Seaside Cities and Stinky Tofu

So long Taiwan! I got a lovely going away present. The last full day in Taiwan, the weather was perfect. I bicycled around the coast of Kaohsiung and the sand bar island of Cilin and up Love River (well, better than up Shit Creek) under blue skies, the refreshing sea breeze making the temperature just - perfect. 

Kaohsiung is a laid back place to end a trip to Taiwan. A nice coastal city that in the last 10-15 years has morphed from a grim industrial town to a nice little town with riverside parks, 

modern architecture,

a street dedicated to shops selling wedding cakes, 

rather pretty metro stations

as well as a nice contemporary art area down by the docks.

There's also a Night Market with over 100 food stalls serving all sorts of goodies such as brilliant and fresh sea food,

as well as some not so goodies, such as Drug Braised Snacks, Intestine Sausage and Chicken Butt.

However - ye gods! - I have discovered that the worst smell known to man is not, after all, blocked drains or durian fruit. All over this country in areas with lots of food stalls, I've been assaulted by the most god-awful smell. And finally I found out what it was: stinky tofu! A delicacy for some Chinese, the most refined form of odour torture for me! The tofu cubes in the add of the stinky-tofu stall may be smiling, but not me!

Despite the tofu, Taiwan is an easy place to like and a safe place to travel. As long as you take care in places, where wild dogs haunt.

Now it's back to Japan for a few days before returning to Finland.