Today marked my first visit to "Monkey Mountain," as it is colloquially known by my fellow foreigners, or as the locals call it "Shoushan Mountain" or "Gushan Mountain" (many maps say different names).

If you ever visit Kaohsiung, Taiwan, you definitely should check out this place, especially if you like hiking and/ or monkeys!

But be prepared to spend at least an hour or two; "Monkey Mountain" is quite large. There are a few different entry points and many hiking trails for you to discover. We spent at least a good three hours up there and we didn't even cover half of the map.

How to Get There

To get to the area you can walk, scooter, taxi or bus to it. If you decide to bus, take the "Shoushan Zoo" bus # 56. It goes right by the park.

My boyfriend and I took our scooter up to the park entrance right by the "Shoushan Zoo" and started our hike from there.

If you aren't sure if you are going in the right direction, just look out for the giant yellow banana signs with arrows and a monkey (they're about 6ft tall). I'm sure you'll figure it out even though it has writing in Chinese.

It bears mentioning: going in December was great!

The weather stayed cool, so I didn't sweat too much, even though I covered a lot of ground walking on many of the mountain's trails.

Here are some of the things you might see before the hike. If you spot these, you'll know you're in the right direction.

If you come up from the north, you'll most-likely see these sights!

A great spot to see the city on higher grounds.

The road up to the park.

A panorama of the road up to "Monkey Mountain"

If you come up from the south side you'll see signs about the "Martyr's Shrine." You're in the right direction. Keep going up!

Stairs up to the "Martyr's Shrine"

"Martyr's Shrine"

Here are some of the sights I saw while exploring "Monkey Mountain."

Twisted tree roots

"Bamboo Sanctuary"

An intricate path to a great 'vista' of Kaohsiung.

Chairs for sitting on.

Wild flowers and plants.

And of course, the MONKEYS!

A monkey in hiding.

Just sittin' around.

Monkey getting it's daily check up.

Don't forget to dress according to the weather and bring some water!

There are bathrooms and people selling food and beverages by the main entrance, in case you forget.

Happy Monkey Spotting!

Two Little Monkeys Swingin' in a Tree

Almost everyone in Kaohsiung, especially those over the age of 50, hang out at parks for part of their day, literally.

You can always find old men hanging off of pull-up bars or in this case, trees.
It may seem like these people have nothing better to do, which may be the case, but the Taiwanese believe that stretching and exercising is vital to living longer, healthier lives.

So get on it!

Check out these cats:

Stretching it out in Central Park

Thinking Tree

I think I've found the perfect tree to contemplate under.

There are many in the area, but this tree is different. If this man leaves, I call dibs.

My Thinking Tree
location: Central Park

Photo of the Day

One of the first day trips Sean and I made in Kaohsiung was to Cijin Island. 

There is much to see and do on this little island and I'll tell you about that later, but one of the coolest things they have on the island is a windmill park. It's one of the prettier sites and it's a great method of alternative energy creation.

Windmill Park, Cijin Island

Asian Nickelodeon?

This is what I spotted along the Love River by the Film Archive in Kaohsiung.

Secret Garden

I found this "Secret Garden" in the old city of Yancheng looking out from the roof of my friends' (Tristan & Al's) apartment.

I must find the entrance to this garden oasis! It's beautiful!

Kaohsiung Thus Far

I've been living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for about two weeks now and all I can say is: so far, so good. 

I could really get used to this! …I better, since I'll be here for at least a year.

Here are some of the reasons why Kaohsiung is such a great place to live:

1)Taiwanese people are so modest, polite and always willing to help. 

Although, I could look like the typical Taiwanese and have been told that I might be allegedly 'tricking people with my inability to speak mandarin (ha ha ha),' pretty much every person I've encountered has tried to help me or has passed me on to someone who might be of better help (aka a better English better). 

I have met a few people who have 'demonstrated' an understanding for English but I think more people have a basic competency in English than one would initially have been lead to believe. Taiwanese modesty just prevents them from floundering in a language that they're not fully fluent in.

