I'm back for the details of my Taiwan trip!
(Although it's been a month since my return from there)
Hello to the continuation of this post (Prologue, VISA, Itinerary, Details of Day 1).
Let's continue to Day 2!
Day 2. Sunday, 21 May 2017.
➣ Breakfast
It's a sunny Sunday in Kaohsiung!
We started the day by looking up for a place to grab a breakfast. We tried our best to locate it based on the map which David gave to us but we failed. Due to the hour rushing (we woke up a little bit too late, ha!), our first breakfast in Kaohsiung was at a local nearby food stall: Paddy Aurae Taiwan Lunchroom (稻香台灣小吃) for NTD 45.
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| It's a breakfast portion. Trust me. |
I also bought a bottle of chocolate milk at the nearby 7-11 for NTD 30 (if you like Green Tea or Apple, they're also available to choose).
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| Mine is left, Monica's is right. She bought it because of the cute packaging of Baby Boss. |
Somehow we noticed that most of the stores around have different operation hours compared to Indonesia. For example, the mall starts at 11 AM and closes at 9 PM. We even found a store which opens at 12 PM and closes at 10 PM. I wonder if it's just some stores though.
Oh, in case you wonder about how we communicate there, here are some key points.
If you expect fluent English speakers, lower your expectation.
If you want the food menu in English, prepare to be confused.
If you think we're fluent in Chinese, I'll laugh at myself.
Monica can speak Chinese, yes, but she herself admits that she is not an expert. I am far from better; I do understand basic conversation but can't really bring myself into a long, complex conversation. However when it comes to read the Chinese characters, we're bad at it. Monica does very well in reading characters related to food though (oops!).
So, yes, we rely on luck and images and all of the other stuffs to choose our menu.
➣ Holy Rosary Cathedral, Kaohsiung Film Archive
Our next destination is a church. A cathedral, to be exact.
The Holy Rosary Cathedral (officially called Chinese: 玫瑰聖母聖殿主教座堂) is the oldest Catholic church in Taiwan.
You'll walk pass the park and busy streets.
If you can take the bus, it saves you from the farther walking distance but, since we couldn't, we lived with walking as far as we could. Ha!
As we arrived a little bit too early, we walked around to find Kaohsiung Film Archive (高雄市電影館), located across the bridge from the cathedral.
However, as I mentioned above, some places here opened later than we thought they would be. KFA's opening hours is 01:30 PM to 09:30 PM.
We dropped by at KFA in the afternoon to find out that we actually could borrow the films collection and watched them there (terms and conditions applied). However if you just want to check what's inside, you're free to go!
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| A corner of KFA: not novels. |
We finally attended the English Mass on 11 AM (there were several Indonesian students who sat behind us) after walking around, under the sun as it's a very, very sunny day. Bring an umbrella or a cap if you need something to help you from the heat (not as bad as Jakarta).
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| Beautiful, isn't it? |
It's my second time attending an English Mass but it's definitely a new experience to attend one in another country! During the song of "Our Father" (Bapa Kami), everyone immediately offered and took the hand of the person next to them, connecting all people hand by hand.
➣ Gang Yuan Beef Noodle
After the mass, I had my best lunch in Taiwan!
It's the famous Gang Yuan Beef Noodle (港園牛肉麵). Just for NTD 110, I got a big bowl of delicious, tasty Beef Noodle. I'm kind of picky when it comes to food so when I say it's the best lunch, then it means this food is really, really recommended!
Not a fancy restaurant but they're very crowded. We just walked from the cathedral, across the bridge, as it's not too far (we followed Google Maps, yes).
Queued in the line, ordered the food, mentioned name, and then we waited for our name to be called. Fortunately it didn't take long for us until we could enjoy the bowl of (great taste) noodle.
(You can see how much I love the beef noodle, no?)
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| I want to have this again! |
Short funny story.
Since it's so crowded, we shared a table with a young couple. We're so concentrated to open our drink in box packaging that we failed to notice there were available straws near the clerk. The young woman grabbed two for us when they're going to leave.
