Visiting Taiwan: The Port City of Kaohsiung (Part 2)

On our second day in Kaohsiung, we started off by having a filling breakfast of black soya bean drink and local snacks. From Taipei Main Station, we headed to Ciaotou Sugar Refinery station. Here, the main attraction is the old Chiao Ah Tou Sugar Factory. It is now a museum cum park. Besides looking at the old machines, there are also quirky metal installations in the form of robots in the park. After exploring the museum, you can also try the TaiSugar ice cream made of unrefined cane sugar and various fruit juices. It is delicious particularly on a hot day!

Cross the old railway tracks and you will reach the main town area where you will find lots of delicious local food. We opted to try the duck rice. The taste is different from the usual style we are used to in Malaysia and Hong Kong. Here, you can also try the dong guai herbal duck soup. I loved it!

After a quick lunch, we boarded the KMRT towards Ecological station. We waited quite a long time at the bus stop outside the station before bus Red 51 arrived. During the time we were there, the bus was free for all passengers. Once we reached the Lotus Pond bus stop, we quickly jumped off the bus. The weather was beautiful, although a little too hot! As you can see from the photo on the right, all my photos on that day were beautiful even without any filters or editing!

Do note that the Lotus Pond area is huge and it would most likely take more than one hour in order to walk around the entire lake. For us, we headed to one of the more interesting temples: the Dragon and Tiger Tower. As per the instructions at the entrance, you should enter from the mouth of the dragon and exit from the tiger's mouth for good luck.

Besides the Dragon and Tiger Tower, the Qiming temple and Ciji Palace (now a temple) is located just across the road. Along the pond, you will also find many beautiful pavilions where you can take a rest.

After exploring the area, we then headed to Shinkuchan which is located near the Central Park MRT station. Shinkuchan or Xin Jue Jiang in Chinese, is known as Kaohsiung's version of Taipei's Ximending. This area is a shopping haven particularly for females. We were there on a weekday but there was still a huge crowd of youths walking about. There are many shops here selling the latest fashion, shoes and accessories. However, as it was close to winter, I did not shop much as most of it were more suited for cold weather. If you are a fan of Korean fashion, you can shop at a store called 50% where you find the latest Korean styles. For dinner, we had ramen at a Japanese restaurant located inside Daiso Wufu Department Store.

After a filling dinner, we walked about the area and passed by Urban Spotlight. It is basically an open area with some displays and a bar. Further away from the MRT station is the Talee Specialty Department Store. The walls of the store is lit up with bright LED lights. They look beautiful at night! If you are in the area, it is definitely worthwhile to detour to this part of the city. For those who love branded goods, you will enjoy the shopping here too.