reallyjillytravels

Sunday, June 11, 2023, Keelung, Taiwan We arrived about noon for an overnight stay at the port of Keelung, Taiwan. The ship was berthed in the center of town. Keelung has a huge port, but the city itself is relatively walkable. We decided last night not to make the hour trek to Taipei even though friends offered a free ship tour. Instead, our plan was to take the local bus to Yenliu Geopark, about 11 miles away, with unusual geological formations found only there. We got a map in the port building and exchanged dollars for “new dollars.” View from the ship Outside the port building we had the good fortune to speak to a young Geopark guide who told us Heping Island Park has virtually the same landscape and is much closer than the Geopark. He told us where to find the closest bus stop. Keelung isn’t huge, but big enough with plenty of traffic. We walked a couple of blocks to the bus stop, a large hub. Bus 101 would get us to Heping Island, and thanks to Google maps we knew it was comin...

  Saturday, June 10, 2023, Kohsiung, Taiwan We arrived in Kohsiung, Taiwan about 10:30 am. This city has one of the largest ports in the world.  Kohsiung, Taiwan from our ship We took advantage of the ship’s shuttle bus running between the passenger port and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Formosa Boulevard Station. Probably for this reason we decided against a tour and decided to tackle public transportation, always a gamble in a foreign country. True to form, this day had its share of confusing moments.  Kohsiung from the shuttle bus Our goal to see the Zuoying District with its Lotus Pond, one of the top tourist attractions of Southern Taiwan. The Tiger and Dragon pagodas and the Confucius Temple dot the shoreline of this man-made lake. The subway station entrances are identified with glass pyramids. The bus dropped us off at the Formosa Boulevard Station #1 glass pyramid. We found our way into the pyramid and down to the subway station, then to the information booth. We ...