We did laugh at ourselves afterwards, lol.
➣ Pier-2 Art Center
Our next destination is called Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區).
You see, getting here is not very difficult but let's just agree that sometimes we want to mingle around (or just get lost, go figure). It took us a while to wonder if we had reached the right place even after we walked out from Exit 1 of Yanchengpu MRT Station.
Cited from Wikipedia, the arts center was originally an abandoned warehouse site due to Kaohsiung's shift from industrial city to service city. Due to the persistence of local artists, the area was finally released and remade to be an arts center.
There are several warehouses (or buildings) served as cafe, bookstore, art exhibitions, theater, and stores. We gave quick visit to the indoor sites but spent most of our times under the sun.
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| Their bookstores are so neat and lovely! |
This area is seriously Instagrammable (not sure if it's even a word).
From the exhibition, railway, 3D art, and the view itself are beautiful! (And free!)
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| One of my favorites! Thanks to Monica for the shot! |
I wanted to take a picture at the swing but lost due to the energetic children in queue.
We also tried to look for the upside down house that we saw on Instagram months ago but failed to find it even after walking back and forth. I wonder if they changed the arts from time to time.
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| One of the arts there. Uploaded them on my Instagram : @erlia91 |
It's still 3 PM once we're satisfied taking pictures there. On our way to the next place, I stopped for another Milk Tea (NTD 29). It's the moment when I realized the packaging prepared a spot for you to put a straw. Convenient much?
We didn't take the MRT and dragged ourselves on feet for 1 or 2 kilometers.
I wish I could walk around in Jakarta, from one place to another, but you just can't. Walking should make you healthier but breathing in the air pollution wouldn't help that, would it?
➣ Kaohsiung Museum of History, Love River
Next in our list is Kaohsiung Museum of History (高雄市立歷史博物館).
It's usually closed on 5 PM and we arrived at the museum around 30 minutes before the closing. It's free for visit!
If you're interested with the history but unable to read or converse in English, unfortunately this museum is not the perfect place for you. 99% of the descriptions are in Chinese and the nice staffs are not fluent in English.
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| Our first decent picture together in Taiwan |
Monica and I finally managed to have a short conversation in Chinese with two polite staffs there! They asked if we're sisters (lol), praised us for visiting Taiwan by ourselves, and helped us to take a picture. They wished us to have an enjoyable holiday and we did!
We walked to KFA because we still had a lot of time before night, enjoying scenery of the Love River (愛河) where there
were people who trained for the Dragon Boat Festival.
They said Love
River would look very beautiful at night (we did consider to take a boat
but cancelled it anyway).
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| My photography skill just doesn't do justice for this view of river |
If you visit Kaohsiung with your significant other, you're very much recommended to spend your time at Love River!
➣ 85 Sky Tower, Kaohsiung Main Public Library
After KFA, we returned to Central Park MRT Station (of which Monica really loved to mention it in Chinese for no reason, lol) and headed to our night destination.
Taking the MRT to Sanduo Shopping District MRT Station, we stepped out from Exit 2 and tried to find our way to the tallest building in the city. It's easy to spot it as it has an unique shape but we're pretty much confused to find the entrance door. Turned out you just need to find the hotel lobby and the staff would be delighted to show the way.
85 Sky Tower (高雄85大樓), also called Tuntex Sky Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Kaohsiung. It was the tallest in Taiwan until the completion of Taipei 101 though.
We could get to the observatory deck on the 74-75th floor by paying the entrance fee (NTD 150). Experience the high speed elevators, bringing you to the observatory deck in less than a minute.
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| You will get a postcard of Kaohsiung also! |
You'll find a souvenir kiosk plus cafe on 75th floor. Insert NTD 10 and you can use the coin operated binoculars for 10-15 seconds. Walk around the floor to see Kaohsiung city from different point of views.
Truth to be told, I was excited because I like height and night view but, minutes after I reached the observatory deck, I just felt that my excitement faded away. However it's still a good experience that you can't compare with view from Monas (not comparing, but you do notice the height is very different, right?).
