Kenting Night Markets - "The Food"

(other than people watching) My favorite thing about the night markets at Kenting was the food... lots of fresh oysters, squid, sashimi, meat, chicken, fish balls, crabs, curries, various types of fish... and DEEP FRIED OREOs! The deep fried Oreos were probably unhealthy food items I've ever eaten... but they were amazing (so I didn't care). I almost went back for seconds.
The prices were also ridiculously low... you could have a feast for the equivalent of less than $10USD.

Kenting Night Markets - "The Scene"

Just down the street from where I stayed in Nanwan is the town of Kenting. During the day, the main strip is relatively quiet. A few shops might be open selling sunscreen or beachtowels and there also are some lunch places mixed in. However, when I first cruised by during the day, it was basically empty (a lot of the places were closed). I didn't have any desire to go back. However, one of the people I met while surfing convinced me to take the bus down there one night and have another look. It was amazing how this area transforms after the sun goes down. All of the stores open up, neon lights illuminate the sky, restaurants/bars fill with patrons, food vendors line the street on both sides (selling grilled squid, fish balls, korean bbq, grilled chicken, fried oreos, sashimi)... it's a bit of a overload on your senses. If you're ever in the area, I recommend spending a night there (the grilled squid was amazing).

Surf Taiwan

There's no surf in Taiwan?

When I found out that I would have a few extra days at the end of a business trip to Asia, I started thinking about hopping on a short flight to Bali (before coming back to the US). However, there wasn't enough time to go back and forth... and I had never spent time in Taiwan. Therefore, I decided to stay on the island and go exploring. My first thought was to go to Taipei... but after looking at some maps, it seemed like Taiwan would have decent surf in the southeast and east. I asked some friends that lived in Taiwan about my options down south... and their response was similar: "There's no surf in Taiwan". A few people thought there might be waves near Kenting, but were not positive. That didn't discourage me though... if there were no waves, I would enjoy a little beach holiday or go hiking in the mountains down south. Taiwan has an amazing high speed rail network... so it is very easy (and cheap) to navigate the island.

Prior to my departure, I contacted a surf tour agency (The Perfect Wave) that I had used in the past to visit Fiji and the Maldives. They were based in Australia and had extensive knowledge of the SE Asia region. The Perfect Wave put me in touch with Surf Taiwan and I made arrangements for some accommodations down south in Nanwan.

The Surf Taiwan crew was great! They were super accommodating and made me feel like I was part of their family (the constant supply of Taiwan Beer was also nice). My host had the entire coastline dialed in and knew where to go for certain conditions. I was thinking I would be lucky if there were 2 foot waves... but there were waist to head high waves everyday and the water felt like a bath tub (managed to get a mini-barrel one day that no one saw). Another great thing about Taiwan is the lack of crowds... I think my friends meant to say "no one surfs in Taiwan" (instead of "there's no surf in Taiwan"). Anyways, not many people read my blog... so I'm sure that this posting will not lead to a giant influx of surfers to Taiwan.

Hoping that I can come back again soon!

Taking the HSR from Taichung to Zuoying. The commute took less than an hour (wish we had these in the US!)

The beach at Nanwan... no surfing during Typhoons  :(

What you don't see is this image is the giant nuclear power plant to the right. Surfing this place kind of reminded me of surfing at San Onofre.

Surf check!

Yes, there is surf... now let's see how fast I can run down the hill and go through the forest.

Rivermouth.

The left... good for longboard.

Lonely A-Frame reef break.

Have to be quick on your feet to make the speedy inside section at low tide.

Adios Taiwan!... hope I can visit your beaches again!

Sunset Hike Part VIII - "La Fin"

Love the glow of the sky after the sun dips below the horizon. However, about 30 seconds after I took this photo, I realized that I had to hike back down the mountain without a light (other than the glow from my cell phone)... made for an interesting end to the evening. It was worth it though!

Sunset Hike Part VII - "One Last Gasp"

One last breathe before submerging beneath the ocean...

Sunset Hike Part VI - "Red Glow"

Sunset Hike Part V - "Making the Decent"

Sunset Hike Part IV - "The Climax"

Sunset Hike Part III - "Hints of Red?"

Sunset Hike Part II - "The Glow"

Sunset Hike Part 1 - "Blinded By the Light!"

Getting Inspired at Inspiration Point

Santa Barbara has some of the best hiking trails in California... and one of my favorites is less than 10 minutes from my apartment: Inspiration Point.

Inspiration Point is probably one of the easiest trails to climb (part of it is paved). However, you still work up a bit of a sweat as you make your ascent. At the end of the trail, you tower above the city of Santa Barbara and have an amazing view of the surrounding area... city, ocean, mountains, sky, sun.

I was trying to take a picture that best represents Santa Barbara... and in looking through my photos, I thought this was one of the best I had. Hope you enjoy! 

Waking Up in Santa Barbara

This photo kind of summarizes why I enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn to immerse myself in the cold ocean... introducing the Santa Barbara coastline. 

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 4 "La Fin"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 3 "Seeing Red"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 2 "The Orange Phase"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 1 "The Beginning"

Sunset at Hammonds

I wanted to see a bit of sunshine this evening (rainy day in Santa Barbara)... so I decided to look through some photos I took while at Hammonds Beach a few weeks ago. This particular day was also a bit stormy. However, the clouds cleared a few hours before the sun went down and it made for a beautiful sunset. These photos were taken after I had just finished a surf session. There was a cold/gusty breeze blowing and my toes were numb. However, I decided to stick around for a moments as the sun dipped below the skyline. My car's heater felt awesome as I drove back home.