Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Kaohsiung Fo Guang Shan Monastery (佛光山寺)

After visiting the museum, we make our way to the monastery side of Fo Guang Shan. The look up of the building was stunning. It almost looked like a scene from Nepal or Tibet, with the building high up in the mountain slope. 

The walk up was sheltered but slopped. There were many things to see along the way. Writings on the walls, more Buddhist icons, and ponds, lots of ponds. More than  one lotus ponds with Kuan Yin Goddess of Mercy were found along the way like the one above.

Or this one, with a white Kuan Yin in the middle of the pond. The lotus wasn't in bloom though, which was a pity. I can imagine how beautiful it would have looked if they were in full bloom. 

More steps to conquer. It was always like this, seeking God. It was always an uphill climb no matter where you went. Indian God in some cave in the mountain? Checked. Japanese God in some stone stairs above? Checked. Jesus Christ at some slope on a hill? Checked. Lesson here is, always seek God when you are young and fit!

To get to the grand hall, we have to pass a garden of 500 monks.... I don't know why, but they were just there. And accordingly, all 500 was supposed to be unique I guess?

This is the short path to walk pass the 500 monks. My friend asked me to count them. I just did a ballpark estimate. Ain't got no time to count monks, especially stone white ones! I got stairs to conquer!

Finally reached the grand hall. Looks like a palace to me! I would imagine this is what the palace looks like in Beijing. Will let you know when I ever each Beijing! But for now, we settle for Taiwan first. Inside the grand hall? More Gods!

All those God search worked up an appetite for us. We head to the canteen that serves vegetarian meals. I was very much looking forward to this. It was pay-as-you-like. My friend allowed me to pay, and I think I dropped 1000TWD in the box. We both reserved a table with my bags, and grab a paper plate and bowls to fill up with food. OMG, the food was amazing! And it was mango season in Taiwan, so there were ripe mangoes on offer too. The soup was tamarind in taste, and I just bowls after bowls of it. But what stood out was the guava drink. It was summer, it is understood that any cool drink would be delicious. Guava juice never tasted nice in Malaysia before, like, ever.... But the ones  here, was refreshing, chilled, and thirst quenching, and really drives the fatigue away. It was cup after cup of it for me. It was the one thing I remembered most from my meal here. As I grew older, my taste had geared more and more towards vegetarian. I find vegetables taste much more sweeter and juicier. And the scent of herbs were so delicate in certain vegetarian cuisine. I have no problem eating vegetarian as long as they don't serve mock meat. I hate mock meat. 

More scenes of the surrounding nearer the canteen. This was the building with many Buddhas looking out. It's cute that a nun is seen here walking by too. 

After lunch, it was time to leave. We walked out the gate above, and my friend asked me to turn back to read the wordings. I have no idea why there is a shore when you look back. My friend explained it to me in Buddhist concept, and as I was writing this almost one year later, I still couldn't remember the meaning of it. So I googled it (duh!). Here in chinese for your reading pleasure: 回头是岸：佛家语，指有罪的人只要回心转意，痛改前非，就能登上“彼岸”，获得超度。 后比喻做坏事的人，只要决心悔改，就有出路。

There was also this monk statue in the entrance garden that I was strangely drawn to. I couldn't quite explain it, but I could hardly tear my eyes away from him. While uploading the photo for the blog and editing the photos, I saw that in front of him sat a small little red dragon.... maybe that's why?

Ending the post here with a photo of me and my friend in her car as she drove me back to KaohSiung. Thank you so much for your hospitality! We actually met again the next day. Will write about it more, but this was the only photo I took of her cause my next meeting with her was too traumatising, lol. 

Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Kaohsiung Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Museum (佛光山寺)

 

On my 2nd day in KaohSiung, my friend said she will fetch me from my hotel after my breakfast. I wanted to go to Fo Guang Shan Temple, and she said she is a member there and doesn't mind bringing me with her to visit. I graciously accepted her invitation. Fo Guan Shan consist of two sections, the museum, and the monastery, as shown by the direction tree photo above. Tree is knowledge!

