From Taitung to Kaohsiung - Meeting the ambassador

To spare my phone battery, I wrote the following on the back of a map of Kenting I printed out before my departure. A place I would eventually not go to. You start with a travel plan in mind but after all the advice and suggestions from locals, also taking in consideration the weather and your travel buddies, the plan can change a few times before and even during your trip. You will need to make choices between destinations, skip attractions and end up in places and see things you did not plan to. If you cannot handle this kind of changes; you better book the Chinese 14-days around Taiwan bus tour.

I skipped Kenting and went straight to Kaohsiung, a city that wasn't part of my initial travel plan. I ended up going there because I just visited Orchid Island which is very similar to Kenting in the following way: A lot of beaches, so great sunsets and sunrises and both great places to dive. Since I experienced all of that during my 2.5 days stay on Orchid Island, I happily exchanged Kenting for Kaohsiung, the 2^nd biggest city of Taiwan. When comparing Kaohsiung to Taipei, I would say it is clearly less populated/busy and a couple degrees warmer than Taipei. Kaohsiung is the place where you take a boat on the love river and enjoy the city view at night, also the place where the national park is just a walk away from the river where you are literally walking with apes and of course a place where you can enjoy great and cheap seafood dishes. I was on my way there, so this was the introduction I got from my local friends.

I said John’s family goodbye and see you soon at the train station where our ways would separate. They would head back to Taipei whereas I would take the train to Kaohsiung. Well on time, I relaxed a bit in the station main area which wasn't big at all but cosy enough and headed to the platform 10 minutes before the train would arrive. While standing there with my huge back pack, waiting for the train to arrive, a man approached me...

He started talking to me, asking me where I come from and what I am doing in Taiwan. His English was very good so it was easy to communicate. I told him about my travel plans while he explained that he was working for the Taiwanese embassy in the Netherlands. He’s Taiwanese from origin but after living 6 years in the Netherlands, his Dutch was perfect. We continued our conversation in Dutch (I think). He told me that his recent move to Taiwan has been a hard time for him adjusting to the heat and humidity again but he was also happy to be back ‘home’. He was on his way to a city close enough to Kaohsiung where he was going to visit a military base. He was on a mission that involved guiding a few Dutch journalists who were working on an article that involved much research into the different military bases of Taiwan. He took the train alone because the journalists were fine driving there by car. He told me that he has always been amazed by the independence and courage of young Dutch women backpacking on their own, finding their way and all. Even though I am not Dutch, I understood his compliment and thanked him for it. Eventually, he ended up sitting in front of me but he was so tired that he fell asleep when the train started moving.  

It's these kind of encounters that make travelling alone so worth it. The fact is, wherever you go, you always have the choice to be as alone as you want to be. When you are feeling alone, open yourself up, dare to approach strangers, and turn them into your travel companions. Even if it's just for 5 minutes, it's another chat, another story to tell, another moment to share...  

During my trip, travelling by train and bus often gave me the opportunity to catch up on my writing and so I did.