Loa on the Go

Good morning from the Taitung train station! Here is me with the cutie 7-Eleven mascot. Onigiris for breakfast and ocean views as we headed further down the east coast and then crossed over to the west side.

We passed miles and miles of some sort of aquaculture and so many palm trees, and said goodbye to the coastal mountains along the east side of the country. we arrived in Kaohsiung and dropped our bags, then got in a long line (we’ve learned to trust this as a good sign) for lunch.

For lunch we had duck and pork rice and duck soup. Pork rice is a classic Taiwanese dish, but this duck was a little different. Braised with spices, the meat on top was tender and juicy with delicious flavorful rice underneath. We also had duck soup, with a gingery broth and mystery bits of meat in it. The broth felt healing, and the mystery bits were fun texturally.

We bussed to the Lotus Pond, a classic spot to visit due to the dragon and tiger pagodas. Not yet used to the full-on hot weather, we stopped for some mango shave ice on the way first!

Lotus pond is surrounded by a walking path and is home to fish, turtles, and many types of birds. We walked into the mouth of the dragon and, after exploring the pagodas, exited through the tiger (the other way around would be bad luck).

The lake was surrounded by some other wonderful structures, like a small temple right on the lake and a larger than life deity.

Still too early to check in, we got ourselves closer to our hotel and ambled around Pier 2, a newer artsy shopping area near the river. At first I was skeptical if we’d need more than 15 minutes to check it out, but some of the shops and sculptures were quite interesting, and sitting by the river with bubble tea wasn’t bad either.

We sampled a free pineapple cake, a classic Taiwanese gift, and luxuriated in the free air conditioning as well, and then checked into our room in time for sunset.

We walked to a nearby temple known for a beautiful display of lanterns, and then visited a night market that I think is one of the best we visited. We had takoyaki, dumplings, and amazing sticky rice with peanuts and pork.

On our way home, we checked out Formosa station, known for a gorgeous light display and glasswork on the ceiling, and then called it a night.