DAY 05 - 莲池潭, 新崛江&原宿玉竹夜市, Dream Mall, 六合观光夜市

We were deadbeat yesterday after the drug allergy ordeal, hence today, both Eugene and I slept like a dead log and the room attendant unintentionally wanted to make up our room at around 11am. Guess she would never have thought that tourists will still be sleeping at 11am haha ..

Eugene’s eyes are still very swollen today and he refused to let me take his picture .. =P

In order to protect the victim’s perfect image, I shall attach a picture of a puffer fish to illustrate how swollen his eyes are haha ..

Despite the swell, we were still very keen to explore the scenic side of 高雄. Anyway today will be a better day, why waste it right? Hehe ..

Our first stop on the agenda will be the popular Lotus Lake, 莲池潭. From our research, we can actually walk to 莲池潭 from Zuoying Station. Luckily, our basic instinct told us not to and we took Bus 51 and reached the entrance of 莲池潭 in about 10 mins. If a bus journey can take 10mins, can you imagine how long you have to walk before you can reach 莲池潭? Sometimes, it is good to trust your instinct haha ..

Nevertheless, I have attached a few options on how to go to 莲池潭:

Direction to 莲池潭:
o http://invest.kcg.gov.tw/specstreet/chinese/16/16_04.htm
o http://travelswithsandy.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/kaohsiung-lotus-lake/

Option 1: For the adventurous and strong legs
o Near the Zuoying Station → cross the avenue → head north on ShengLi Rd
o Lake is on the right

Option 2:
o Take Bus No. 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 21, 29, 31, 38, 45
o Alight at ZuoYing Farmers’ Association
o Walk down ShengLi Rd

Option 3:
o Zuoying Station → Exit 2 → Bus 51
o Cost of Bus: NT$12 (1-way)
o Duration of Bus: 10mins
o Alight outside 莲池潭

As mentioned, Option 3 is the way to go .. =)

莲池潭 was quite quiet and we could only see a handful of tourists here. But the surroundings were very serene, perfect for a great afternoon walk.


What greeted us first were the popular Dragon and Tiger Pagoda, 龙虎塔.

Before you reach the 龙虎塔, you have to walk through the zigzag pathway first.

There you go, the 龙虎塔 welcoming us !! Reminds me of our Haw Par Villa, don’t you think so? Haha ..

There is a certain sequence to enter the mouths of the dragon and tiger. Based on the instructions written on the signboard, you have to enter from the dragon’s mouth and exit from the tiger’s mouth for good luck. Of course being the obedient us, we follow without further ado hehe ..

After exiting from the dragon’s tail, we saw the transquil Spring and Autumn Pavillion, 春秋阁, sitting peacefully in the middle of the lake.

Entering through the tiger’s tail and hurray, we were exiting and good luck will befall on us SOON !! HUAT AH !! haha ..

A last view of the 龙虎塔 after our exit, wish that Eugene’s swell will subside soon and be handsome once more hehe ..

On the way to the 春秋阁, we saw the Confucius Temple, 孔庙 sitting far far away. This statue is REALLY big as I maximized my zoom before I could get this shot so you can imagine how far it is. 孔庙 is of the same age as me, built in 1976 hehe ..

There you go, the exquisite 春秋阁 with lots of well-wishing lanterns, 平安灯, lining all the way to it.

Upon closer look at the 平安灯, you will see various blessings written on the lanterns. Some are for good health, some are for good luck and no matter what blessings they are, they are meant for the well-being of all of us .. =)

春秋阁 has a dragon too and we do not know whether it symbolizes any meaning as that of the 龙虎塔. Nevertheless, we entered for fun hehe ..

Wow, look at the exquisite drawings on the wall. Believe they depict some interesting folklore stories.

Next to the 春秋阁 is the majestic 玄天大帝 statue. Instead of 平安灯, 玄天大帝 has 2 rows of warriors lining up the path to it. All the warriors are famous ancient characters each with an impressive story of his own.

