Hello! I’m Holly, you might remember me from my previous Los Angeles City Guide post, or seen me helping out around at Brooklyn Brigade! I’ve been traveling around Asia for the past several weeks, and I wanted to share some of the highlights from my trip. My first stop was Taiwan — to visit my mom who recently moved back to her home country. I had previously visited Kaohsiung a couple years ago, but this time I really took the time to explore what this city had to offer. Kaohsiung is the 2nd largest city in Taiwan, but surprisingly has a lot less tourists compared to Taipei. I was lucky to spend 3 weeks here visiting with my family, eating (a lot) and exploring the city.

If you’re planning a trip to Taiwan, here are some ideas of things to do in Kaohsiung:

One thing I didn’t share in this post were the night markets and food I devoured during this trip! The food in Taiwan could be a whole post on its own – Taiwanese food is my favorite food of all time. It would take me way too long to cover all the food I ate on this trip, so instead I’ll leave you with a link to the BEST night market in Kaohsiung: Ruifeng Night Market. They have all sorts of food, shopping, and games there. It’s a one stop shop for the best street food. If you’re planning a trip to Kaohsiung, it’s a must on any list.

The biggest highlight of this trip really was spending quality time with my mom and her family. After I moved away from California, I’ve spent a lot less time with my mom, so I was very grateful for the amount of time we got to spend together on this trip. I also spent a lot of time with my aunt, who I actually never met until this trip! She’s the one person in our family that has lived in Taiwan her whole life, so this was the first time we’ve had a chance to meet. I got to know her and my cousins a lot better; I’m looking forward to coming back to visit more often!

Planning your next trip?
Check out my tips on how to travel on a budget!