Live Laugh Love Blest: Kaohsiung 高雄: 宮賞藝術會舘 Kung Shang Design Inn

We were so busy with work, wedding and house reno that we did not have time to plan for our honeymoon. not wanting to join any tour group (think: wasting time on touristy shops pushing you to buy local delicacies, not being able to go wherever we want, however we want), we decide to go to a place we're most familiar with: Taiwan since we are sure we'll love our time there.

It was so last minute. flights booked a few days before we flew off so that few days was a mad rush to book for accommodation and many places are full house since it's the peak year-end season!

Air tickets were really expensive during the holiday season, especially when booked last minute. Even budget airlines are super ex! In the end, I booked one-way to Kaohsiung by Cathay Pacific. It stopped over at BBK (stupid me was unware of this, thank god it's a short one and not transit), transit at Hong Kong, then a 1 hour flight to Kaohsiung. It was quite a deal since I paid only about S$400+/pax, Much cheaper than Jetstar during the same time.

Coming back, I booked Jetstar from Taipei to Singapore. OMG. this is the wierd one. The cost of flight if I booked via Taipei (after conversion), is around 300+. If I booked via Jetstar Singapore, same flight is 400+. this I do not understand.

Anyway, once flight is settled, it's time to source for accommodation. I'm very used to doing research before making a decision. and with Google being my best friend, I google for everything. This is my attempt to avoid being caught in the situation of booking/buying something that is well-known for it's flaws etc. so I strongly encourage everyone who's planning for their trips and booking their own accomodation, to take the time to do some research. Yes, it may be time consuming. Comb through tripadvisor for fellow travellers' reviews. You'll get to know if the place is near the malls/mrt/food centers or have bad security, is near to some stinky drain, is hard to find, very far from XXX, very dirty room etc. Use your own judgement when going through the reviews. Some reviews sounds like the owner owe them money like that and is out to get back at the owners, some give very valuable feedback. so based on your requirements and budget, make your choice wisely. In my personal experience, Agoda.com offers pretty good deals and usually cheaper (even if it's by a few dollars) as compared to booking.com etc.

For kaohsiung, I wanted to book a 民宿at the famous 85大楼but all the ones that I googled and found to have okay reviews are fully booked! In the end, I found this hotel on trip advisor that has good reviews with decent prices: 宮賞藝術會舘 Kung Shang Design Inn

Very arty-farty name, that even the cab driver that we took from the airport didn't know that this is a hotel. it's located on this dark little road, and it's under renovation when we arrived. since the name is so un-hotelish, even the cab driver was unsure if we arrived at the right place since there's like no proper reception lobby or anything. when we alight, and tried to walk to the door, this guy came up to us and asked if we are staying in the hotel, that's when we know we found the right place. we were too tired to think straight and went straight for the lift, only to realise we didn't know which floor is the lobby! went to level 2 and it's dark and creepy. so we went back to where we came from, found that guy, and learnt that's the lobby! eh-okay. registration is swift, and we were asked to choose our breakfast from Macdonalds.

Finally, we went to the room. What greets us is a pleasant surprise. The room is pretty big with a nice little living room. what we booked is the business suites. they also have concept themed rooms like cars, majong etc (go check out in their website. very cool!)

The room is pretty clean and cozy, and even provides l'occitane bath supplies! There's also a small little balcony (but very dirty and cannot lock). Overall, this is a nice place to stay in. It's about 15 min cab ride from Kaohsiung Airport and costs around NT 335. It's also about a 8-10 minutes walk to Formosa Boulevard Station (美丽岛站）exit 8, which will easily get you around the city. quite a convenient location.