Current mood:

fortunate

Part II - Sights of Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung, Taiwan is only approximately an hour away from Hong Kong by flight. Mom and I embarked China Airlines aircraft among other HK locals to tour Kaohsiung for 3 days, 2 nights.

According to the tour guide, Kaohsiung is the 2nd largest city in Taiwan (first largest is Taipei). Three days in Kaohsiung was actually sufficient time to tour this city. Other than the congested air, the city definitely had its unique charm. I'm always fascinated with the way of life in foreign countries. The differences in culture never cease to intrigue me.

Before dusk, we visited a few temples and famous landmarks.












Old man sweeping at a temple.



Enter at the mouth of the dragon and exit at the mouth of the tiger for good luck.




Mom and I floating down the famous "Love River."



Tea ceremony



The night market is one of Taiwan's highlights where one can have a chance to experience authentic "small eats." The city is wide awake at 10pm. At the night market, food stand owners commence their nightly grind and locals flood the streets for a taste of black sesame beef cakes, papaya milk drinks, white bittermelon milkshake, red bean stuffed sweet cakes, seasoned beef noodles, fresh fruits, fresh potstickers or dumplings, just to name a few.

Our hotel was a twenty minute walk from the night market but we didn't mind strolling along the streets to familiarize ourselves with the city. Besides from discovering a street of wedding boutiques exclusively catering to engaged couples, look what we stumbled upon:



The night market



My all-time favorite: salt and pepper green onion pancakes.


By the time we finished stuffing ourselves, we were too tired walk back to the hotel. So we hopped into a cab. Check out the dashboard:


Those pictures are indeed pictures of the cab driver.


The most popular form of transportation used are scooters.

Rush hour in Kaohsiung.



On the morning of our departure, Mom and I decided to stroll along the streets of Kaohsiung once more. At the corner of the street from our hotel, I saw a child with a bowl covering the entirety of her face, pigtails sticking out on both sides of the bowl. When she put the bowl down, I saw the face of a little girl with the plumpest cheeks. She was having a meal at the sidewalk noodle stand her father owned. I learned from her father that she was 6 years old. I asked why she wasn't attending school and her father said she was too young. She was dressed in what appeared to be men's clothing. I couldn't explain why but my heart went out to this adorable child.





With my broken mandarin, I told her father that she was most adorable. Upon hearing my words, the little girl smiled in glee. She revealed missing teeth in the front while her eyes disappeared into slits. Her father was so excited that I thought his daughter was adorable that he proudly told me, among other things I couldn't understand, that his daughter was very heavy. He kept insisting that I carry his daughter in the air, so I did as he pleased. She was quite heavy and seemed thrilled that I was fond of her. I dug through my bag hoping to find a toy or souvenir. She gave me the same gleeful smile as I handed her the piece of candy I found.

On my way back to the hotel, I saw the little girl again. She flashed me a bashful smile and I asked her father if I could take a picture with her.





I hope happiness never escapes her.