So last night we scrambled a bit to make sure we had an itinerary that would work with rain between 10 and 4 with most of the hours showing between 70 and 100% chance of heavy rain. When we woke up, the forecast hadn’t changed so we got on with the planned day. In the end, the thunderstorm got downgraded to a light drizzle that was pretty much over in under an hour. I wouldn’t change much of what we ended up doing though, it’s been a pretty nice not-quite-rained off day in Kaohsiung.
The day started off with us visiting the Kaohsiung Museum of History, so we could get to know a bit more about this city we’re staying in. About a quarter of the rooms were closed off to make new exhibitions, but all the overviews of the city’s history were open to view. First thing, in a previous post I talked about the rebranding of Love River as a bit of a blatant tourism ploy (as that’s how an Expedia video on the city made it sound). Not true – it originates from a journalist’s nickname which has just stuck.
Other than that. The parts of the museum that were translated into English were really interesting. It shows just how much investment has been put into making Kaohsiung function as a city. From the construction of vast networks of canals to massive railway projects to the huge land reclamation schemes made to properly exploit the natural lagoon to turn it into a major harbour. Depending on where you are, you can see just how much is still being invested into modernizing the city – just makes you wonder where it will be in another 10 years.
Time for brunch. One of the main things we wanted to get was beef noodle soup. This is one of the big Taiwanese dishes, so you need to get it whilst you are here. Last time we got it in a night market, this time it was from one of the many small food places that are everywhere you look. This time I wanted to get a thicker noodle and, since they were only a quid, we shared a plate of dumplings. Absolutely delicious.
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We wanted to get some bubble tea for after, so just walked to the nearest place with a good rating. This just so happened to be us stumbling upon the cutest store I have seen since being in Kaohsiung. Everything is bear themed and the furniture is from an old elementary school. For an extra $49 dollars, you can get your bubble tea in a souvenir bear bottle with your choice of strap and bow tie. That’s like just over a pound, so of course I got him for my hazelnut bubble tea.
This place also did shaved ice, which is something I have wanted to have since getting here. We were able to pick four toppings and, again, it felt like a total steal. So with our little bear spoons we ate shaved ice with condensed milk, roasted wheat powder, taro and passion fruit jam. It was such a delicious mix of flavours and if I am ever back in Kaohsiung, this is getting a special visit.
Full to bursting, we rode on the tram line to get to the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Not entirely sure what makes ‘fine art’ distinct from ‘modern art’ in this context because, in effect, this was a museum of modern art.
One thing I have to say about the Taiwanese museums I have visited over both trips: the buildings are beautifully set out and well looked after. Not necessarily the easiest to navigate, but that just becomes part of the fun.
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Over the four floors we saw some truly brilliant pieces of art. Some that come to mind include a partially pixelated wooden sculpture of a stork, some whimsical pieces around perspective showing people looking into the distance when what they are looking for is right there beside them and this political art piece around a chicken puppet that was entered into a Kaohsiung election as a protest against politicians being voted into power for life.
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The top floor felt very special. There is a yearly Kaohsiung art competition and the top floor was dedicated to showcasing the winning entries as well as some special mentions. I guess this is like an equivalent to the Turner Prize in the UK. I really enjoyed seeing just how different the pieces were to fit the loose brief. I especially enjoyed the entry inspired by the ending of The Truman Show, a mixed media piece that combined woodblock printing and jade-like islands and a video piece centred around trying to drill a hole straight through a piece of chalk.
I really do love visiting art galleries in countries where I know nothing about the art scene. Like with my visits to Riga and Ottawa, I saw some fantastic works of art that I feel enriched by.
On the complete flip-side, we went from a fine art museum to Kaohsiung’s Dream Mall. This is the largest mall in Taiwan as well as being one of the largest malls in Asia. It’s 11 floors including a small rooftop theme park.
The theme park… well it’s seen better days. I think when it really gets going, it would feel a bit less haunted. But this is a Thursday afternoon where someone was having a banana boat ride for one and the model dinosaurs made everything that little bit more ridiculous.
It does have a Ferris Wheel though, which meant we were able to get another birds eye view of Kaohsiung. I am a sucker for a good Ferris Wheel, especially when there is an observation tower to make use of.
We had a good look around the mall and made a few purchases here and there. We also used our mall time to have a bit of a sit and grab a snack from one of the bakeries in the basement food court. Three purchases were shared between us to make up a starter (Russian bread with garlic), a main (pork floss bun) and a dessert (sweet potato brown sugar mochi bread). The dessert was the best bread and is one that I don’t think I’ll ever have again.
Some time later we got to having some dinner at the Ruifeng Night Market. This is not a street based night market, instead being set up in a specific area. This is a mix of food vendors, clothes, accessories and carnival games at this market, but we’re here for the food.
The top bite of the night was a Korean-inspired bite that was a take on tteokbokki, but with added chicken, flame-grilled cheese on top and with more of a rose sauce. It was delicious. We also had some watermelon juice and Taiwanese sausage. I also got to try some of the famous fried chicken made by Angel Chicken whilst husband got some flame grilled steak cubes.
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Was this the end of the evening? No, we had one more stop to make at Sanfong Temple. It looked beautiful at night with the lanterns all lit… and what can only be described as a puppet show rave happening in the parking lot. If possible, it’s really special to see some of these Taiwanese temples all lit up at night. It just adds a bit more to the experience, especially if they are known for having lanterns out.
So, that’s it for what was supposed to be a nearly rained off day. It is so humid at the moment and it’s not going to relent tomorrow. This was the final full day in Kaohsiung, with the final two full days being spent exploring the nearby city of Tainan thanks to the train tickets being so much cheaper than back in the UK.
Before I Kick 