Solar Tree Time: Taiwan Day 16 (Kaohsiung 4)

OK I woke up and didn't feel terrible today!! I still had a later start to the day though, by the time I finished blogging and stuff it was 11am.

So I got to Hamasen around 11:22am. Ahhhhh where do I start? I wandered over to the red bridge... And saw so many relics of the Port Station when it was in use.

I ended up going to the house that has the switches for the railway, one and only preserved one in Taiwan! It's not open today cause it's not a weekend, but they have signs outside.

On my way I also found some 含羞草！

and the rail car far on that side which, is a bakery called Horli. It was getting to lunch time so I kinda wanted to done... But old rail cars... And the air inside... No open window... I ended up not going inside.

On the way there I spotted banyan trees grown over old brick wall, this must be the old fence for the Kaohsiung Port. There was also a sign about an old shed for maintenance and repair of Kaohsiung Port, but it 2as demolished. You can see the remnants of the brick wall and the shape of the roof.

Then I was like... I haven't been back to the museum to see the third room though (it was closed yesterday for a meeting). So I walked my way back....!

I made it. And I bought the postcards which were actually matte finished with shiny embossed words on it. Fancy. $150 for a set of 5, and I stamped them all.

The third room had 3 video clips totalling about 20 mins. It was 1pm now and I was definitely hungry. I decided to finish this. One was a YouTuber explaining the history of the port city using Yokohama as a parallel.

The other two were videos made by the govt about the heritage and preservation.

Once done, I asked the staff where would be suitable for lunch? She advised to walk through the MRT so you won't need to cross the road, and then there will be an area with lots of new establishments. OK! Thank you.

I got through the MRT station and then was about to cross the road, when I spotted a Dandan Hamburger! And.... They have outdoor seats! YEAAAHHH!!

I got a number 4 set and the congee was so good. Chicken was slightly greasy though but still crisp.

Afterwards, I headed back to the Takao museum to photo the signboard outside.

I made my way up towards Guomao. Until I realised that it was a very long way to cycle. So I ended up taking the green line after finding a Youbike park from Gushan up to Fine Arts Museum. Then back on a Youbike again and cycled there.

Parked Youbike and walked in. Wow! The architecture really is interesting.

The inner parts are what people mention with it looking like Kowloon.

Outside in the shared area, were so many older people just sitting around chatting, also on those bamboo/cane chairs, too. There were Taiwan flags all around.

It felt familiar but different. Just like Nana's juanchun... Where the older people sit around and chat.

There were shops on the ground level and plenty of eateries. I wish I could have tried eating some! But I wasn't hungry and it was too early for dinner. I wanted to see if they tasted like juanchunwei...

After that, I found a Youbike and got back on and made my way back down to Pier 2. I stopped at Neiwei Station for a pee and then back up I go.

I passed the arts centre and decided to go in. This was a good decision because they had indie artists and businesses displayed items for sale, and I found some more stuff to gift to people. One staff was doing stock take and I asked questions about the product. I was trying to work out what pattern to gift and she helped me out. Let me think... And once I decided I told her 我猶豫完了xD and went to the till. She laughed and acknowledged and said byebye haha.

I got goldfish shaped teabags that cost $59 each (doff tea flavours x4), and a mobile stand for me and as a gift for someone else ($320 each).

I had a look around the hall, they have a cinema here too. There were bookshelves with books of many languages. There was also a paid exhibition too.

When I was long thru the till, the other machine froze and the staff had to take me back to the original till. Hahaha ha I took it in good jest and told them not to worry as they were so apologetic.

Then I took the MRT down to the Pier. Found a Youbike and started to explore!

I wanted to finish the other half that I didn't get to last year.

I noticed a popup for Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, but I didn't go in.

There were murals and heaps of art installations.

I went across the bridge and found that they have a train you can ride! But I need to park the bike and I was also getting kinda hungry. The train driver came out and greeted me but I ran away looool.

I found a Youbike park and then went inside the building (Warehouse 8) for a pee and also for some food as I noticed some refreshment stalls.

I didn't feel like eating much so I opted for a peanut egg waffle $80.

It was fairly quiet and the ppm was green so I are inside as it was getting a but nippy outside. Then a family came and one of their preschool kids coughed the phlemy cough... Just as I got my waffle so I loved seats further down. Right where a HVAC vent was blowing onto me.

Once I finished I had a quick squizz at the Yourblocks they had but wasn't sure, so no purchase.

Then I hurried back outside to ride the train! Only to find the signboard packed away and the ticketing machine covered. ?! But the train is still there, and the driver inside. I asked if I could still ride? He said 7:35pm is the last ride. It's 7:33pm now. Lucky! I paid $100 and he said I can sit anywhere as you'll be able to hear the announcement.

So I sat at the front and was the sole rider hahaha.

The ride recording introduced the coast guard boats, a garden on the right hand side, the lighthouse on the hill (which I didn't spot in the dark) on the left out to sea, and the banana storehouses on the right at the end of the ride. The banana storehouse used to be roof only open sides, but this meant the bananas spoilt easily so they improved it until what it looks like today.

The ride ended too soon and the driver let me off the train, and told me the MRT is that way. Or I could go for food inside the warehouse. I thanked him and said it was fun!! And he seemed happy.

I walked down in the MRT direction but realised it wasn't quite right. So walked back and inside the warehouse, but they were all full restaurants and no nibbles as I was still a wee bit hungry.

I ended up getting nothing and walking towards the light rail.

Only one stop until Hamasen and then took the MRT home. While waiting for the train, and Asian lady who sounded accented Japanese, said "excuse me" and said they wanted to get to Formosa Bvld stop. I said this is the terminal station, this train will go there. 3 stops.

I wasn't sure if she got what I meant by 3 stops. But eh the announcement will tell her.

I stopped by Famimart and grabbed a noodle for snack...