‘Kuch Kuch' Kaohsiung

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It was a quiet, no-fuss entry into a quiet, no-fuss city!
I’d arrived from Taipei, courtesy the Taiwan High Speed Rail, and the 96 – minute ride – with a stop at Taichung – was ‘smooth as flowers’. The High Speed Rail network is a marvel of Taiwan’s engineering prowess, and the super-fast trains literally glide across the country.
My brief visit made one thing amply clear. Kaohsiung is a city of substance. My hotel, The Splendor Kaohsiung, provided a perfect setting. Taiwan’s highest building until overtaken by Taipei 101, the hotel is still the highest in the country, and the view from its Tuntex 85 Skytower is truly stunning. While three corners focus on the sprawling city, one presents a pristine view of the calm, pale blue sea and Kao Port. The Skytower’s got it all – telescopes, seating, signages, and a refreshment counter. All I had to do was get into a special elevator to be whisked up for the visual treats.
My city exploration was a continuation of the treat. Things being spaced out means one has to drive around from point to point. My starting point was Horizon, a company that employs some seven hundred staff, has four shipyards, and is ranked among the top ten yacht companies in the world. Seeing as their yachts are priced from 5 to 32 million U.S. Dollars, I politely declined the kind offer of buying one.
Eager to provide me with a complete local experience, my hosts had slotted baseball into my hectic schedule, and evening saw me seated – rather comfortably, I might add, what with the beer and hamburgers – in the VIP section of the stadium to see Uni-Lions try to get the better of EDA – Rhinos. I must confess baseball holds no great charm for me, but good sport that I am, I relished the overall experience, especially the beer and hamburgers.
The next day started extremely pleasantly because not only did the restaurant of the hotel serve up a gigantic breakfast, but the harbor view was breathtaking. What with all this munificence, I was in rather a good mood when they whisked me to the Pier – 2 Art Center, located next to the old Yancheng Commercial Harbour. This is a very interesting quarter of the city, with its own story to tell. An old warehouse complex built by the Japanese to store sugarcane, fist meal and granulated sugar, the site got an image makeover in 2000 with a group of artists establishing experiential art. With the harbor opened up for locals and visitors, and some twenty- five warehouses staging art shows and related events, Pier – 2 Art Center is now a local showpiece.
Meal time is a good time in Taiwan. There’s simply so much good food around, with the emphasis being on freshness. Seated at Old & New,arguably among Taiwan’s frontrunners in serving delicious local cuisine, I decided it was time to inform our motley group that I wasn’t exactly a greenhorn myself when it came to art appreciation. Everyone listened intently, but it was obvious that all attention centred around the food. Well, fair enough! It was seafood of the highest quality, and as tasty as one could have wished it to be.
Eager to establish the fact that I could do other things besides eat and drink, I ended up at the Kaohsiung Dragon Boat Festival and International Dragon Boat Races, whichare deeply embedded in Taiwanese psyche and draw huge crowds of locals and foreigners. The stretch of the river that stages races becomes something like a giant stadium with cheering spectators lining both banks. Without a clue about the teams’ classification and such like, I nevertheless, joined in on the cheering as a matter of good form.
I’d sized things up. As a city, Kaohsiung can be what you make of it. It’s got a bit of everything. If you’re looking for big-city hype, you can get your money’s worth in the swanky shopping malls and fancy restaurants. But it’s also got something for those seeking a glimpse at the Orient of old.
It’s this blend of the old and new, and modern and traditional that imbues it with its innate charm.
And then there’s all that sumptuous seafood just waiting to be devoured by the hungry and bold!

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