Taiwan Trip 2015 (台灣30天環島記) - Day 12: Kenting 墾丁( 船帆石風景區 Sail Rock Scenic Area, Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔, Taiwan Southern Most Point 臺灣最南點, 鯊魚咬土司 Shark Bites
Today was more of a relaxed day after the gruesome surfing experience yesterday. After having another pork chop burger (this was my staple breakfast almost everyday in Taiwan) at a Taiwanese breakfast shop nearby the hotel, I got my scooter's battery replaced and then headed off to the eastern side of the Kenting National Park. Weather today was exceptionally well too with clear blue skies and some sun.
 |
| Scenery at Sail Rock |
From Kenting main street you will pass by Little Bay or Xiaowan 小灣 which is more quiet and has a sandy beach. Then I arrived at Sail Rock Scenic Area which is even more quiet and has a range of B&B's which seemed nice, at least nicer than the ones over at the popular Nanwan and Mainstreet. Another option to consider if you seclusion is the top of your list. Don't worry though there's still 7-11 here and a lot of scooters to be rented out for tourists to travel around. The only downside here is that there is no sandy beach (as per picture above) and mostly consists of coral reef rocks. The scenery. however, is definitely much more beautiful.
Then I moved towards another famous landmark in Kenting, which was the Eluanbi Lighthouse located at Eluanbi Park. The whole park is actually quite huge and there is a lot to explore here. The entrance fee was NTD 50 if I recorded correctly and I had to pay NTD 20 for parking my scooter.
Apparently this place was also very popular with the locals, the school students especially, whom arrived by the the bus loads. But all they do was just to take group photos in front of the light house and then leave. Hilarious. Anyway, the Eluanbi lighthouses is one of the few significant lighthouses around Taiwan which was essential for its port status. The other prominent lighthouses would be at Danshui, Kaohsiung and a few other places. If you are here do spend some time to read the history of the lighthouse which can be found in the premises. Otherwise it's just nothing but another lighthouse here.
Apart from the lighthouse, the park also offers many trails to take a stroll about. I took the path which brought me to the edge of the shore, which was also filled with coral reef rocks. Nothing too crazy this time.
The last stop of the day was at the southernmost point of Taiwan, which was a stone's throw away from Eluanbi park. This place just reminds of Tanjung Piai, which is the southernmost part of the Asian continent haha. Stopped by to take some photos and then I left. By this point I was already a bit bored by all the similar scenery so I decided to skip some other famous sites such as Long Tan, Fengchuisha and Jialeshui and headed back to Kenting Mainstreet. Probably I will be back again next time to catch the sunset.
All in all, personally I think Kenting's best beaches are just slightly above average. If you are expecting beautiful, white sandy beaches with pristine clear water then no, this is not the place. Having said that, the touristy and partying feel (bikini babes & macho men) is definitely much better here (during the summer months) compared to the likes of Langkawi. As a mainland beach (would be unfair to compare to an island beach which is less commercialised) it is really quite decent, and probably better than the Kuta beach in Bali.
I decided to splurge on lunch today considering that my dinner tonight had already been paid for as I will be heading over to the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium (國立海洋生物博物館) for a stay tonight. Can't wait for that. The restaurant is called Shark Bites 鯊魚咬土司which is located nearby Langkawi hotel and serves mostly toasts and some Italian food. I ordered the Pork Chop risotto which comes with a garlic bread, salad and a drink for NTD 310. It tasted quite good for a franchise, or maybe I've not eaten enough risotto to tell the difference. With that I then headed off to the aquarium!
Comments