Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Taiper > KaohSiung via Train

Look at all the train tickets I got myself! I love trains! It should be four tickets, but my friend asked me to not buy the leg from KaohSiung to Tainan yet. Since it was nearby, there was no need to but it in advance, and that she might join me for a day trip there if she is available. With tickets in hand, off I went to look for the train station to start my journey around Taiwan!

Train station was easy enough to find. I was there early to check the platform I was supposed to board at cause I wanted to see how far I need to walk to get there if I went to queue for my bento lunch. I would have to take a risk here that once I walked thru those gantry, it would be at most a 15mins walk to reach the train, and that it was not going to be a maze or total chaos at the train track.  Now, how badly do I really need to get those bento? I already have some onigiri rice ball in my bag as backup.

Look at the queue of the bento lunch set! It was so value for money that a lot of old people were actually queueing before the shop open just to get a set. I didn't want to appear so "kiasu" as to queue before the stall open. But the queue keeps getting longer. OMG, how badly do I need this bento? Anyway, I recall it opens at 930am, and I queued and gave myself up to 945am to purchase a bento. That would give me 5mins to run to the gantry, and hopefully 10 minutes was enough time to board the train.

 

Ta-dah! Success! This was the most exciting bento I've ever purchased! And I am so glad I bought it. It was a long ride to KaohSiung, and mid way into the ride, I happily open my bento and ate it. Would you believe it, I didn't even know what I bought? I just went with what I could afford, and it turned out to be pork chop rice. Super delicious cause I was hungry, and the view as the train rush by the country side of Taiwan makes a great companion to my lovely meal. One task to check off my check-list!

Before I move on to the KaohSiung entry, I wanted to share how comical things can be in Taiwan. Apart from my weird lodging in my first hostel being allocated to a guy's floor, and the ridiculous queue for the train bento, here are a few more moments I've captured. Above, while I was trying to take a photo of the train stations before I reach my destination, a bunch of kids put their hands up on the sign excitingly.... So the photo I took was pretty useless as they blocked out a few of the stations along the way....-______- When I travel, I usually will check the stop before my destination, or the timing (if I am in Japan), so that I am aware and get ready to jump off. Luckily, I have my roaming data. I don't really trust my mandarin listening power either!

Last one, above is a sign found in the hostel. I think it says something about mobile phone use to avoid danger. But look at the illustration on the top left. How cute is is that they put the words "Oh Shit!" in red? That really made my day :)

Carry on.....Onwards to KaohSiung!