Brain dump, full blogpost to come later.

Today I wrapped up the last things on my list.
As I was leaving my hotel, I saw a group of four ONCEs arriving, all wearing TWICE concert merch. I felt a little jealous knowing they had tickets.
I went to the public library — it was fine, but not particularly interesting from a tourist perspective.
I walked past the really big hotel building, but it was closed.
I walked to the exhibition center, but nothing was going on there either.
I continued to the next big building, which turned out to be the Cruise Port. Also closed.
Luckily everything was close to each other, so exploring wasn’t too tiring.
Then I took the ferry to Cijin Island.
I stepped right into Old Street, lined with all kinds of food carts.
I wasn’t really feeling any of the street food, but I needed something to eat, so I went into a restaurant to order fresh fish.
I got option paralysis from the menu and ended up choosing Sweet & Sour fried fish.
- Which meant I didn’t exactly get the “fresh fish” experience.
Honestly, I enjoyed the fried rice more.
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Then I went walking… during the hottest part of the day.
I had bought sunscreen that morning, but it turned out to be a mist rather than a balm — and the cap was dusty, like it had been sitting there for ages. So let's hope I don’t get sunburned.
I climbed up to the lighthouse and got some great views.
Then I visited a nearby fort, which had even better views.
After that, I made my way down and found a tunnel with colorful lights.
In front of me were two different tour groups:
- One was a group of local teens just messing around.
- The other was a gaggle of 50-year-olds in stereotypical “German tourist” outfits.
The older group kept taking group photos and laughing loudly, blocking the flow of people through the tunnel.
I expressed my annoyance nonverbally to the teens, and they responded in kind — which was funny.
At the end of the tunnel were some dramatic cliffs.
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After that, I headed to the beach — ugh, sand.
I rented a bike (insert Dutch-people joke here) to explore more of the area.
I’m glad I still remember how to ride a non-electric bike.
I saw some nice parks and a few kites flying in the distance.
I visited the shell museum, which turned out to be the personal collection of someone very into shells.
There were some really cool ones — lots of variety.
Even a few misshapen ones, which I found interesting.
Mostly, I was just happy to enjoy their air conditioning.

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Then I continued further south. I saw a ton of temples, but I couldn't stop easily while biking.
Eventually I went a bit too far, because the biking infrastructure suddenly ended.
I wanted to take the southern ferry back, but when I arrived the area looked way too empty to still be operating.
So I biked all the way back up.
I followed the mopeds in the bike lane until I spotted a sudden increase in street carts — that’s when I knew I was back where I needed to be.
I returned the bike and watched the sunset. It didn’t really do much for me, though to be fair I was exhausted from the biking and the heat.

I left before the sun had fully set to avoid the crowds. Good decision — I reached the ferry just in time.
I rushed back for a sudden call with my parents. I was groggier than I wanted to be, but it had been a long day and I had to shuffle things around to make it on time.
I took a short nap afterwards and felt much better.

TWICE in Kaohsiung

According to my original plans, I would have attended the TWICE concert tonight. But I missed out on tickets.
I kept refreshing Twitter and saw clip after clip. It was clear the concert was really special.
It was the first time Tzuyu could address the fans in her native language. She read a handwritten letter thanking them for waiting so long, and saying how proud she was to finally perform at home.
The group even prepared a cover of a famous Taiwanese song, with the other members singing in Mandarin.
I also saw photos of hundreds of fans without tickets gathered outside the stadium, listening to the concert together. Some could even see reflections of the stage in nearby windows.

It slowly dawned on me that maybe I wasn’t meant to attend this one. This concert belonged to the Taiwanese fans — the ones who waited ten years for the “Light of Taiwan” to return home. If I had gotten a ticket, that would’ve meant one more person stuck outside. They deserved it more than I did.

Kaohsiung ended up being way more fun than I expected, so I never felt “stuck” here like I thought I might.

To still do something TWICE-themed, I went to a bar that served TWICE cocktails. The closest one turned out to be inside a hotel — a rooftop bar, actually. The drinks looked great, so I went in.

There was a live band performing Taiwanese songs for the hotel crowd — a tough audience, but they were giving it their all. I ordered both drinks (1+1 free!) and enjoyed them immensely.

It was a nice way to end the night with some live music.

On my way down in the elevator, a ONCE in a TWICE jersey stepped in. He immediately noticed my TWICE shirt and asked if I went to the concert. I explained my situation, and he was very kind. He even offered me tickets for their Hong Kong shows happening in two weeks.

Coincidentally, I’ll be in Hong Kong that week too (for MAMA), but I leave on Thursday — and their concerts are Saturday/Sunday. That’s what happens when you plan too far ahead. I told him it was okay, since I’ll see them twice in May in Amsterdam.

So I walked back to my hotel that evening, past the blue-lit buildings, stores playing TWICE songs, TWICE-themed pedestrian lights, and all the fan posters. Happy I still had a great night — but also ready to move on.