Ooh, the solemn 玄天大帝. We must show our respect in front of him hehe .. very 威武 right?

Hehe .. got bored and took some abstract picture of myself .. now you see me, now you don’t hehe ..


There are a lot of activities going on around 莲池潭. It is like a lake in a neighbourhood where a lot of locals, especially the elders, rest and relax here.

You can see old folks catching up on the good old days under the cooling trees.

Or some devotees praying earnestly to the 玄天大帝.

You could even catch sight of people fishing here !! haha .. hopefully that uncle will have good catch today with 玄天大帝 overlooking him hehe ..


Loitered around 莲池潭 and we saw a mini lotus pond. It is a very small pond with a few miserable lotus flowers.

I wanted to go to the Confucius Temple but it was really far and to make it worse, it was very very hot and hence we decided to give it a miss.

Weather in 高雄 is really unbearable, in fact it is even hotter than Singapore *sweat*. According to Eugene’s colleagues, due to the hot weather, 高雄 water heaters heat up very fast and this in a way, helps the 高雄 residents save a lot of money on electricity. Haha, interesting ..

In order to make up for the shopping trip yesterday, we decided to go to 新崛江&原宿玉竹商圈 to shop to our hearts’ contents.

Direction to 原宿玉竹商圈:
o http://invest.kcg.gov.tw/specstreet/chinese/04/index.htm
o Take the Rapid Transit Red Line → Central Park → Exit 2 → Walk straight and turn left → 原宿玉竹
o Near 六合观光夜市 at 中山一路, opposite ShinKuChan Shopping Centre, beside 统一阪急百货
o 新崛江 is located on the road opposite 原宿玉竹

There are 2 streets in 原宿玉竹 and even though it was already past noon. The streets were very quiet. Some shops had just opened and there were not alot of shoppers around.

We finished shopping around the 2 streets in a short while and I still managed to buy a very stylo dress for NT$600 (around S$27). Should have bargained with the salesgirl but never mind, it was still a good buy hehe.

On the whole, clothes are more expensive in 高雄 than in 台北. There seems to be nothing good about 高雄. Things are more expensive, streets are quiet, scenic places are boring and even the weather kills *sigh*. Should have stayed one day in 高雄 and spend 2 days in 台中. 台中 should be more interesting right ? *cry* that uncle who chatted with me at the hospital was so right about 高雄 haha ..

Enough of 原宿玉竹 and we crossed the road to go to 新崛江. At the entrance of the street, we saw a reporter reporting on illegal stall owners blocking the street and shopfront of some of the shops. This is a common trait of the Taiwanese, they are known to be outspoken and freedom of speech is definitely being practised here. They are folks who know what their rights are and dare to fight for them. They are FIGHTERS !! =)


Seeing the scarce number of stalls at the entrance, we thought it would be another dead street. But NO, everything came alive as we ventured deeper !! There were alot of people in the inner streets and things looked more happening too *jump jump*. 新崛江 and 原宿玉竹商圈 are known as the 西门町 in 高雄 and we were so disappointed when we shopped at 原宿玉竹 just now. But 新崛江 helped to score some points for 高雄 and at least it helped to liven up our 高雄 trip haha ..


The ShinKuChan Shopping Centre is similar to Singapore’s Far East Shopping Centre with a lot of small shops and it looked interesting. But we decided to move on to the Dream Mall before the sky turned too dark to shoot the cutie Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.

Dream Mall, 夢時代, is a new kid on the block. It was opened recently and is the highlight of 高雄, all thanks to its Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.

Directions to Dream Mall:
o http://www.dream-mall.com.tw/dreamMall/index.asp
o Operating hours: 11am – 10pm
o Attractions

• Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel
• Duration of 1 cycle: 15mins
• Cost: NT$100

Option 1: Train
o 高雄 Main Station → 凯旋站 (R6) → Exit 3 → Turn right → Free shuttle bus service (5mins)
o Duration of train: 10mins
o Cost of train: NT$25

Option 2: Walk
o 高雄 Main Station → 凯旋站 (R6) → Exit 3 → Turn left → 5 mins walk

Upon reaching, we decided to rest our legs at the Azabo Sabo restaurant and ordered 2 yummy ice creams. Whole day of walking can really kill but the ice creams eased all the soreness and weariness hehe ..