I can't recall whether I did eat anything in the hotel. I remembered that I drank some tea or coffee, and I love the customised mug that the hotel uses. Above is a photo of it. It's so meaningful. Sometimes, it's the little things that stands out. I appreciated such small details. I'll show you the full breakfast in my 3rd morning in KaohSiung post later. 

We drove there. It was around a 45mins ride by car, via the beautiful highway. I could see the place even before we reach it. It was huge! Above was actually the area where we parked our car. At first, I thought this was an incinerator.... Turns out it's just a tower marker, and underneath it was a museum shop. My friend had to work a while from her car, so we hang around at the carpark. After that, we walked towards the main entrance. 

Told you everything was bigger in KaohSiung! Above is the main entrance to the Fo Guan Shan Buddhist Museum. It was gigantic! And again, I love that the summer blue skies are there to make all my photos shine! It was a hot summer. Let's go in!

This was what the front garden looked like. In their website, or when you google it online, this is the iconic view that marks the place. Gorgeous. There are 8 pagodas, and in the middle path is the Buddha. I thought my leg would break walking around this area! And the sun! Luckily, there are sheltered walkways at the perimeter of the garden. But since this was my first time here, my friend said that I should walk the middle path up to the Buddha. So I did....

What a splendid view! I wasn't a Buddhist, but I am not beneath admiring the beautiful structure of the Buddha and this temple. 

The entrance to the museum is beneath the big Buddha. And inside, there are different halls and exhibit related to Buddhism. I did take some photos, but won't be sharing any here. What's cool is, you can go all the way up to the roof top to walk around.

Here is a view from the roof top. There are a few stupa surrounding it, and in each one, there is a god inside. Each stupa is also taken care of by a nun, and she will show you how to pay your respect to the god. We were also given a small praying card with words related to the God there, and the image of the God. I kept all mine and placed them in my scrapbook :)

I love the view from the roof top. Especially with such blue skies. The above photo even looks almost like a pyramid! And it looked like God/Buddha was floating in the sky!

You can also look back to the path you just walked in on, and you can see the mountains of Taiwan in the horizon. We did ask a nun what mountains are those, and she was kind enough to explain to us. Actually the nuns there are so friendly and chatty, and it was fun stopping by to talk to them. We were quite early, and on a weekday, so there weren't many people around. .

One of the nun gave us a map of the place as well, so that we won't miss any of the attraction the temple has to offer.  She asked where was I from. When I said Malaysia, she told me that there is branch of their temple in Malaysia too. She gamely google it for me and showed it to me on the mobile, lol. 

In all, it was a beautiful place. Very peaceful, and very modern. They often provide you some offering to be placed in the alter, and the offerings are reusable. It was the gesture that matters. There were no burning of incense or paper offering here. It was very buddhist! The nuns were also relatively young and approachable. A highly recommended place to visit. I was fortunate to get a free ride here. If not, there are buses that comes here, but quite troublesome to board one....

Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Kaohsiung LiuHe Night Market (六合夜市)

First night in KaohSiung and already I am at my 2nd night market. This is LiuHe Night market, pretty close walking distance from my hotel. In the three nights that I was staying here, I think I visited it every single night. It was my all time favourite night market in Taiwan! I would love to come back here again in future :)

Why do I live this night market so much. Well compared to those I've been to in Taipei, this one was a lot more spacious. And perhaps I was there early, but it was a lot less crowded than the other night markets I've been too. But really, it could just be because of the space that is available here. Everything seems bigger in KaohSiung :)

I mean, look at the road! So super wide! They stopped the traffics from coming in during evening. And it was just one long road of food everywhere! Tables and chairs were also available for you to sit down to have a meal. I actually ate there on my 2nd day in KaohSiung. I always go early so that I don't have to fight with the crowd. But here, there was always space. And that meant a lot to a claustrophobic like me. 

