Kenting and Early Birthday

Two weekends ago Erin and I finally had the opportunity to travel down to Kenting.  We had booked a room at a very expensive hotel because it was the only one we could find for the time we could go.  We hadn't worked out transportation before-hand though, just hoping to get on a bus when we went to the Kaohsiung main train station.  Amazingly enough, on our subway ride to the train station we ran into another teacher from the school and her friend from Taipei.  They happened to be traveling to Kenting as well.  We ended up getting on a shuttle together for the ride down there thanks to our new friend.


Once in our room we were overcome by the view and the peacefulness of the crashing waves.  We spent much of the rest of the afternoon just relaxing and listening to the waves.  By dinner time we walked into town to find throngs of people and a lively night market.  People were packed out into the street, but we were still able to find an Italian eatery for dinner.

The next day we rented a scooter from a paintball (and scooter-rental) place across from our hotel.  We then went up to the Kenting Recreation Park which had some very nice trails, caves, and lookouts.  We're looking at going back in December.  We then rode back into town for a delicious Thai lunch before cruising down the road a bit.  The wind had picked up though, so we stopped at a beach to look at some tide pools before heading back to our hotel to check out.  All in all it was a nice trip, but we're definitely looking to spend some more time there in the future.

Last weekend care packages arrived from both my parents and my aunt and uncle.  They were so kind to get us some non-perishable things that we haven't been able to find here.  As they were ostensibly for my birthday I hesitated to open the packages, but then went ahead feeling that there was no reason we shouldn't be enjoying them currently.  I feel very blessed to have such a caring and supportive family who would do so much to help Erin and I all the way out here. 


What got me and Erin most was the high cost of shipping and we feel bad that we didn't mention the shipping company we used to ship our stuff out here.  Shipnex (http://www.shipnex.com/) was a bit difficult to navigate and be sure that we were using the right service (since it looks more geared towards commercial shipping), but it was also much less expensive than UPS or the US postal service.  So I want to thank everyone again for everything they've sent us and apologize for not mentioning this shipping service before.


Next week Erin and I will be celebrating my birthday by going out to see the new Harry Potter movie in the "Gold Class" theater where they have individual recliners, serve you food and alcohol, and generally treat you like a VIP.  The following week we will be in Hong Kong for the Thanksgiving break.  We're looking forward to a well-deserved break and a chance to get out of town for a couple of days.