After which we went to the top floor excitedly (like a kid) to catch a glimpse of the popular Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.

It is actually a normal ferris wheel just that the carriages are all painted with Sanrio characters which make it special and interesting.


The top floor is a mini amusement park and the games are TOO YOUNG for old folks like us haha ..

A close up view of the ferris wheel, bet it will be very beautiful once the sky turns dark. Look at the colorful lights running through the wheel .. ooh ..

Eugene wanted to check out the IT stuff in 高雄 too to compare the prices with that in 台北. For IT geeks, you can go to 建国二路. This whole street is lined with IT shops, similar to Akihabara in Japan and you can shop till you drop. But the prices here are much more expensive than 台北, hence window-shopping is highly recommended hehe ..

Ok, if you would have noticed, I did not post any picture of any interesting food this far (except for ice cream). Well, we did have our meals but the food was not interesting. But not to worry, the pictures that follow will whet your appetite haha ..

Yes, we went to the happening 六合观光夜市!!

Directions to 六合观光夜市:
o Operating hours of 六合观光夜市: 5pm – 5am

Option 1: Walk
o 高雄 Main Station
o 10 - 15 mins walk along 中山路

Option 2: Train
o 乘坐捷運至美麗島站 (R10) → Exit 11
o This station is a popular wedding shooting spot. Check out the bright and beautiful MRT exit. Next to the MRT is a street lined up with a lot of bridal shops, similar to Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar hehe ..

六合观光夜市 is a small night market. Unlike 士林夜市, it is merely one street long but the street is wide and airy and you do not have to rub shoulders with sweaty people haha.

There are a lot of popular snacks too and one of them is the famous 度小月担仔面 (台南 style), NT$40. It tastes like prawn noodles and even though the soup base is oily, I would still give it a 7 out of 10. Tasty ! =)


After a hearty 担仔面, it’s time for some desserts. Taiwanese love shaved ice and desserts and you will always find a lot of such stalls at night markets. But we were spoilt for choice and did not know which stall to try till we saw a stall with a lot of foreigners and locals queuing up. Since there was a queue, the dessert should not be too bad and I happily joined the queue too haha .. this is what we called “Monkeys see, Monkeys do” haha ..

The Mango Ice cost NT$60 and I was quite disappointed with it. Even though it looked delicious, it did not taste as good as it looked. The mango was not as fresh as what I have thought but nevertheless, it was a new experience.

After we loitered around 六合, we decided to stroll back to our hotel.

Eugene was still not full after a bowl of 担仔面 and coincidentally, at the intersection of 自立一路 and 八德路, we saw our saviour haha .. 鲜芋仙!!

鲜芋仙 has several branches in Taiwan. We saw it in 台北 and now we saw it in 高雄. The desserts should be reasonably good and I hope they will not turn up like the mango ice with deceiving looks haha ..

Eugene tried the chin chow. Wow, VERY BIG bowl and he could wash his face in it haha ..

The chin chow is very nutritional with peanuts, red beans and chin chow. It costs NT$50 and it tasted very fresh. But it could be more tasty though as it tasted abit bland. But on hindsight, if it tasted too sweet, it will lose its nutritional value hehe ..

I tried the mixed muah chee with different flavours and they tasted GREAT! Very tasty and it costs NT$50 too. Very satisfying and we walked back to our hotel with a smile haha ..

Today marked the end of our stay in 高雄 and despite the drug allergy incident and disappointments along the way, we were glad that at least we have been to 高雄. It was truly eventful and tomorrow will be another exciting day! 台中 .. oooohh ..