> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.taiwanquest.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Huandao Day 1 - URL: https://www.taiwanquest.com/huandao-kaohsiung-to-kenting/ - Published: 2024-01-08T13:40:21.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-16T06:31:51.000Z - Description: Evading the fuzz from Kaohsiung to Kenting… - Author: Zhen-Kang | Distance | 140 km | | ------------------------- | ------- | | Ride time (with stops) | 6 hours | | Photos of me “for church” | 1 | **Five minutes before starting my 11-day huandao (環島) solo scooter circumnavigation of Taiwan, I was chased by a cop.** I’d heard someone furiously blowing a whistle in the distance behind me. But I hear a lot of random sounds in Taiwan, so ignored it while I looked for a place to photograph my scooter at the start point: Kaohsiung Music Center. But when I parked up, I was surprised to see a panicked cop racing towards me on his bicycle, one arm in the air and a whistle still in his mouth. “You can’t park here” he said, breathlessly, in Chinese. (I think.) “I’m sorry”, I said in Chinese. “I’m doing huandao”, I said in Chinese. I looked for a glimmer of interest in his face, but he was more exasperated than intrigued. “Is it OK for me to photograph my scooter?”, I asked in mixed sign language, Chinese, and English. He rolled his eyes, moved a plastic barrier, and gestured for me to push my scooter two meters to the left. I pulled out my camera and asked “is it OK?” in Chinese. He said yes, and watched with disdain as I took this pic: ![A scooter parked on the street outside Kaohsiung Music Center. A short, lightweight, yellow-and-black barrier is erected on the other side of the scooter.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/scooter-outside-kaohsiung-music-center-1.jpg) Parked legally, under observation, two meters from where I broke the law. I didn’t see the officer’s face as I then took a photo of my watch, but I can only assume he was falling into a deeper despair: ![Close-up of an Apple Watch on a wrist. The time shows 12 o’clock on Monday the 8th. The weather complication shows it’s currently 23ºC.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/apple-watch-12-oclock.jpg) It was 12 o’clock and time to go. If all goes well, in ten days’ time I’ll be back here at 12, having circumnavigated Taiwan by scooter. I bowed my head and thanked the officer multiple times. He gave 1% of a smile and waved me off without a ticket. And with that, my huandao had begun! Around 30 minutes later, as I was nearing the outskirts of Kaohsiung City, I pulled up at the lights with two po-po on scooters to my right. The officer in front noticed the “I’m doing huandao” sticker on my scooter (a gift from a friend), and tilted their head to read it. But that didn’t matter, because seconds earlier I’d been speeding. “Don’t make eye contact” I thought. “Act normal” I thought. “Where do I usually put my hands when acting normal?” I thought. I opened my visor, pretending to breathe fresh polluted air, while hoping they’d see I was foreign. (Apparently, police don’t want to deal with illiterate idiots, so they ignore minor infractions by foreigners.) Then… the light turned green, the police turned right, and I continued on. ![A scooter parked on a narrow road below Dapeng Bay Bridge. The bridge is in its lowered state.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/dapeng-bay-bridge-1.jpg) Soon I’d crossed the border into Pingtung County. I stopped for a cold drink near Dapeng Bay Bridge (鵬灣跨海大橋). The one time I’d been here before, the bridge was in its raised state to let a yacht sail through. Nanping Seawall Beach (南平海堤沙灘), just across the bridge, was the furthest south I’d been in Taiwan until today. ![Water being aerated in a raised fish farm next to a country road.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/pingtung-fish-farm.jpg) Soon I was passing fish farms… ![A stray dog laying on a concrete country road, looking at the camera.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/stray-dog-in-pingtung-county.jpg) …And stray dogs… ![The Maritime Building in the middle of the Dapeng Bay.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/dapeng-bay-maritime-building.jpg) …Before circling back to take a photo of the famous Dapeng Bay Maritime Building (海上教堂). It’s now an extremely-popular cafe with a cathedral-like interior and a queue of influencers outside. While I was taking this shot, a local in his 20s came up to me and asked (in English) “Can I take a photo of you for my church?” ![A historic concrete-and-brick seaplane traffic control tower. Vending machines and human-sized robot figures stand outside.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/dapeng-seaplane-control-tower.jpg) This nearby tower—now an ice cream shop—was originally used for seaplane traffic control. ![A scooter parked on a tiled path next to a stony beach and a calm sea.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/scooter-parked-next-to-taiwan-beach-1.jpg) Back on the road, I followed the coastline south towards Kenting National Park. ![A long exposure of Kenting Baishawan Beach. The sand looks warm and golden, and the water is a vibrant, clear, azure blue. There are few people on the beach.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/kenting-baishawan-beach.jpg) I had a late lunch here, on Kenting Baishawan Beach (墾丁白沙灣). It reminds me of [Abel Tasman National Park](https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/abel-tasman-national-park/?tab-id=50578). While I was eating, for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, a man stood motionless 10 meters to my right, looking out to sea. I wish I could be half as good at contemplation. But later, while I was taking this photo, he drove off on a very-cool-but-obnoxiously-loud motorbike, ruining everyone else’s contemplative efforts. ![A spiral concrete sculpture on a wooden viewing platform. One person is sitting on the handrailing. The ocean is in the distance.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/southern-most-point-of-taiwan.jpg) From the beach, I rode 20 minutes south to my B&B, checked in, then rode another 20 minutes to this spot: the southern-most point of Taiwan. There wasn’t much to see, but I’m glad I saw it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/01/eluanbi-lighthouse.jpg) Minutes after sunset, my final stop of the day was Taiwan’s southern-most lighthouse, Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻燈塔). For reasons I don’t understand, it felt apt to end my first day at the southern-most part of Taiwan. Tomorrow, I’ll start my four-day journey up the eastern coast. I had an excellent first day. There was even a moment, ambling down the coast at 70km/h, listening to music, and enjoying the scenery and the absence of police, when I had an undeniable feeling of self-actualization. I feel stupid writing that, but it’s true. --- ### Day 1 soundtrack 1. **Mylo – Destry Rock & Roll** ([Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/destroy-rock-roll-2005-remaster/1499881419)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/4e11DiZpAGX40btgoYdfDd)) 2. **Fleetwood Mac – The Very Best of** ([Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-very-best-of-fleetwood-mac-remastered/593327799)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/600CiKJo7zfaBJKnkThbyD)) 3. **Ryan Adams – 1989** ([Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/1989/1440829846)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/0MVK1j7wrUkBZ09ZuMURJA)) --- ### Dashcam timelapse [youtu.be/YR8nJGRFn\_o](https://youtu.be/YR8nJGRFn%5Fo) ---