Tropical fish at the aquarium on the Eastern Coast.
We went to two aquariums in two weeks, and visited the center for oceanography.
Tropical fish will come to the surface when someone comes to the water’s edge. They think food is imminent.
Baby clownfish.
My dad is really into fish. Fish were all we could have as pets until the mail-order completely aquatic frogs, since we’re allergic to fur and feathers.
So, we went to the Kenting Aquarium, otherwise known as The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. I’ve been to the Baltimore Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and I think they’re both awesome… The aquarium at Kenting totally kicks butt though… It’s huge with a few different buildings, and the exhibits obviously have been planned out carefully. Lots of tunnels for you to wander underneath manta rays flying through the water with schools of fish crossing overhead.
Awesome squid sculpture outside one of the buildings.
The aquarium has the best collection of corals I’ve seen yet.
Neat shark.
Really cute soft pillows that we wanted to take home, but didn’t.
Way cool pictures of fishies and so forth. I suppose this will be one more reason for me to regret being stuck in a central Taiwan youth camp with no electricity during the monsoon rather than making the planned trip to Kenting? I shall simply have to put it on my list of aquaria to visit in the future (although nowadays I tend to get face to face with fishies rather than watch them swim around behind glass).
Face-to-face is even cooler! However, I do highly recommend the aquarium at Kenting. We should go together and try out the snorkeling too!
Aah…Kenting is the one place I regret not being able to visit while I had the time. And now it’s too late! The aquarium looks amazing though. Especially that squid sculpture! And the baby clownfish are ridiculously tiny.
It’s not too late! You will come back to Taiwan. The squid sculpture was awesome– there’s a fun whale fountain too. The baby clownfish are at the oceanography center though, which I don’t think is open to the general public.
Hi MeiGuo–
You said you went to two aquariums? I’ll be in Kenting in a couple of weeks with my sister who is a Marine Biologist. We are going specifically to see the fishies. Can you tell me what the other fish places were that you went to?
Thanks
Monica Poling
Los Angeles, California
Hi Monica!
The aquarium in Kenting is really wonderful, and I’m really glad you’re going there. I’ve heard that the snorkeling off of the beach is beautiful too.
The other fish place would be http://traveling.network.com.tw/Taiwan/point/1214.html the Taidong Aquarium which is on the Eastern Coast of Taiwan. It isn’t as big as the one in Kenting, and is a few hours north from Kenting by train I think… Literally across the street though is the oceanography center where the pics of the baby tropical fish were taken. My dad got us in on a personal guided tour thanks to his marine biologist background, so perhaps your sister could also check in with them to see if she could visit too.
Have a wonderful time in Taiwan!
Hi MeiGuo–
I never got back to you to thank you for your help with the Taiwan Aquarium. It really was awesome. I even tried to credit your blog in the article I ended up writing about it (I’m a travel writer by profession.) Unfortunately the blog link was removed, but at least your blog was mentioned in my article, which you can read at: http://travelagewest.com/asia/article_ektid28226.aspx
Thanks again for all your great help
Monica
Hi Monica,
I’m glad that I was able to be helpful. Congratulations on getting your article published! Hopefully it means that more people will make the effort to check out the aquarium, since it really is spectacular.
You’re welcome!