Kaoshiung 高雄 - In and around

Kaoshiung City gets my thumbs-up. In my own opinion, she is way ahead of capital city Taipei in terms of city planning and cleanliness. The pedestrian walkways are well-light, well-paved with clear directional signs (at least this is so at the main tourist streets). Vehicular traffic is a lot more orderly than elsewhere in Taiwan which I've seen thus far. Aesthetics also seem to rank higher in this city. You notice that in the specially designed street signs, lamp-posts, pavements, etc. Even the subway station is a piece of art on its own. I always love a beautiful city.

Formosa Boulevard Station

One of the bridges over Love River 爱河 - an enchanting part of the city.

The right side of the river (in this picture) comes alive at night with buskers, live music performances and eateries. 

Such a befitting sculpture

These quirky ones are outside a movie museum at the Love River

There are many interesting sights in the outskirts of the city which could take a couple of days to explore. They are mostly accessible by public buses, but we decided to hire a taxi and spent a good whole day exploring some of these places.

Fo Guang Shan 佛光山：

佛光山 － the largest buddhist monastery in Taiwan

 

Qi Shan Old Town 旗山老街：

旗山老街 - for old houses and traditional street food 

A quaint little train station at 旗山 which is no longer in use

An odd looking building across the train station

Meinong Village 美浓村：

美浓 - known for their handcrafted paper umbrellas

Try your hands (or feet) at some traditional childhood games

Cijin 旗津：

When night fell, we took a ferry across to Cijin Island

Ferry Terminal building on the side of Cijin

It's a walk back in time on Cijin. Lots of old-time street fair and games.

The Ma-Tzu Temple on Cijin