Here is one of the friendly faces you might find in Kaohsiung: a local, happy to welcome us to his restaurant on a sunday afternoon.

"Why you so handsome?" 

I heart, heart, heart you!

You can find this at a local grocery store in Taiwan (Cow's heart...or something's heart).

Rooftop View of Yancheng

This is a panoramic view above the city of Yancheng in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Sean and I had been living with our friends, Tristan and Al, in Kaohsiung for a little under a week. After having visited many other parts of Kaohsiung, I'd confidently state that Yancheng is one of the oldest towns in this part of Taiwan, in more than one sense.

The buildings are pretty old; the younger temples are from the late 18th century. The vast majority of the people we've seen walking around do so on feeble legs, walkers & various forms of mobility assistance. The average age is well over 30, I'm sure.

While this description of the town might make it sound boring, it is far from it. But more on that lat.

Snapshots before Taiwan

Chicago's O'hare Airport

JAL plane #1 

Interesting bird's eye view of part of the States

Flying over part of  Western Canada?

Snowy Tops

Flying over Japan

This is how the Japanese do it

If you live in Japan you have to get use to this; I don't think I could get use to this

Pretty Japanese Dolls

JAL plane #2 

Should you fly with Japan Airlines?

You should definitely fly JAL.

From the time I checked in, to the time I arrived in Koahsiung, Taiwan, I didn't have a single problem.

For a 13-hour economy class flight: the seats, the entertainment, the food, and the flight attendant service was all great. Each seat had it's own miniature TV (for movies, songs, games, & more) and the flight attendants were all very polite and fast on their feet.

They've even got Japanese 'pop' music on their flight.

If J-pop isn't for you, don't worry, the food is really the highlight.

Their food might look like cute little toys but it was all edible and most of it was pretty tasty for airplane food.

Take a look at some of their food for a long-haul flight:

Yup, they even give you Haagen Dazs.

The smoked salmon pasta was delicious!

Even for a short-haul flight, they feed you. Canadian and American airlines need to get on this! People still get hungry on 5-hour flights!

Lot of it looked stranged but they didn't taste strange.

If you don't like their main dishes, you can always ask for snacks; they'll give you delicious cookies (I ate both)!

And if all this doesn't put a smile on your face, maybe a friendly flyer will! I met a lovely gal named Makiko on the long-haul flight and we became friends. It made the whole trip soooo much nicer!

With great services and a great price (cheapest I've seen) to pay for a flight to Asia, Japan Airlines is your winner.

Happy Flyings!

Is there really such a thing as foreseeing bad luck?

It was just my luck; it was Saturday April the 16th when I flew to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Before I boarded my plane, my good luck charm on my bag broke off. I started to freak out and wonder if something bad was going to happen. Talk about paranoia; "Is going to asia for a whole year a bad idea?" In the past, I had worked on cruise ships for months at a time and I had gotten used to being away. Truth is, I had never been away from home (Toronto, Canada) for more than 4 months at a time. After a few minutes of contemplation, I realized that I was psyching myself out, and that I needed to STOP IT!.

At that very moment, upon my denouément, rain started to pour heavily outside. That old sense of paranoia started kicking in. Luckily, the flight (from Toronto to Chicago) was fine and I landed safely.

However, my backpack was not so lucky.

Since it was a small plane and I had a larger-sized backpack I had to valet my bag. When I got it back, I found half of my bag to be soaking wet. WTF, American Airlines?!

I opened up my bag to find all my cds and books wet! Out of all the things I had in my bag, it had to be the most water-soluble items. I was soo pissed! I went straight to an American Airlines representative, told them about what happened, and tried to file a complaint. They began sending me into a circle of service reps and random employees. They sent me to this guy then to that, making it close to impossible to permanently complain about their company. Aren't they clever, annoying little bastards. I bet if I had a positive comment it would be quoted on their website within the hour. As I had a connecting flight I had to let go of the issue and move on. I told the last American Airlines representative off (about their shitty service) and proceeded to my next flight (from Chicago to Toyko). Headed into a country that recently had a chernobyl-level nuclear accident. Just my luck, eh?



Heading to Narita, Japan