Oh yeah, when I said they stopped traffic from entering, apparently that does not mean scooters. You can still get hit by scooters! So be careful! You can always get hit by a scooter everywhere in Taiwan! Hahaha. 

There was a souvenir shop, or a pharmacy which I went in to. On the 2nd floor there was a daruma shrine. I don't know why. I don't want to know why. But it looks cute. So I took a photo and left. Ya, just wanted to mention it since the photo is already uploaded here :P

Above the first stall I bought from, a "big sausage hug small sausage" snack. Sounds dirty, doesn't it? :P

Anyway, it's glutinous rice sausage over a taiwanese sausage, served with pickled vegetables, chilli sauce and mustard. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it very much. But I did like the aunty selling it. She was actually lecturing a Hong Kong guy about needing to try new things when travelling, cause he didn't want to try any of the sauces that the aunty recommended. When it was my turn to order, told the aunty she can put anything she think best :)

After purchasing my dinner, I walked back to my hotel. Look at how wide the roads are in KaohSiung! It's like 4 ways? 6 ways? 8 way main road? Even the pavement is wide! I won't have problem cycling here!

This bus stop was just across my hotel, and while I was waiting for the traffic light to cross, this bus pulls up and shows the sign that I just had to stop to take a photo for memory sake. Incidentally I was also stuck in this bus stop one of the days when it rained. So, during the summer it is super hot during the morning. And around late afternoon, it would pour. And then stopped. Weird weather. 

This is the view from across my hotel while I was at the traffic light. My hotel is the building on the left. On the right you can see a super red sign that says: Authentic Pork Rib Rice! Oh my, bet you I'll have to try that before I check-out! How could you not give such meal a try when you see it everyday when you walk by, and even from your bedroom window? 

So here's what I had for my dinner. Papaya milk, cause you gotta try papaya milk in Taiwan, it's a thing here. The dirty sausage thing. And I think I got pop-corn chicken on my first night. I think at this stage, I was eating too much meat and carbo. No worries, I'm going for a vegetarian buffet the next day! Going to load up on the vegetables there!. And oh yeah, I think I wasn't suppose to eat in the room. In my defence, I could always say I can't read mandarin, but I think it was one of the rules written in chinese somewhere. But since I already ate there on my first night, I continued to do so daily, lol. But I made sure I throw all my rubbish on my own at the central bin on the 2nd floor eating area. If I didn't do that, the food smell would stick up the room! And this being a cheap hotel, there was no room service through out my stay, not that I bothered.

Lastly, here is why I love travelling. Look at the step count on this day! Goodness, what on early did I do? I think my average daily is usually 25k steps. So I'm posting this for the record. And that ends my first night in KaohSiung. My other friend was picking me up next morning, so I better sleep early!

Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Kaohsiung NanHua Market Walkaround

The nearest night market from Formosa Boulevard station was NanHua Night Market. So I headed there to look around. It was probably around 5pm or so. This place wasn't on my top list as it focuses more on clothing. But since I was nearby, no harm dropping by. I am glad I did :)

In the hot summer heat, I found a nice push cart in the market selling ice ai-yu jelly. The lady selling it looks old enough to be authentic, so I ordered a bowl using my fluent Hokkien. Amazed, she understood what I said! And she served me this beautiful bowl of aiyuping, but in a plastic bowl instead of the beautiful bowl you see in below...

Luckily the aiyuping was so delicious and refreshing. I sat down and enjoyed it to the last drop. And I was leaving, I said bye to her, and she thank me for stopping by and giving her the business. I felt so humbled by her words. Was business so bad here? Well, I am glad to have stopped by. I love supporting these small mum and pop businesses, whether at home in my hometown, or anywhere I travel. I would rather spend my money on them than some big brand shops. This is a more personal way of reaching out to the locals. 

