Kaohsiung and Kenting

Our beach weekend finally arrived!! But it came and went faster than we’d hoped. We spent over 4 hours of time traveling in the morning; including a 1 and half hour ride on the Taiwan High Speed Rail. We spent time at the scenic Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, where the colors and intricate designs of the temples in this country were finally at our fingertips. I was especially excited to get a tour of our next destination though: the 2009 World games stadium facility in Kaohsiung! This stadium, described as being shaped like a giant question mark, houses an 8,844 solar panel roof that generates 1.4 million kWh of electricity per year! It was unreal. The facility is in the final stages of its construction so it can be ready for the games in July.

I hope the events of the World Games this year will be on TV this coming July, because the facilities they are using are incredible. Some events that are scheduled for the World games that I would love to see in action are (but definitely not limited to) orienteering, fin swimming, and rhythmic gymnastics.

After our tour, we spent the following 2 hour bus ride with a karaoke party on the way to the beach. Aya stole all of our hearts with her solo of Suriyaki, one of the best Japanese tunes I have ever heard. It topped our versions of Hey! Jude and Jingle Bells by a long shot. 

When we finally arrived at the beach in Kenting, we embraced the Pacific Ocean with wetsuits, lifejackets, and snorkel gear. Our adventures of water activities for the following 3 hours included banana boating, a high speed boat ride, and snorkeling along the coral reefs. I absolutely loved it! We made some new friends with the snorkeling instructors, and even ran into one later that night in town! :) He was having quite the good time when we ran into him!

Dinner that night was delicious; no surprises there! And then we went out to hit the town for the first time without supervision or any NTSU students. I know, we are all growing up so fast! But it was quite the adventure to say the least from that moment on. I would say we experienced more than we would have imagined experiencing in one night! Needless to say, a great and probably once-in-a-lifetime night was had by all! Back near the hotel we were staying in, we found a nook beneath the rocks that lined an amazing cove along the shore. We spent the rest of the night beneath the stars and cool night getting to know one another and just enjoying what little time we had left on this trip together.

The following morning came early, as we wanted to get the most out of our morning at the beach. This time, we went to a more commercialized area than the previous day and spent a couple hours of some serious R&R on the sand. The weather was perfect, and I finally got to catch up on my reading. We left the beach around noon, showered, packed our things, and headed to the National Sport Training center, where the majority of the athletes competing in the World Games train and get treatment. Seeing their facilities and how the athletic training facilities work here was such a great experience for all of us. I think we all saw the difference this job does and how much of an impact it can make in the real world.

Lotus Pond

Kenting beach

National Training Facility

2009 World Games Stadium