Sunday, January 08, 2012

Taiwan - Kaohsiung May 2011

Due to some circumstances, Dar and I made a trip to Taiwan by ourselves. We had actually planned the trip with Claire but ... long story....

Took the HSR to Kaoshiung from Taoyuan.

Super~~~~~ clean and spacious~! Comfy trip all the way to Kaohsiung~ There's no need to book the ticket first as not many people will take the HSR since its more expensive than the train.






Weather was damn hot by the way, in Kaohsiung, we knew it will be warm but didn't know it's damn hot! 

Our accommodation in Kaoshiung, Kindness Hotel which is very near to the main station, very near to 爱河and also the night market 六合夜市. Room very small, and only have space as shown in the picture, enough for 2 pax to walk. The other side of the bed is wall. However, the rooms are clean enough, staff friendly and place is very convenient. There's 巴方云集(shop selling 水饺and 锅贴) and 贡茶 just opposite it. Free Wifi too.





This came from the a dessert shop just besides the hotel. Very nice~ green tea with red beans and the serving so much I couldn't finish. 


On our way to 六合...






Our main dinner for the night. 2 鲁肉饭, Meat ball soup, eggs, sausage and vegetables all at only NT160! Which is only NT80 per pax and this is calculated to approximate S$3. Very value for money and delicious too! Different from the 鲁肉饭at Taipei, the 鲁肉饭here has got big pieces of meat and lesser gravy. Preferred the food in Kaohsiung as it's less oily and less salty. 


爆浆水饺from the night market. Was alright didn't really 爆浆but maybe cause we ate when we went back to the hotel, after a roundabout walk. Should have eaten there but we were too full. 



Dream Mall , 梦广场. Atas shopping mall which we visited by taking a shuttle bus there. A very big mall containing many branded boutiques. 



They have got an amusement park on the room top called the Happy 100 Sky Park. This place has got bungee jump too. Not the falling down kind but the upwards kind which I don't know what it is called. 


Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel~ 




There are 2 kinds of cabin, the one above, with cartoons on the casing and the one we took which is transparent all around. 

This is the one we took. Hello Kitty one with transparent casing. Though I know it should be quite safe but my heart still skipped a beat when we are in and it's moving. 




We are only staying for 2 days in Kaohsiung and though we had planned to visit places like Qijin (旗津) or Kaohsiung Rose Basilica, Kaohsiung Confucius Temple and Xizi Bay(Xiziwan), we didn't really have much time to go. The super warm weather is not conducive for travelling around too. 

Kaohsiung is too big for a 1.5 days stay. Do remember to stay longer if you are going there. 

We do however, have the mood to do some shopping~ New Juejiang Shopping Area. It's easier to shop in Kaoshiung, perhaps due to the lesser number of people filing around, compared to in Taipei, where it's more crowded. Quality and variety seems better too. 





Love River or 爱河.


You can take the tourist boat called 爱之船. Which though named after the river, it can actually also means "Aids Boat".


Professional looking, clean boat with an official tour guide on the boat who will explain to tourists the significance of the river and the building around it. Best to visit in the evening around 5, then you can see the beautiful sight of the river, changing as the sun sets and lighting up with blue lights.




There are dragon boats underneath the bridge. According to the guide, we've missed the training for the dragon boat festival. 







 Soaring Dragon Fish Statue










According to the guide, the bridge is called 高雄之眼. Eye of Kaohsiung due to the reflections on the river after the lights are on, the bridge will form the shape of an eye from above.


Went to 六合again to buy some food, got 牛榨糖as souvenir back for the Office people. Should have bought more cause they are very nice! With green tea, black sesame, original and I think caramel flavor. Love green tea the best. According to the person selling the sweets, they are made from milk produced by the farms in Kaohsiung.  

Walk back to the hotel and came by this shop in one of the lanes. Went in for a late dinner, and ordered original and black pepper Omu rice or 蛋包饭. Very big portion for only NT30! I wonder how the boss survived since it's a big portion and the ingredients used were fresh. 



On the whole, our trip to Kaohsiung was quite wasted as due to the weather and that we are down to 2 pax, there's not really a mood to explore the area +  it's not valued to hire a private cab to take us around. Hopefully we can go for another trip to KaoHsiung and also Kenting as there are many places I would like to go. Coming up, we are travelling to Taipei where I'll be blogging about 三峡which we have not gone before. 

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