Yuanheng Buddhist Temple: Kaohsiung Part 5

My last Taiwan post! :) We went to Yuanheng Buddhist Temple which is located up in the mountains (and just a few bus stops away from the city zoo!), giving visitors a magnificent view of the city as the temple meets both the sunrise and the sunset. It was originally built in 1743, but was rebuilt and relocated several times before being moved to its present location. It has living quarters for the many monks who reside there and visitors are free to enter the main hall to sit and pray. It was very calming to sit inside and marvel at the three Buddha statues while observing a few locals offering their prayers. 

Spacious main hall with cushions for people to sit on as they pray. 

And lots of fans for those hot days.

Living quarters for the monks :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Mango Shave Ice

Since summer is upon us, I thought of this delicious and refreshing snack. I don't know what the actual name is, but it was a type of mango shave ice made from frozen mango and milk. My friend and I found this little snack shop while walking around Lotus Pond and practically ran inside to place our order. We were rewarded with a mountain of this cold snack and it really helped us beat the heat for awhile :) 

More posts to come this week since I have a lot to catch up on! As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful week :)

Rui Feng Night Market: Kaohsiung Part 4

Our second night market experience was none other than Rui Feng, located just a five minute walk from Kaohsiung Arena Station (R14) on the MRT. If you're looking for some serious food, this market is for you as Rui Feng's main focus is food. There are more sitting areas for people to order their food and relax, but my friend and I chose to wander through the stalls and sample a variety of food. Beware: go right when it opens! The first half hour was nice and not very crowded, but that quickly changed and we had to duck out into one of the side stores because crowds and hot food paired with the already humid night made it a bit uncomfortable. Oh, and the stinky tofu. And it is stinky. VERY. We could smell that stuff before we even saw it...

Got my mango milk!!

While Rui Feng has a wide variety of food tents and vendors, it also has quite a bit of games and smaller stores. The games are aimed towards children, but I wouldn't have minded winning one of those cute pillows if I had the space in my bag!

And yep, a merry-go-round on wheels!! 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Lotus Pond: Kaohsiung Part 3

Our first full day in Kaohsiung was spent at the Lotus Pond, a man made area located on the east side of the Zuoying district lined with various temples and pagodas. This makes it one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kaohsiung and walking around the entire pond will take several hours. However, my friend and I chose to walk up until Pei Chi Pavilion before we turned around.

Our first stop was the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas which are seven stories tall and were actually built as an extension of Ciji Palace located right across the street. It is said that you enter through the dragon's mouth and exit from the tiger's mouth for good luck. Inside the stomach's of the dragon and tiger are various drawings that depict images from heaven and hell, encouraging visitors to only do good deeds so that they may avoid the punishment that awaits them in hell. The seventh floor on both pagodas are closed off to tourists, but the views from each floor more than makes up for that that :) 

We actually didn't stay that long because of the heat and humidity, but it was still worth going to the Lotus Pond. 

Ciji Palace located across the street and the famous Bridge of 9 Turns that visitors walk going to and from the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.

Ciji Palace :)

Wuli Pavilion

Perfect place to escape from the sun and heat! 

Pei Chi Pavilion. A 24 meter tall statue of Xuantian Shan Di, the God of War, who was said to control the elements can be seen from the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!