Kenting Beach Trip

We had this past Friday off of work for Tomb Sweeping Day, so some friends and I decided that we wanted to go to a music festival by the beach in a city called Kenting. We ended up going to Kenting, but never went to the music festival, and our trip turned in to something closely relating a spring break trip. It was incredibly crazy and fun.

Kenting is at the verrrry southern tip of Taiwan. On Friday morning, we took the high speed train to Kaohsiung, and then a bus from Kaohsiung to Kenting. The high speed train was awesome. It took an hour to get to Kaohsiung, and on the normal train it would have taken anywhere from 4-7 hours. The bus ride was a few hours long but not bad at all. We made it Kenting, and the weather was HORRIBLE. The most intense wind I've ever experienced. It kept raining as well, and was a little chilly. First we went to the campsite we would be staying at. Camping in the wind is a real challenge. We set up camp and dropped off some of our things. After that, we went and ate some Thai food, and then walked around and drank, trying to have fun despite the weather. I had THE BEST mojito ever from a random pop bar and the side of the street. It was $3US, and life changing. They tasted like my dad's mojitos from last summer and reminded me of home.

Waiting for the bus

The most beautiful flower in a pond at the camp site.

Windblown hair

At the camp site

Miriam and I

The view from where we were camping

Kenting

The best mojitos

While walking around we found the most beautiful beach ever. It was gorgeous. Take a look:

Me and my mojito <3

Katy and I

Furry boots on the beach?

Near the beach, we found a path and some stairs that passed by an adorable wall covered and sea animal paintings, and then the most tropical looking plants after that.

We then decided we should go back to the camp and get ready to go to this big party called Free The Beach. We were excited for the party but also bummed about the wind and rain. We got ready to go and as soon as we were ready to leave, the rain just poured down and we were trapped in our tents for awhile. When the rain finally stopped, we then headed off to the beach that we thought the party was at. It was maybe a 20 minute walk from our place to the beach. On the way, it started raining incredibly bad again. Huge, soaking rain drops. We were walking down the street getting soaked and arrived at the beach we thought we were suppose to be at. Turns out, the party wasn't at that beach. It was at a beach a 5 minute walk from our camp site. So we then had to walk allllllllllll the way back to where we started. The party was pretty fun, but a little boring at times. Some of my friends and I left the party to go get mojitos and then came back. We learned that it is REALLY hard to dance in the sand. And the music was just ok. But overall, it was pretty good.

Katy

Free The Beach 

Free The Beach

Free The Beach

We went to bed and hoped that the weather on Saturday would be better. And it was! It was beautiful and sunny and super hot so we headed to the beach to get some tanning and swimming in. It was amazing and just what I needed. Some time in the hot sun.

We got a little hungry and went to this really cute Mexican restaurant near the beach. I was so excited to get a margarita and a burrito. Those are two things I really, really miss from home! The burrito was delicious, and the margarita was the strongest drink I have ever had. It was a really intense marg, but it was so good that I went back for another later.

One happy camper

The cute restaurant

We did some more tanning and swimming and I got pretty sunburnt. I burned my ankles, thighs, stomach, chest, face, and the backs of my knees. It is pretty painful at the moment.

Ouch

After that we walked around and talked and shopped and drank before getting ready to go to the second night of Free The Beach. After getting ready, I walked around the night market with some friends and looked at all the food and stores around there. I tried snails for the first time. They were kind of gross and really spicy. Then I went to the party again. It was definitely not as good as the night before. We all met back up at the camp site and danced, drank, and made new friends so it turned into a wonderful night.

The best beach group ever

The snails

Free The Beach, night 2

Free The Beach, night 2

Free The Beach, night 2

This morning we packed up camp and headed home. It was a perfect trip. It was great to get away and enjoy some sunshine and sea. I had good food and good drinks with excellent friends. 

Nothing too eventful happened in my 8th month here, but this beach trip was a great start to month 9!