Hello,
some recommendation for a 2 Day Trip to Kaohsiung ??
Greetings
Ralf
We are going on a Kaohsiung trip on Monday-Wednesday and will write an article about it. But I am sure there are people here living down there, who can tell you immediately. 
What kind of things do you like to do? Indoor/outdoor? Cultural/natural? I like Monkey Mountain and Lotus Lake. These are typical tourist spots. If you’re going by HSR, I recommend the information booth at the station. The staff are very helpful and speak good English.
Make sure to use mosquito repellent. Dengue fever is currently doing the rounds and there have been deaths.
@Hannes, no problem i will go there at 11.11 so is fine.
@Petrichor, yes i go there with HSR. Indoor/outdoor any Spot is welcome.
OK, came back from Kaohsiung yesterday. Based on our short trip to the city I have some suggestions. But since this was only my second time in Kaohsiung I know nothing really. You might want to wait until someone who knows the city better chimes in (Steven Crook still posting here? 
).
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I like taking boats and ferries, so taking the ferry to Qijin Island was obligatory for me. There, we walked up to the lighthouse, which was closed (Monday), great, and the Qihou Fort. I really liked that one. Great view of city and Qijin beach. Very windy. Nice place, especially if you have an interest in history. We saw a tiny mouse with a long nose too. Super cute.
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We did take a taxi all the way to the Hongmao Cultural Center (?), need to check the official English, which is opposite the southern end of Qijin Island. It took almost an hour to get there, taxi driver didn’t know the route and there was a detour. The drive there is through endless gray and dusty industrial areas, but the cultural site is actually very cool. If you are lucky you can see one of the huge cargo ships or cruise liners enter the harbor. We saw a nice sunset too. While there we found out that a ferry goes once a day there from the city, probably a much better option, because you get to see the whole harbor on the way as well. If you take a cab there, you might want to ask the driver to wait for you. Must be impossible to get a taxi come down there and take you back to the city.
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On Qijin we took a four-wheel electric pedicab (?). We wanted to see some of the new stuff they have built there recently in the seaside park, like a giant shell, but right now it seems all a bit unfinished with construction still going on.
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I wanted to go up 85 Tower to see the city from above, but time didn’t allow us to do so. Go to the new Exhibition Center to get a good look of the building from below. In the same area is also the new library, which I found mildly interesting. Another place interesting for its architecture is the Dadong Cultural Center. Interesting lighting in the evening.
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We went up to the Martyrs Shrine at Shoushan where they have erected a LOVE sign, which is illuminated in the evening. Great views from there over the city. We took a cab and asked the driver to pick us up later. It’s too far to walk all the way down the mountain, so better make arrangements ahead.
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I saw quite a few bike rental stations, and I probably would have rented one of the city’s bikes to explore on two wheels, but did not have enough time. The subway has only two lines and is therefore not getting you everywhere you might want to go. Oh, we did a test ride on the new light rail line. Very uneventful, cause right now the line just has a few stops in the middle of nowhere. Should be better once they have finished the stretch that goes by the exhibition center.
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We also went to E-Day World Theme Park, which is more something for mall shoppers and theme park goers. They have this huge rotating thing, which is really scary. Would not go on that, too old for that.
We took a ride on the Ferris Wheel instead, which was nothing more special than the Miramar Wheel in Taipei. If anything the view from up there reveals the ugly sight of the whole complex the gray buildings and a huge chunk of unfinished buildings (probably had to stop construction because of legal issues?) -
What else? You now can take a “gondola” cruise on the Love River, with the “gondoliere” singing Taiwanese hits… if that’s up your alley.
Renting bikes and cycling around on the bike lanes is the best idea I think to see some of the highlights of the city. Monkey mountain is a great time but depends how much you like monkeys. The monkeys are very intimidating for young children.
Monkey Mountain has a lot of great trails but Banpingshan is similar but smaller and it doesn’t have any monkeys. theworldisnotthatbig.com/2015/08 … an-taiwan/
Hannes hit on some of the good spots in town. The Pier 2 Art Center might be interesting on a weekend. I dislike the famous Lotus Pond but many love this type of stuff.
I like the Secret Beach on the ocean side of Monkey Mountain near Jhongshan University. I have never written up the directions to this one yet so as of now it is a secret.
to be honest I always describe Kaohsiung as a very nice place to live (aside from the pollution) but an average place to visit. I try to get out of town every weekend.
So we went to Kaohsiung two weeks ago and did some sightseeing. Here’s a video about the trip. The two restaurants were actually quite nice. Good food and relaxed atmosphere. The two hotels were OK. Just Sleep has a nice vegetarian restaurant, we didn’t have lunch or dinner there, but the breakfast buffet was good. I was surprised by the darkness and lack of people inside the metro stations. Taipei Metro is so much more modern and crowded. The ride on the Light Rail System was boring, cause there was nothing to see along the line. Qijin Beach is not a great beach, but good to have a beach so close to the city center.
[quote=“alone1”]But I am sure there are people here living down there, who can tell you immediately.
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Apparently not?
Right now the light rail route doesn’t go anywhere (4 stops and maybe 2.5 kms). They are only running it to show it to people and probably to get some minor operational glitches out of the system. It shouldn’t be too long (months) before it connects the depot to Dream Mall and then onto the Love River. Sometime in the next year they should have it finished all the way to Siziwan Station going past Pier 2 Art Center. Some have questioned the usefulness of this initial line during the week for work but those are 3 really crowded tourist (and locals) areas on weekends connecting to the MRT in two spots.
It will be a beautiful route along the Harbourside and connect lots of the touristy and shopping spots. Can’t wait to try it when it’s operational.
Two short videos. One about Good Day Teahouse and Sky Lounge and the other about The Tree House hotel.
One more, about the Now and Then Restaurant
Wow, you have shared a really nice information about this city of Kaohsiung. I have been visited there and had great fun there. so I like to share with all of you guys. I like its some attractions like Tuntex Sky Tower, Liuhe Night Market, Love River and Cihou Fort
I might be late coming to the party as I only got back last month, but if anyone is contemplating a visit to the Lotus Pond, the Tiger and Dragon are undergoing major renovation until late 2024 so are in no way photogenic or accessible. The boardwalks surrounding are also closed off. If your visit is primarily to see these pagodas it may be worth reconsidering. The remaining temples are still open and a walk around the pond is still ok.
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The temple right across from there is my favorite in town
Oh no!!! Thanks for letting me know…we’re going next month.
We went there last month and you could still go inside but the exterior was all under construction. Some local told us it hadn’t been renovated in over 100 years, and then I googled it and found they were built in the early 70s 
. It’s not really worth going to be honest, they are very plastic “made in China” looking.
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Is that the one with the beautiful koi pond inside?
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Yeah, with the dragons. Sometimes I just go there and chill
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