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| Kaohsiung City view from 75th floor; again bad photography skill doesn't do justice for this view |
We made a quick stop at Kaohsiung Main Public Library (高雄市立圖書館總館) which is located across the street from the 85 Sky Tower.
It's the definition of perfect library and how I wish Jakarta has one as amazing as this library!
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| The library at night. Doesn't look like one? |
Not only the architecture, but what I found inside made my jaw almost dropped. Feast for your eyes, people.
Comfortable reading space, book collections, cafe. This green library is such an utopia for a book lover! You can even visit the roof garden.
Consisted of 8 floors, they said this library was built from the top to bottom. Dominated by white color, they also provide eBook and hand-made Braille books to borrow.
➣ XinJueJiang Shopping District, Ruifeng Night Market
Our last stop for second day is, of course, the night market.
Before that, we stopped at XinJueJiang Shopping District (新崛江商场) (stop at Central Park MRT Station, Exit 1). They said it's like the Ximending of Kaohsiung (you'll find about what Ximending is on the next post).
We didn't buy anything though. We're just not the type who love to shop (unless for food).
Found one of the most famous chicken cutlet there though; it's called Angel Fried Chicken (天使雞排). We bought it later at the night market. And, yes, do try it if you have the chance!
It's very different from the kind of crispy chicken in Indonesia and it's good!
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| Image of Angel Fried Chicken for reference. Credit goes to Burpple |
Okay, to reach Ruifeng Night Market (瑞丰夜市), take the MRT to Kaohsiung Arena MRT Station. Take Exit 1 and just walk straight to find the location.
Lively and crowded, take a not that Ruifeng closes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Food, beverages, games, you'll find a lot of things here.
However I found myself confused with the shops since the stalls are everywhere.
I tried one of the most famous snack called... Small Sausage in Large Sausage (大腸包小腸) for NTD 50. It's a pork sausage wrapped in bigger sticky rice sausage. Not my favorite but it tastes good!
We queued for the Angel Fried Chicken (NTD 60) before decided to return to the apartment.
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| I know, the name sounds unique, right? |
And that's a wrap for Day 2!
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| Definitely not a pro of using a Selfie Stick |
Day 3. Monday, 22 May 2017.
➣ Breakfast
On our last day in Kaohsiung, we're so determined to find the breakfast spot which is recommended by David (again) and, of course, failed to do so (again). We had ours at this place which name that we couldn't read.
However it's very delicious (NTD 55)! I like the soup and maybe it's kind of similar to Cufungmoi, the local porridge at Bangka (?).
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| Mine is the one with soup. Both taste very good! |
➣ Cijin Island
After the city tour and all, that day we visited Cijin Island (旗津島), a small island which can be reached by less than 10-minutes ferry ride from Gushan Ferry Pier (鼓山輪渡站).
To get there, head to Sizihwan MRT Station, Exit 1.
We were greeted by several staffs who offered us bicycle services. No need to take it there as you'll find them on the island as well!
Walked for 5-10 minutes and we finally found the pier (two Korean boys helped us to find the entrance door, before we got ourselves in vehicle queue, lol).
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| I think it's my first time getting on a ferry |
NTD 40 and you can hop in the ferry. Just take some pictures and, within no time, you suddenly have arrived at the island! Yes, it's that close.
Again, there were staffs offering bicycle services. Not only bicycles! You can also pick 2 or 4-person cycling vehicle.
We walked pass a temple called Mazu Temple (媽祖廟).
Along the way, there are wide range of stalls selling souvenirs, seafood dishes, and snacks.
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| In front of Mazu Temple |
We headed to the beach right away, ignoring the heat.
It's a beautiful beach indeed! Maybe because it's a weekday, but there was almost no visitors at the beach (or maybe it's just too hot).
Oh, you're not allowed to swim there though.
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| Like I said, beautiful beach! |
Short long story, we finally decided to rent the two-seat electric bike!