After cooling down from the aiyu, I walked around, and as expected, found the market rather boring. So I ventured out and found some murals instead, with kids playing football in front of it. It looked pretty newly painted, judging from the vibrant colours of it.

Here is another section of it. It was a rather long mural.

As I made my way down to the station and again to look for the 2nd night market, I found the above lonely inu shiba taiyaki sitting alone there. I was quite tempted to sit down next to it to take a phone :) But at least, I didn't. I only managed the above shot. Maybe next trip little inu shiba. 

I also walked past a post office, and it was also super cute! I mean, look at the post box above! It was past 5pm, so the post office was closed. I used to send myself and my parents postcards from all over the world. It was fun and cheap, and I love collecting the stamps. Somehow, I've stopped doing that now... Oh wait, the last post card I sent was from my trip in Ipoh in 2022! Ok, not so bad! Maybe I should start again! 

Above is the post office mascot. Told you everything was cute in Taiwan. Again, I could have sat down next to them to take a selfie, but the adult me stopped my self.... They kinda looked like those Precious Moment dolls, don't they? 

I leave this photo as last. It's from a cafe at the station. I love the poster. But I especially love the wordings on the poster "路是人走出来的". Do I need to translate it for you? It means, all roads are walked out by men. I guess its the same meaning as all rules are made by men? Hence anything can be resolve since it is man-made, man can change it. Or something along that line. That's what I think anyway. Was I wrong? Point to ponder. 

Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Welcome to Kaohsiung!

 

When I arrived in KaohSiung, everything looked so new! The train station was under renovation. I realise that summer season is not tourist season in Taiwan, and a lot of things were under renovation. It's probably because of the insane heat. I never did believe people when they say summer is hotter than the weather in Malaysia/Singapore. Now I knew better! Walking out of the station, the road towards the hotel I was staying at was kinda confusing. Nothing google map couldn't fix. I managed to locate the hotel in an alley. And just when I was about to check in, the receptionist told me that I was in the wrong hotel! Wow, first time that has happened to me! But he was kind enough to tell me how to get to my correct hotel. In my defence, both hotels have the same name SingleInn. Apparently the road name is different. Blind me!

Finally arriving at the correct place, checking in was a breeze. And then they show me the house rules. All in mandarin. I took a photo and said thanks. Do I even know how to read this???? Well apparently, I didn't bother, lol. 

Single Inn was the cheapest hotel in my solo trip. It was also the worst, not because of the hotel, but because of a super noise chinese lady staying on my floor who talked loudly and keep shouting. The hotel itself was lovely. They provided a complimentary drink which I can redeem anytime within my stay, and free daily breakfast. What a bargain!

Here's my super small room. I don't really mind the size. I love that it was a long window that lets in the natural light. The bed was super comfy. Toilet and bathroom was shared. I guess the one thing I didn't like about it was, the aircon was centralised. So I can't adjust it cooler. I stayed for 3 nights. 

After settling in and freshening up, I was off to explore. Above is the map of my hotel location. I was headed to Formosa Boulevard first, then to NanHua Night Market, and then to LiuHe Night Market. What? Two night markets on the same day? Why not? I think this was not the only time I visited two night markets on the same day on my stay in KaohSiung! Lol. 

Formosa Boulevard Station was famous for the above stained glass feature. When I saw it, it was huge! I had a hard time trying to capture everything into one photography. I wanted to just sit there and stared into the heavens. But it might have been weird doing that alone? I lingered around instead, looking at the shops and decoration nearby. 

I recognise the above blue cat from the telegram stickers that I love so much. Was it originated from here? I took a photo to show it to my husband for translation. Apparently there was going to be an event held. A few days later, I saw people queueing to buy the cat's merchandise too. Interesting.

More blue cats on the wall of the station. This place was super cute! Maybe that's why I choose Taiwan and Japan as my first 2 full solo trip. Everything is just super cute here! Makes me feel so safe! Lol.