwan until the late 1800s, and has a dense concentration of historic temples. We were a bit worried about restaurant closures during this time, but with a bit of research and help from the front desk we didn’t have a problem finding something to eat, and the hotel served a wonderful buffet breakfast each morning.
Shennong Street
One fun area we found was Shennong Street. It is a narrow pedestrian street with many restaurants and bars. Speakeasys can be a bit gimmicky, but we enjoyed 龍九坊 (Longjiufang) where you have to dial 9 on an antique phone for the hidden door to be unlocked (two lower right pictures). The bartenders made creative drinks and it was fun watching people on the CCTV trying to figure out how to get in. The izakaya aka. gastropub 吳留手串燒居酒屋-台南店 (Wu Liu) in the lower left picture was really popular, and we were lucky enough to get a reservation. The food was excellent!
Anping District
We had a great walking tour of the Anping District where we wandered down back streets and learned about the history of the area. The Anping Sword Lions in the top pictures help fight off evil spirits. People still decorate their homes with these symbols to help guide the spirits. We also saw ornate sculptures and models of ships that spiritually protect the local sailors. Our tour guide also pointed out Bixi (pronounced bee-she), dragon-turtles, who symbolize strength and longevity, and happily carry heavy tablets with poems written on them. Side note: Diane’s dad has always called raisins bee-she buttons, so we found these dragon-turtles endearing.
Lunar New Years Eve!
Tainan turned on ALL the lights for Lunar New Years Eve ushering in the year of the Fire Horse. We wandered around the streets and enjoyed the decorations. The temples were busy with families praying for a good New Year, people were out and about, and restaurants and stores were closed. We watched at one temple as people lined up to walk under an elevated deity to receive spiritual protection. We decided to participate and the priest gave us a sweet candy as we exited. (lower right picture).
New Years Eve Lanterns
Thousands of beautifully hand painted lanterns were strung throughout the city, mainly in the streets surrounding the temples. The creativity was amazing. Walking underneath their glow was magical. We felt fortunate to be here during this festive time.
The Journey Continues!
We had a great Lunar New Year in Tainan. There was plenty to do and we also had some time to catch up on travel planning. The city was busy with people visiting their families to celebrate, and the temples and streets were fun to explore all decked out for the holiday.
For the next leg of our circuit around Taiwan we rented a car and headed up into the mountains: Alishan National Forest and Sun Moon Lake. We will cover that adventure in our next blog.
Amazing trip! Can’t believe you two have been traveling for a year!