Pingtung
From Wikitravel
Pingtung City is Pingtung County's largest city. Considered small by the local population, it is still quite enjoyable. While not being a 'tourist' city, you may still find several things to see and do. Pingtung County contains plenty of places for any tourist to visit.
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[edit][add listing] See
Some might think that this place has little to see, or little to do. However, these people are sorely mistaken and simply haven't seen the true beauty of Pingtung County/City. Pingtung City holds over 200,000 people. This is considered small, but to some of those who live in rural western towns with a population of less than 10,000, this place is more than large enough. The city contains temples and night markets just like anyother city. The night markets are smaller due to a much larger city (Kaohsiung) being located within a 20 minute travel, either by train, car, or scooter. There are two main night markets here to see. One is mainly a food market known as the "Pingtung Night Market." The other is a normal night market known as "Rui Guang." The first contains different shops which are open 24 hours per day. If you're out on the town and need a bite, this is always an option. The later is a mix of retail shops, food vendors and games. Yes, games. Much like your average western world carnival games.
Aside from the night markets there are temples. Temples are located all over Taiwan and thus these are fairly common. There are however a few temples within Pingtung county that are fairly unique, such as a temple made entirely of seashells and ocean stones. Most of the local population can point you in the direction of regular temples (which are still a sight to be had). But, if you want to seek one of the more unique temples you may need to ask around a bit. They are located with a reasonable distance of the city limits.
There is also "Zhong Shan Park" which is located next to a department store. Here you can see people practicing or performing numerous things such as dancing, music, Taichi, or even playing games of Chinese Chess (mainly older gentlement like those seen in the last scene of the 3rd x-men where Magneto moves a chess piece to show that he is regaining his power).
There are several smaller things you will see as you venture through or around the city, such as people running red lights in front of cop cars, but the cops not doing anything. Way of life here is a bit less restricted and consequently more inviting to those who are feeling adventrous.
[edit][add listing] Do
Pingtung county contains several places and sights to see, such as KenTing National Park or waterfalls with pools that you can swim in. There are plenty of noteable places to go if you have transportation. However, Pingtung City is not a tourist city, but there are a few things that will keep you busy. If you know where to look you shall not be bored. If you are the sporty type then there are roads that you can take a bike on to go around the city and allow you to see quite a bit while getting some exercise. 4 of these roads are "Zi Yo Road," "Guang Dong Road," "Min Shen Road," and "Zhong Zhen Road." If you would rather head to one place and enjoy then don't worry. First thing to mention is the smaller places. There are pool halls, Tom's Worlds and Temples of course. But, for fun these places may not be your type of spot. Simply put, it does good to have friends who know where to go. Life in Pingtung City can be hard if you are alone and cannot speak Chinese or Taiwanese. But, with a single trip to the National Pingtung University of Education's English Department, you will meet many students who love to make friends and practice English. This is actually a great way to find those hard to get to places. The college students know what is fun for them and consequently will be able to give you some ideas for your own fun. There is shopping, but spending money can only be so fun until you run out of it. Night markets are good places to find bargains, but beware of quality. There is a department store located close to the train station if you feel like heading there. The department store is mainly equipped to handle female tastes. There is a food court downstairs if you're hungry. If you stop by the college campuses and look at the sports fields, you will see many students enjoying the sun and being quite productive in their own right. It is rather hot, so choosing to walk around the city may cost you, but while walking around you might notice that people look at you. At first, this seems weird to most foreigners, but after a short time you get used to it. Unlike western cultures or larger cities, the people in Pingtung City are generally alike in looks. If you were staying in Chicago and you saw a 7 foot tall man walk by you would think, "Wow, look at that!" and not realize that you're staring until someone told you to stop either. So, imagine if you continuously saw people who looked and talked just like you until one day here comes a person who looks, acts, talks and walks different than everyone you have ever met before... Are you staring yet? If you feel like relaxing and enjoying a refreshing tea, there are plenty of tea shops or coffee shops that seel drinks and snacks with outdoor seating (most also have indoor seating). As for food...
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[edit][add listing] Eat
Pingtung contains many many places to eat. In fact, one of the main problems that a foreiner may have is to decide where to go. There many noodles shops which serve much of the same dishes, but having the same dishes does not mean there are only a few. From beef noodles to handmade knife-cut cold noodle salad, you can find dishes a plenty ending with "mian" (the Chinese word for noodle). The beauty of these places is that they are cheap in price and you get a decent amount of food for what you pay. If you are from the USA you can expect to pay anywhere from $5-10 for a hamburger with fries, drink costs extra. Here that same amount of food with cost you about $2 USD with a drink that costs roughly $1 (and tastes good).
There are McDonalds, KFC, Moss Burger and even Starbucks for chains that you may recognize.
In addition, there are the night markets. As mentioned before you can travel to the Pingtung Night Market at any time of the day. In this night market you will find places that sell numerous dishes and drinks. You can get fried rice with several kinds of meat (lamb, pork, chicken, beef, etc.) Or maybe you just want noodles and sauce. You can buy banana milk, tea, watermelon juice and several other types of drinks. The prices are still faily low cost. you can sit in front of the shop or inside most of them. The food is cooked at very high temperature, so be careful when you get it. some food is placed in front of the stands and left in the open. This may seem a bit unsanitary to some, but the food still tastes good and the places still get plenty of business.
There are also local restraunts such as the Noble Family Restaurant. (Don't mind the names, the translations are often a bit cliche.)Again, having some local friends will help you to find some of the best places that this city has to offer.
[edit][add listing] Drink
For those who wish to have a non-alcoholic beverage. There are normally "85 Cafe's" in the area, they serve beverages and snacks. Tea shops are harder to find late at night, but still exist. But, most likely, if you're out that late then you're probably looking for a different environment.
Pingtung has several places for alcoholic refreshment. A few names of these places are "The Steelskin Bar," "The G.D. Pub," "Duckie's," and Jimmie's." There are other places as well. These four bars cater to western style drinking. Other places also have westernstyle drinking, but these four places have some good reviews from visitors. Like most bars in western cultures the bars do not experience their busiest hours during weekdays, so if you're looking for people to drink with you may want to go at a good time. Food is srved at Steelskin and The G.D. Pub. If you go to Steelskin the waitresses do not speak English but they have English menus. At The G.D. Pub, most of the staff has enough English to help you and some of them having decent conversational English as well. The food at bars can be a bit pricier due to the atmosphere. Make no mistake these dishes are widely available during the day, but at 3 a.m. there aren't too many restaurants open besides the night market. The music is often up to request. It can be anything from classic western rock to Taiwanese T.V. If you don't request a type of music then there isn't much use to complain about what's on. These places are used to foreigners, so you most likely won't have people staring at you. The locals who are at these bars may become interested and try to converse with you. sometimes you may meet someone with great English and sometimes you may struggle to communicate. It is up to you to keep an open mind about the people here.
There is one club called "Hunters" in Pingtung City. The club is designed, operated and catered to the local aborignal people. If you are interested you can stop by the club for a unique experience. The club is not fancy or all that big, but the people there know how to party.
Most places and things here require a bit of an open mind to understand. Something that often helps foreigners cope with the different aspects of Taiwan is to call things "Taiwanese Style." For example, BBQ. Don't think of this as braised chicken with potatoes wrapped in tin-foil, think of it as "Taiwanese Style Barbeque."
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