Taiwan Day 9 - Kaohsiung 2 (spring)

Out plan today is to do the Lotus Pond Pagodas, the military battlement on Turtle Mountain, and one of the city gates. 

First off we headed to Lotus Pond and Youbiked there. We arrived and parked the bikes, and entered the little gift shop pop up. I got some postcards there, there was a lot of indie artist wares in there. Then we released the Youbike park was around the corner and returned our bikes. 

L went off into the Pagodas to get photos. They finished renovating the Tiger and Dragon pagoda towers but I opted not to go up and see, because climbing stairs in this humidity and heat would make me dizzy, especially as the stairs go round and round, and there was also a fair amount of tourists today. 

M and I went to the temple across the street and licked soft serve. We both got combo flavour of choco and vanilla. It was $40 a serve. 

Then we had a wee look around inside the temple at the intricate art and carvings. 

Of we go along the path as we met back up with L. To the next pagoda! This one extends out into the pond a little more and the breeze is nice. 

We stayed for a bit, and they had a 2F at the pavilion at the very end, which was very full of bird poop everywhere lol. They did have a dragon tunnel you could walk through the head to the tail (one way), and the inside had statues of the various rohan etc, like the Tiger and Dragon Pagodas. 

The third pagoda was very long and had a fish feeding pond! The breeze was good here too. The Yuandi temple had a long walkway down to the temple, and there were statues of various guardians along the bridge/walkway. At the front they had a karaoke station and some uncles were going at it. The koi pond was just off to he side before the main temple. The main temple had a frog with a coin in the mouth where you could touch it for good luck. They also had a stamp! 

Next to the frog there was a glass full of $1 coins so I gave the frog a coin and touched the head, the tail, the feet. 

I also went upstairs and they had Yuandi also venerated there. The room was smoky and stained black from all the incense. 

At the entrance of the main temple they also had many machines that you could do fortunes by putting a coin in, or a rooster with a golden egg that have you a charm. M did this one and got a little wooden charm that wished for peace/safety and fortune to stay inside. 

We started looking for food and there was a shop along across the road that did the wheel cakes. We got 4 red bean, 1 butter, 1 seasame/peanut, and 1 taro. I had the sesame peanut and one red bean. 

Then we wanted pepper buns but when we got there, the owner was preparing tomorrow's buns and said that sold out today. Aww. 

So we just walked along the road and passed a traditional market, and many many old temples/miaow with old sanheyuan style housing down there and around as well. 

We passed a noodle shop and open to eat inside there. I got 酸辣湯麵 and so did L. M got a plate of 10 dumplings of Park & chives, 

L also chose a big plate of 鹵味 as a side dish, We also ordered a plate of kumara leaves for the table, but didn't manage to finish this because we were so full from the wheel cake earlier... 

The soup was great! No unneceesary flavours, full of veges, just right in sourness, light and not heavy, and the kumara leaves were stir fried. M commented she liked the one from yesterday better, which was blanched. 

L managed to finished all of this side dish.... (amazing) and I managed to finish 90% of my bowl, just leaving soup. My noodle was $70! Kumara leave was $40. M's dumplings (10 on a plate) was $60.

After this we went for the Youbike station down the road and decided to finish cycling the pond. On the way we passed a water sports centre, with one uncle just sitting at the stand in the shade, with life jackets for the paddle boats. He had no business.... I wanted to paddle but the thought of actually paddling in the Kaohsiung mugginess put me off. This was right next to a cafe with coffee and M got an iced mocha. 

There was a corgi on the next table over. They had a lot of outdoor seating with a view of the pond, and also a fabulous breeze coming through. L got a macha soft serve. I didn't get anything. 

After this we continued the cycle and got back round to where we started, We saw the water skiing with someone actually doing it in action. They have a pulley system that pulls you along to ski. It looked really cool, perhaps we can do it with the proper preparedness next time. 

Next we went to Turtle Mountain to find the military battlement. The mountain had lots of stairs... And the remnants of the battlement were cool. Smelt very earthy and dusty though! Some of the round placements for the guns, had numbers on it like a clock, for orientation. That's cool. And a little recessed part under the rim, I guess for ammunition storage. 

You can see the qilin rock and the pebbles in the concrete mix, and the remnants of the camouflage paint on the concrete outer. 

There was also a good view of the lake from the mountain. I can see why this was a stragetic military point. 

Afterwards, we walked along the old city wall. We walked along the part where they had juanchun housing, and you can see the joints of the brick walls and the various tiles for kitchen or bathroom. One of the walls even had part of the bathtub with the mosaic, the same an Laolao's house!!!! 