NTD 200 for the first hour and NTD 100 for the next hour (we ended up with 3+ hours but they're so nice to us and just charged two of us NTD 400!).
You need to hand over your passport and you can take it back at their post nearby from the pier upon your departure.
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| Happy girls on electric vehicle, lol |
Since Monica can't drive a bike, I sat on the driver seat and, trust me, the staff looked so worried when we tried to use the vehicle, lol.
This is one activity we never planned to have but ended up enjoying it a little bit too much. We drove around and that's exactly why my left hand had sunburn afterwards due to the heat (even until now, my arm has two color tones).
Taiwan is a left-driving country, contrary to Indonesia.
This became a reason why sometimes I forgot that the right side is for the slow lane instead of the opposite. We felt like the king of the streets until I almost forgot to pull the brake and honked by a truck.
I shouldn't laugh as it's a little bit dangerous but we laughed for a short moment.
➣ Cihou Lighthouse, Cihou Fort, Cijin Tunnel of Stars
That's not the only reason we laughed at Cijin that day.
We're (kind of) lost when we drove to Cihou Lighthouse (旗後燈塔) and Cihou Fort (旗後砲臺). Definitely not very good map readers (and maybe our expressions just told everyone that we're lost, lol), we stopped in a middle of a way until a man approached us.
"小姐 , 你們要去哪里?"
(Ladies, where do you want to go?)
He showed us the right way by driving in front of us. His look is kind of fierce but he's so nice!
We parked the vehicle, walked up, and admired the view from there. It's seriously hot that I finally took out my umbrella even before we reached the fort. Thankfully we bought a bottle of mineral water at 7-11 next to the pier beforehand.
(I think the cheapest mineral water is NTD 20 there; which is a little bit expensive compared to Indonesia)
(I think the cheapest mineral water is NTD 20 there; which is a little bit expensive compared to Indonesia)
Oh, we didn't go inside the lighthouse as we were defeated by the sun. *white flag*
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| This is taken on our way to the fort |
Our next stop is Cijin Tunnel of Stars (旗津星空隧道).
It's not as 'starry' as I thought. Maybe better view at night?
Anyway, upon walking through the tunnel, we found ourselves at the other side of the beach. It's amazingly beautiful!
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| At the end of the tunnel of stars |
➣ Lunch
As for the lunch, we failed to try this restaurant as it's already closed at 3 PM.
If you can, feel free to try Cijin Sanlang Noodle House (旗津三郎麵館)!
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| One of the menus for reference only. Credit goes to DiGTaiwan! |
Oh, before we visited the Cihou Fort, we stopped by for a bowl of shaved ice.
Sweet, cold, and perfect for the summer feeling there!
(No, I don't remember the name as I can't read it)
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| Ice + Milk + Watermelon + Mango = Perfect |
As for the lunch, since we're already hungry, we picked a choose-your-own stall named 天元自助餐.
I picked seafood as the main menu because, well, it's Cijin. My lunch is for NTD 80.
After we're full, we returned to the pier and hopped on the ferry to return to Gushan Ferry Pier for another destination.
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| Guess which one is mine? |
For your information, David recommended us to visit British Consulate at Takao (打狗英國領事館) but we skipped it as we stayed in Cijin a little bit too long already.
If you're going there, it's nearby from Sizihwan MRT Station!
➣ Confucius Temple, Lotus Pond, Dragon Tiger Pagodas
Our next destination is free of charge but consists of walking and walking and walking.
Yes, a lot of walking since we couldn't take the bus by EasyCard. *insert sad emoticon*
Leaving from Sizihwan, we headed to Zuoying (THSR) MRT Station.
As much as I know, people can take a bus from the station to Lotus Pond (蓮池潭) area, which is the place chosen by Monica.
Again, because our options of transportation were limited, we walked from the station to the destination. Yes, it's kind of far but, because the road and all are good, no complaint (okay, maybe a little because the walking distance is 3 kilometers).
Random fact: it's supposed to be our morning itinerary on Day 2 but we changed it due to the mass schedule at cathedral.
