Southern Skies

It's super polluted now.  The sky is thick with gunk.  My phone tells me every day that the air is in the red, dangerous to the general population.  I used to think that the little paper masks were useless and silly, but you better believe I wore one today.  My kids need to get out of the house and move, but I don't want them out in these poisonous clouds.  The south has a lot to recommend it - nice winters, good food, and some old culture and buildings remain. But the nasty traffic and air are really unpleasant.

Kaohsiung pt 1

I'm in Kaohsiung now.  It's the second biggest city and it's in the deep south.  The weather remains hot even now in November.  There are plenty of factories around and the pollution is nasty.  There are some nice parts, but too many cars and scooters.  Sidewalks are bad and people are not as laid back and friendly as they are in Chiayi.  It has an MRT, but it's quite a bit less convenient and more crap than in Taipei.  It's not bad here, but not great either. There are a couple of interesting places to visit (Cijin has a beach and some touristy street stuff. The sugar factory is pretty interesting if you are interested in the Japanese period, which I am.) The city is too big to get around exclusively on a bike, and the big roads and pollution make that less fun than it should be.  I guess it's all convenient and reasonably nice, minus the air.