This was neat. The other side of the wall still had housing, I assume the roadside row of the juanchun. There were kids playing in the park (must be primary or before primary aged) and one mum just keeping at eye out. It felt like the kids backyard. 

At the end of the juanchun section, the wall was cordended off so we couldn't go further. They were building that new walkway to see the old city. 

So we had to turn back and go around, passing by the playing kids again. There was a small alley leading to the road so we went out there, and could see the houses of the roadside row. One house had a notice from Taipower warning that they were going to cut power aon March 10th. There were also heaps of mail and flyers stuck in the bars of the front door. Some of the houses had front doors or side entrances that were very nostalgic.... 

We finally got to the South Gate and initially we thought it was covered up, but it was just the end of the walkway being built, and they were building an elevator. The actual South Gate was in the middle of a roundabout, and we could cross to go there. You can go up to the top of the South Gate!! You could get a good view of Building #1 of Guomao. 

Afterwards, we headed to Guomao and had a look at the inside of the buildings where it looked like Kowloon, and then the playground at the centre of the community. We took some photos that looks like a band cover hahaha. 

Then back home. We opted for dinner at Dandan, and got takeaway. They did also have a nice long outdoor seating section with a fantastic breeze flowing through today. 

L and M headed to FamiMart while I waited for the order. 

I got the order and headed to the FamiMart we passed, and they were just finishing up as I arrived. 

They got me breakfast! And I asked if there is banana? No banana... L went back in and got me one. Thank youuuuu. 

Off home we go. We ate,... I got the set #1 with the 肉羹湯麵, L a teriyaki burger, and M the set with 2 types of chicken nuggies. 

I had iced lemon black tea. This was very nice. Their chicken is not greasy but oh so moist and crispy. 

Shower, postcards, blog and bed! Tainan tomorrow. 

Taiwan Day 8 - Chishang/Kaohsiung (spring)

 In the morning we had the Minsu breakfast and they did not have lobogao with the tofu skin, but an onigiri with a salted pickled plum inside instead. The club sandwich had a hash brown inside and it was yummy. I swapped with M's mantou for a kumara one so she could have my red rice once to be different from yesterday.

Then back to our room for a poop and to tidy up the rest of our luggage. 

We opted to check out first and left our luggage storage at reception. Mr Guo was there and said byebye.

We took the Minsu bikes with L taking the Youbike ebike cause it's easier for him to cycle.

On the way to coffee M stopped to see some cats and then more cats followed. One was very vocal and wanted pats. The other 3 stared lol.

A dog from the neighbours came out to greet us and then went back home through the other entrance. 

First we went to Mi May Coffee and the husband was there! We parked the bikes on the side. They have a huge gazebo now. He records every visitor's name and date in a little book, that's so cute.

I also learnt that thank you in Amis is "arai" for Northern (Hualien), and "aguisai" for Southern. They tend to sing out the last vowel longer too.

"Hamhamen tayni kiso" was the new sign, and it still means "welcome" or "hope you'd come". I forgot to get a photo of this.

I chose the 瓜地馬拉 coffee made from central north beans. It had a slightly acidic taste with a dry-sweet aftertaste. It wasn't very strong, but very nice.

M chose a latte and since Mr 老王> (owner's name) gave us 2 cups, he tried some and it was wasn't what he was expecting. They also had rose tea which he let us have a cup to taste. It was more herby floral with a stronger minty taste. But it was smooth.

He is so nice and chatty. He also asked us if we were going to 大池 (yes) and then asked where L was from, and knew how to say thank you and hello in Vietnamese. When we left the wife also walked out of the house and waved goodbye at us.

Dachi is right next door and it wasn't very busy! Score. My order was number 13 lol. We were so full but I stuff it in anyway. I made it and finished it all.

I shared a plate of tofu skin (thick soy with spicy) with M and we had a tofu flower each. M also tried the soy milk and we had a 泡菜 to share. L commented that it tastes like KFC coleslaw lol!! And I can definitely see how.

After we finished we had a look at the factory where they make the tofu skin. So cool. Then we rode back towards the Minsu.

We grabbed our luggage and got ready to leave. I wanted to enter the gate a little early so we can look at the paintings in the corridor between the platform and concourse. Since they swapped all the paintings out!

They have cute name signs too now. 

Not long and the train came. We are in carriage 10 right near the back. The carriage was pretty empty until we got to Taitung.

