Clever signs

I may be a writer, but I can never come up with clever puns. When I see or hear someone else with a slick line, I am gobsmacked — like the CBC radio show, The Debaters, I shake my head at their quick wit, and of course, laugh!

kenting national park?

Before I left the southern tip of Taiwan, I had to check something with Kenting National Park’s information center. I’d visited the centre when I first arrived, but I was confused because I felt I had missed the national park!

Kenting night market

Kenting night market was mostly food with a bit of jewellery and souvenirs thrown in. The four-lane road that ran through the southern Taiwan shopping area became two, with stalls that people strolled past.

surviving taiwan’s byways

I was told in South Korea that drivers would stop for pedestrians 50% of the time — I’d say maybe 10% — but in Taiwan, never — not even on a zebra crossing or with a green walk sign flashing.

It didn’t take long to adapt with my eyes radiating in all directions when I crossed a street. If a motor scooter headed my way, I learned to trust that the driver would swerve by me.

those who lay silent

I meandered down a narrow lane before returning to Hengchun. An old signpost at the entrance hinted that some of the graves around the laneway might be from the town’s ancient past.

Taiwan’s southern most tip

Eluanbi Park was famous for its lighthouse built with a moat and loopholes for cannons to ward off Taiwan’s original inhabitants — protesting aborigines against Chinese invasion. It was built in 1882, but there were far better sights to see along the trails that criss-crossed the promontory.

Hengchun’s last gate

I returned to Hengchun after a few days. That last gate, West Gate, that I’d missed niggled at me because it wasn’t every day I got to explore a walled town.

the ancient town of hengchun

When the bus rolled through Hengchun on the way to Kenting (pronounced Ken-ting), it appeared like the dingiest route, but I still wanted to explore its narrow streets. On my return, I headed to its most photographed site, Hengchun’s South Gate.