Lots of Temples, Lots of People: Visiting Kaohsiung's Lotus Pond

The famous Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (longhuta; 龍虎塔).

Me taking several pictures as usual!

Many of the sites I visited in Kaohsiung were gorgeous and interesting; Lotus Pond was no different! Like the day we went to Cijin Island, my dad and I were blessed with beautiful weather when we visited the pond. You can tell by the bright blue sky in the pictures, right? I still find it hard to believe it was in the middle of winter! Southern Taiwan is definitely a great place to be in the during wintertime if you love warmer weather. 

Lotus Pond has quite an interesting history. The "pond" is actually a large manmade lake which was opened to the public in 1951. While the lake is a contemporary fixture, many of the sites around it have roots in antiquity. There are several temples, halls, pavilions, and palaces around the lake from centuries past. The area certainly has a nice ethereal feeling to it. 

I think it would take the better part of an afternoon to see all the sites at Lotus Pond, but you'd certainly be tired from all the walking afterward! Luckily, there is a long pedestrian road with several food venders right next to the lake so you can walk around a refuel simultaneously! 

A map of Lotus Pond, click to enlarge.
Source

Nonetheless, my dad wasn't up to the task of walking around the whole lake, so we only saw the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas（longhuta; 龍虎塔）, Confucian Temple（kongmiao, 孔廟）, Spring and Autumn Pavilions（chunqiuge; 春秋閣）, and the Pei Chi Pavilion（beijiting; 北極亭）. As we had to shuffle through crowds, it certainly felt like enough!

美麗的寺廟和很多人：參觀蓮池潭

龍虎塔

我拍了很多很多照片！

如果你搬去住在台灣，你會注意新的飯館開門的時候，會有很長的線在外邊。跟寺廟很像；有寺廟會有很多人。逛街的人，聊天，享受好的天氣，去老街買小吃。我很喜歡那個熱情的“寺廟的文化”。

因為在蓮池潭的寺廟很多，所以我覺得我說的“寺廟的文化”很重。要是你去高雄，你必須參觀蓮池潭 。不管天氣好不好，蓮池潭的寺廟也會把你迷住了，我覺得。給我在世界跟天堂的中間的感覺。

蓮池潭地圖。點擊看大圖。
Source

在一個下午，很容易看到蓮池潭的名勝古跡。地方很大，可是賣小吃的人很多。你可以一邊吃飯，一邊走路，不會胖哈哈！

我跟爸爸一起參觀蓮池潭。他不習慣每天多走路，所以我們只看龍虎塔，孔廟，春秋閣，北極亭。我們還逛老街買東西吃。一般的說，是個放鬆的天。

From YouTube Drama to Shibuya 109 Mall, the Top 5 Posts of 2015

Tokyo Skytree and the Asahi Beer headquarters - Tokyo, Japan

Wow! What an eventful year it's been! In 2015, I earned my Master's degree in TESOL, moved back to the States, and most of all, did more writing and blogging than I have in years. In total, I have written 110 posts on this blog; including this one, I posted 67 this year! Furthermore, I've recently started writing freelance, which has given me more opportunities to write, share information, and interact with awesome people. Additionally, I started the Black Women Thrive series here on my blog. Although it's taken a backseat recently, I am going to start sharing stories for the series again once the new year starts!

Before moving forward into the next year, it's fun to look back and review what occurred in the year we'll be saying "goodbye" to soon. Therefore, I'd like to review the top five posts on my blog from this year!

Shibuya 109 mall.

#5 - Tokyo: My General Impressions

Back in February, I treated myself to a trip to Tokyo for my 25th birthday. In less than a week, I was able to visit most of the major parts of the city, including Asakusa, Odaiba, Ueno, Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro. It was an exhausting whirlwind of a trip, and my first time alone in a foreign country (aside from living in Taiwan).

Nevertheless, it was life-changing in a way I can't describe because of the autonomy I had. I was able to take in all the sites without being distracted, make my own decisions about where to go and what to eat, and enjoy the city at my own pace. Not only did I fall in love with Tokyo, but I realized that it's okay—even beneficial—to experience a trip solo. I look forward to writing more about my trip to Tokyo next year. Perhaps I will find myself in the city again in 2016!

A Day on Cijin Island

Departing from Kaohsiung's mainland.
This mom and her kids were adorable.