Going through the tunnels that cut through the tail of Taiwan is cool. My ears pop because of the pressure. The sea view is gloomy today but still beautiful. 

On the train I saw the Taiwan Rock Guy?!? Walk past and did a double take but tried not to stare too much!!! Omg. I spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out if it is him, and even asked M. He was in a green shirt and brown overalls. M concluded it is him because the nose looks the same. WTH!! That was totally unexpected. He got off at Kaohsiung Station. It's like meeting a celebrity in the wild lol. 

We got off at XinZuoying and got our stamps, peed and then bought a ticket for the local train to Zuoying. 

Once off we rolled our luggage 10 mins to the Minsu. The host (did not get him name) was super like making sure we were looked after and knew where everything is by telling us how to work the TV, where the bin is, how to work the door, what the common area is like, which way to turn the tap for hot water, aircon, and saying that there are English channels and switched it to that. Lol that was so funny and I tried to tell him that they like to check out local TV but that didn't go anywhere in convo. XD 

Once we settled in we decided to go for dinner at Guomao and stopped at 麵點麵 for dinner. Their noodle broth were good - I had 榨菜肉絲麵 and the noodles wasn't too salty. The kumara leaves had the raw mince garlic on it :( and the pork belly sauce. :( Nooo. L had a dry beef noodle and M and wonton soup noodle. It was a hit. 

L went around to take photos while I finished eating and M and I ended heading back to the Minsu first to grab stuff. L followed soon and we split up. M went to Kinokuniya and L and I took the 205? Or was it 201? Bus to Dream Time Shopping Mall to go to the Pili store. Before we even got there lol we were sidetracked with the other figure shops while trying to find the way to the Pili store. 

L found some Rockman figures and also a gift for his friend. Very fruitful. We finally made it to the store and they had most of their puppets in glass cabinets above the goods shelf, which was a pity because the reflection made it hard to photo and see the details!!! The store was pretty big and L ended up getting quite a few stuffs and I just got a Thunderbolt Fantasy postcard set. 

L decided to try the gacha for the TBF figures, aiming for LXY and Dan Fei (which we could see at least 1 of each inside), and got 3 duplicates of Lie Mei. His first one was LXY, and then Lie Mei. The third one was also Lie Mei. Lmao. The store had a buy $3000 get $300 promo so we went to exchange that at B2 info desk, and also did tax refund at the same time. Then went back up to do the rest of the gacha with the voucher. The fourth was Dan Fei, yay! But we did the last once since we already bought the gacha, and it was Lie Mei LOL. 

We stopped at 7-11 before heading back up to 2F after the info desk and they had a buy 1 apple soda get second was free. So the shop lady asked L to go get another one and he came back with a diff drink in the same area, but it wasn't part of the promo. And so he went back and went through the queuing maze instead of just around the side straight through and the shop lady was like "why he go through the maze? Www" and I laughed too and said I will tease him later. XD

After the gacha we headed up to 8F as they had an anime exhibition for a couple of series, but mostly ones I haven't seen. It was like 15 mins before 10pm closing time and as we entered the area the shop lady started closing the curtains. So L sped run getting photos while I mostly walked through and ended up at the gift shop. My browsing was made easy by knowing like 2-3 series lol. And then sped purchase when L caught up, a Kusuriya t-shirt and a Dandan Dan cat figure. They had some Western animation goods at the end, K-Pop Demon Hunters and others. Took some photos and headed back out of the mall. 

We opted for a taxi home and the fare coat $295 for a 25 min drive. The cab smelt faintly of cigarette smoke. 

Cause M already went to sleep we had to ring her a few times to wake up her (we organised this before hand) and she came down to open the door for us. Thank you!!! 

Back to sleep. xD

L went off to do laundry and I took a shower and went to bed. 

Taiwan Day 7 - Chishang 2 (spring)

 Today we woke up and had breakfast provided by the Minsu. They use tofu skin from Dachi tofu and their lobogao was the type I like... Clean... And the sauce was just plain deep soy sauce. Yummy!!

A tea egg, a mini sandwich, apples and cherry tomato, and a red rice mantou. 

We ate like kings. Mmmm. 

Afterwards people got ready and I pooped and went to the post office. I bought some stamps for the post cards and since they were bigger, it cost $13 each. The stamp had a horse on it from Chinese new year. Then back to the Minsu, and we got ready to go out. 

We hired a 4 wheeled, 4 seater bike from Chishang FengChing. It had pedals but it was very hard to pedal off as the bike was heavy. We didn't need to pedal and just vroom the handle to go. If we pedalled it felt like Team Rocket lol, because the front 2 seats had pedals. 

