scubish.com: Scuba diving Kaohsiung - Taiwan

Understand

Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second largest city (with 1.5 million inhabitants) and its largest port. The city has high concentrations of heavy industry, including steel production, shipbuilding, and other exports that have led to Kaohsiung's relatively high levels of air pollution (though the situation has improved substantially in recent years). Unlike Taipei, Kaohsiung is a planned city with wide streets and slightly less traffic congestion than the capital. In recent years the city has made great strides in transforming itself from a primarily industrial city into a modern Asian metropolis, and several areas of the city, such as along the banks of the River Ai, have benefited from major beautification projects. The city is often known as Taiwan's "Harbor Capital" (港都) because of it's close connection and heavy reliance on the ocean and maritime transportation.

Kaohsiung began in the 17th century as a small fishing village named "Takao" (打狗), derived from the local aboriginal name meaning "bamboo forest". The name was changed to "高雄" (meaning: "high hero") by the Japanese in 1895, also pronounced "Takao" in Japanese, as they found the original name of 打狗 ("beating the dog") to be vulgar. The modern name of "Kaohsiung" is the pronunciation of "高雄" in Mandarin.

The city is divided into eleven administrative districts, which can be roughly grouped by character:

Downtown

*Sinsing (新興區)

*Cianjin (前金區)

*Lingya (苓雅區)

The Old City

* Chijin (旗津區)

* Gushan (鼓山區)

* Yancheng (鹽埕區)

* Zuoying (左營區)

Other

* Sanmin (三民區)

* Nanzih(楠梓區)

* Cianjhen (前鎮區)

* Siaogang(小港區)

This article covers the downtown area only. For information on outer districts see their specific articles.

Eat

Budget
Night markets are a great place to pick up cheap local foods, including stinky tofu, barbecued squid, red bean pancakes and the like.

Lunchboxes are common throughout the city, and a choose-your-order buffet take-out typically ranges from 50 to 100 NT$. The food is typically fried, with a mix of vegetables and meats.

The ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores have tea eggs, hot dogs, packaged beverages and junk food. Lunchbox style microwavables are also available, including dumplings, spaghetti and curry rice.

Mid-range

Bagel Bagel is great for disoriented Westerners in search of familiar food. They offer a variety of tasty sandwiches at reasonable prices (150-200 NT$). The menu is in English and most of the staff understand and speak some English. There are two branches in the city, including one adjacent to the Love River.

Smokey Joes offers Tex-Mex, including fajitas, tortillas and other Western staples at affordable prices (170 NT$ and up). The menu is in English and the staff usually understands some English as well. They offer a 'VIP' card for people who spend over 1,000 NT$ on 20 separate meals which gives the holder at 10% discount at any store operated by Amy (the owner of Smokey Joes). This includes Mama Mia's, an Italian restaurant located downtown.

General Panchos, a burrito stand approximately 3 blocks from Smokey Joes, offers slightly cheaper mexican cuisine, including taquitos, tacos and burritos. Prices range but stay under 200 NT$ for a meal.

The Pantheon serves traditional Greek and Mediterranean food at good prices. Known for their Gyro lunch (around 200...