When my dad and I went to Kaohsiung, he let me be the "tour guide". Although I'd never been to Kaohsiung, I was the one who created our schedule. It wasn't difficult, yet I wasn't sure whether or not all the places I chose would be enjoyable. As everyone knows, a person may like a place that another dislikes. However, as Kaohsiung has a different atmosphere to Taipei, I felt we would enjoy most of our stops

The Kaohsiung MRT map.
Source

Before we went to Kaohsiung, I thought Cijin Island was just an island community and not included in Kaohsiung City, but it's actually one of the city's districts. Through my research, I also discovered Cijin Island is a well-known tourist attraction. Many people have commented on the beauty and the fact that it is a fun place to visit, and after visiting myself I agree with those sentiments. Aside from swimming, there are many activities to enjoy on the island, which was important to me because I don't like swimming. Actually, I can't swim...

Cijin Island is also an easy place to access. Ride the Kaohsiung MRT to Sizihwan Station （四子灣站） then check the guide map and look for "Gushan Ferry Pier"（鼓山輪渡站）. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk to the station. You'll see the long line of people before you spot the pier!

While the line for Cijin Island is long, it moves fast and takes only about 10 minutes to board the ferry. If you have a bicycle or motorbike, you can take it on the boat. The ferry doesn't accommodate cars, but I'm sure there is port for car riders.

一天在旗津島上

離開的時間。媽媽跟兩孩子太可愛了。

我跟我爸去高雄的時候，他讓我當導遊。雖然我也沒有去過高雄了，我們的日程由我安排。安排每天的日程對我不太難，但是我不知道要是每個地方會給我們好的印象。大家知道，一個人喜歡的地方可能是別人很不喜歡。

高雄捷運地圖。
Source

我們去高雄前，我覺得旗津島就是一個在島上的村，沒有納入高雄。旗津島其實高雄的區之一。我也發現旗津島是很有名的旅遊景點，很多人說又美麗又很好玩的地方。我同意。除了游泳以外，旗津島有很多活動你可以享受，這對我很重要以為我不喜歡游泳。

旗津島也很容易取數。就道捷運四子灣站，然後在捷運站的地圖找 “鼓山輪渡站”。走到碼頭就要十分鐘，你會先看到很多人排隊，然後看到碼頭！

雖然去旗津島的線很長，可是之要等差不多十分鐘。如果你有自行車或摩托車你也可以在鼓山輪渡站上船。輪渡放不下車，應該有別輪渡站對車子合適。

Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市)

The night market sign.

Liuhe Night Market (liuhe yeshi; 六合夜市) is not only the most popular night market in Kaohsiung, but it is arguably one of the best-known tourists attractions in the city. Open from 5pm to 6am (!), the market offers a wide variety of foods to try, especially seafood. Naturally, like the majority of night markets in Taiwan, items like toys and clothes are also for sale in the market. 

Accessing the Liuhe Night Market isn't complicated; simply take the MRT to Formosa Boulevard Station (meili dao zhan;美麗島站) and consult the exit guide to determine where the market is located. It's less than a five minute walk from the station. Luckily, my dad and I were staying down the street from Formosa Boulevard Station so we didn't have to ride the train to get to the market. 

When it comes to food, Dad isn't as adventurous as I am. Therefore, we ate dinner at out hotel before going to the night market in case he didn't see anything appealing enough to try. I had eaten too, but of course I saved enough room to indulge at the market. My infatuation with food is undying. ;)

Seafood is king at this night market,
but it comes at a hefty price...

My favorite thing about Liuhe Night Market was that there were several snacks on sale there that I hadn't seen in other markets. Also, the market was clean and organized - certainly a big plus. 

Still, as the market is strongly geared toward tourists, several items were overpriced. A small portion of BBQ squid which is usually seen for around 50NT was 100NT at Liuhe Night Market! Often times, you can buy three portions of BBQ squid for 100NT. I allowed myself to try a few snacks, but I skipped several dishes due to the unfair pricing.

In Pictures: Kaohsiung's interesting buildings

There is a lot of interesting architecture in Kaohsiung. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them all, but here are some photos of the famous Tuntex Tower (378m, 85 floors), which used to be the tallest building in Taiwan (it lost to the famous one in Taipei, you know), an interesting building down the street from Tuntex Tower (if you know the name, I'll be grateful if you tell me!), Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, and Holy Rosary Cathedral.

Tuntex Tower, shaded by a tree.

In pictures: Formosa Boulevard Station//美麗島站

Formosa Boulevard Station in Kaohsiung was opened in 2008.  It's very well known because of the Dome of Light in the middle of the station which was designed by Narcissus Quagliata.  Honestly, I think it looks just okay in person, but if you want to take pictures of it, you're very likely to pass through the station if you visit Kaohsiung!