First we headed to PX mart and then the FamiMart next door. PX mart didn't have what M needed but we got drinks and I found a Gungun Guruto! FamiMart didn't have either but I bought some red guava and papaya.... 

Out we go. We headed to Dapo pond amd went round the other way that we didn't complete yesterday. So we went over the little bridge. One man caught a fish as we went past. He was getting ready to gut/prepare the fish, but we left and didn't stay to see. 

We went around and stopped at the little pavilion for photos. 

Next stop was the Wan'an Brick Kiln. There was a labrador from the house that had dogs out last time I was there (I remember they had a black one), who came up wagging their tail and just sniffed at us. Their coat was pale creamy colour. Then they went back and drank water. We had a look at the kilns, then headed off to Angel Road and got photos there. It was really picturesque. 

You can get a really good view of the fields from here! 

Then continued onto Brown Bouvelard, where M had 2 $50 coins to get the little souvenir coin. We stopped for an ice block also - I got ponkan flavour. 

One uncle and his friends were tending to him and he held a handkerchief to his eye. Later someone moved our parked bike and an ambulance came to take him away. Two aunties accompanied him. A farmer was doing spraying but helped to load their 4 Youbikes onto the kei truck, and one lady went in the front. She tried to ride on the back though but the farmer said not allowed. He joked that he was spraying medicine and that now he go and help deliver back the Youbikes, someone should help him spray the rice lol. Two of the group was left and they were talking and mentioned the uncle fell off his bike and hit his head. They left on the Youbike. 

We had some red guava that we bought from the FamiMart earlier. That was really nice. We took turns driving. 

Then M and I needed the toilet so left L at the seats and drove off. Once relieved, we came back to pick up L and we decided to go to the little mini Hakka museum where they also serve Hakka cuisine! 

We got a rice bowl each and I got the bubble tea with rice tapioca. Yummy!! The pearls were cubes and was soft but still QQ. The rice bowl was awesome, it came wrapped in a Hakka floral print furoshiki. I really liked the pork bone soup and pickled radish... Yummy... 

After lunch we headed to the Great View Pavilion, and took amazing photos. On the way there just before the pavilion, a couple crashed their little bubu car.... Into the paddy... The lady was sitting on the edge and the man was trying to put thr window panes back onto the car. I called out to them to call the phone for the rental and the lady called out saying they have. 

On the way out from the Pavilion we decided to go to Du Garden. I missed out last time as they were closed that day. It was a very lovely manicured garden. It started to rain down when we arrived. 

It got heavier as we were ready to leave, so we decided to head back to return the bike. 

When we got back, I paid an extra $100 (it was about 4pm) for the rental fee as we went a little overtime. 

The boss lady was so nice. 

Then back to the Minsu for a break. I did some more postcards that I bought at the mini Hakka Museum. Headed back out to the post office, It was a different staff servicing the postal counter now. They always have to check the pricing chart here, they must not get a lot of international mailing. XD

On my way back the boss lady from Chishang FengChing asked me where I was going. I just let her know that back to eh Minsu for a rest and then we'll have a look around the nightmarket later. She asked me where I was staying this time and I said May Rice  - as oer her suggestion and the breakfast is a feast! 

A very short chat and she fared me well and told ne to be careful going back. 

After a while we headed out to the nightmarket and they had kumara balls!!! YAAAA!!! I got one for $50 and asked for half half plum and original flavour, 

M really liked it and eventually went back for another one. Hehe. 

L eyed up the duck stuff at the stall opposite and ended up picking a variety, some included duck tongue, blood cake, and a tofu-gan. He really liked it. 

After that we decided to go see if Soher is open - they had their metal rollers open halfway, and people were inside but they weren't open today or tomorrow. So sad. 

We decided to go to another shop just dpwn the street for some dessert. 田味家-牛汶水. I ended up picking the 牛汶水, M the almond tea, and L a youtiao. The almond tea isn't quite to M's preference, but my 牛汶水 was delicious. The syrup was deeply caramelised and the mochi was yummy,!!! Would come back again. L never had the youtiao hot as the ones he usually get tends to be cold already. 

After that was went home as the shop closes around 7pm. On the way back we checked out the frogs at the pond in front of the station and one wa son the steps. It was too dark to photo but you could clearly see the frog! 

I sorted out the train tickets for tomorrow and went to pay for them at the station. And then realised I haven't finished the papaya so had them. Yummy! 

Back and then shower, and get ready for bed. Man I am so tired.