Arriving at 5 PM, The Confucius Temple of Kaohsiung (高雄孔子廟) was already closed for public visit so we could only take some pictures from the outside.
They said it's really beautiful inside so I think you will be delighted to visit this place!
As much as I know, people can take a bus from the station to Lotus Pond (蓮池潭) area, which is the place chosen by Monica.
Again, because our options of transportation were limited, we walked from the station to the destination. Yes, it's kind of far but, because the road and all are good, no complaint (okay, maybe a little because the walking distance is 3 kilometers).
Random fact: it's supposed to be our morning itinerary on Day 2 but we changed it due to the mass schedule at cathedral.
Arriving at 5 PM, The Confucius Temple of Kaohsiung (高雄孔子廟) was already closed for public visit so we could only take some pictures from the outside.
They said it's really beautiful inside so I think you will be delighted to visit this place!
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| Since it's already closed, I could take this picture easily |
To put it simple, you'll enjoy the view from the temple to the Lotus Pond. There are several temples in the area but we only stopped by at two or three places because it's getting dark and Monica's final destination was in the end of the track.
Some said it's better to visit here in the morning so maybe you can consider it!
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| Lotus on the water, under the sky |
Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (龍虎塔) can be seen from quite a distance.
The dragon's throat is the entrance and the lion's mouth is the exit. Entering a dragon's throat and coming out a lion's mouth symbolizes turning bad luck to good fortune.
We're going to enter the dragon but it's already closed (again). The Japanese tourists group were the last visitors before us. Well, at least Monica got to take some pictures of the tiger (she came for it, don't ask me why).
And that's a wrap for our Lotus Pond trip.
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| The main reason why Monica wanted to come here |
➣ Liuhe Night Market
Now, how did we leave there to have our dinner?
Reading the Google Maps, we dragged ourselves to the nearest station and, after 10-15 minutes, we realized that we entered the wrong destination. It's not an MRT station but a TRA station.
There were three tourists who wanted to go to the same destination and, thankfully, we could use the EasyCard to take the train!
I really couldn't imagine if we needed to walk again for more kilometers. *tears*
I really couldn't imagine if we needed to walk again for more kilometers. *tears*
So we moved on the train to Zuoying (THSR) MRT Station (it's a station for TRA, MRT, and THSR) and changed to MRT.
From there, we left to Formosa Boulevard MRT Station which is, yes, also our route to return to the apartment. Take Exit 11 to find one of the most famous night markets in Taiwan: LiuHe Night Market (六合夜市).
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| My favorite night market! |
It became my favorite in a second with its layout.
It's a straight road where the stalls are set up neatly on the left and right side. You can find chairs and tables to enjoy your food, strolling around before deciding what to eat.
I was completely dilemma as there were many choices but I couldn't eat too many at night. We ended up trying some foods like Oyster Omelette (蚵仔煎) and Quail Egg Takoyaki (鳥蛋蝦燒). The quail egg is exceptionally good!
Some preferred Ruifeng Night Market because it has the perfect atmosphere of 'night market'. Liuhe, on the other hand, consists more of street foods only. Still, I like to visit Liuhe more (personal preference, of course).
I spent around NTD 85 at the night market.
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| All of them are delicious! |
We returned to the apartment as David contacted us, telling us that he would give us something before our departure to Taipei in the next morning.
Other than all the things he had prepared for us on the first day, he also gave us face sheet masks because he noticed that it's a hot and sunny day! Thoughtful, right?
However, he also bought one of the most popular night snacks: Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐).
There are two types: deep-fried and ones in a Sichuan mala soup (feel free to Google the details).
People said you should try this if you visit Taiwan night markets but, once again, my personal preference... I would skip it just because I'm quite picky when it comes to food. If you like unique food, go for it!
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| As you can see: King of Stinky Tofu |
We packed up immediately and hit the bed.
And that's the end of our last night in Kaohsiung!
Wow, a lot of pictures, eh? *sorry, not sorry*
The third part will be the details of our activities in Taipei, including what happened on my birthday.
Until the next post!
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