“I need to get the hell out of Taipei,” I thought to myself. I never liked staying in one place for too long. It starts to become your whole world and contributes to you losing perspective. I decided that Kaohsiung would be a good place to go. See the sights and, you know, do a little bit of that ol’ sarging.
I didn’t make any plans. Didn’t even look up where I would stay. I just packed my bag and headed to the Train Station.
Getting There
If you take the regular train (aka. the slow one) it takes about 6 hours to arrive. The bus is about the same, depending on traffic. The high speed rail takes only 2.5 hours.
First Impressions – Nice Weather
First, the weather is a billion times nicer than Taipei. When I left Taipei, it was raining like crazy. I took my umbrella but still got soaked. Kaohsiung was nice and sunny. I was felt carrying my umbrella looking like one of those guys who wants to keep his skin milky white.
From what I understand it doesn’t rain much in Kaohsiung.
Chillax Ppl But Not Many Sights To See
The city is a lot slower and laid back than Taipei. MRT’s only come along every 4-6 minutes. When they do arrive you’re almost guaranteed to find a seat. I’ve been told that this MRT is hemorrhaging money.
If you exit Kaohshiung Main Station and head towards the MRT, you’ll see a building up ahead. It’s where you can pick up a map detailing all the sights to see here. Stuff is pretty Taiwan typical. Night markets and uhhh….. more night markets.
However, there is Monkey Mountain. The name is self explanatory. I didn’t go because there’s no easy way to get there. You pretty much have to have a scooter or hire a taxi to go there. Plus I didn’t want a monkey jacking me for my backpack. I’ve seen Congo. Fuck that shit.
Sarging
Pick up wise, I feel like Kaohsiung has tons of potential. I asked two different girls for directions and they actually gave me a scooter ride to where I wanted to go! Fucking unheard of in Taipei. In fact, one of the girls started calling up her friends and asking them if they wanted to take me out. Fucking incredible. I tried to make something happen with her but it never did.
Clubs
There are two main clubs here. I didn’t go to either. But here are the locations copied from the wikitravel article.
Lamp, 3F, 42 Zihciang 3rd Rd (MRT Sanduo Shopping District Station Exit 1, across from the 2 legged skyscraper)
Dreams, 125 Nantian St (MRT Sanduo Shopping District Station Exit 4, behind Sogo,)
I really want to try out night game here.
A lot of the sets I opened were really keen and eager to talk to me even on the street.
Long Term Stay
Kaohsiung is much cheaper than Taipei. I talked to some foreigners and they said to rent an apartment at a happening place like “Kaohsiung Area” costs about 5000NT or so.
Short Term Stay
The E Shie Hotel is a place I found near the two clubs. Rooms start from 600NT a night.
I ended up staying with some random person I met. I was walking around “Central park”, which is like Ximen and ended up meeting another foreigner who ran a hostel type of deal. He charged me 300NT to stay in his spare bedroom. At his place I ended up meeting his roomie and he invited me to go kick it in Kenting. It was fun. You never know what’s gonna happen when you travel.
The guys card is below:
