Takao Railway Museum + Hamasen Railway Cultural Park + The Pier-2 Art Center

After spending the morning in Cijin Island, we took the ferry back, had lunch and headed towards Takao Railway Museum (打狗鐵道故事館), located near Sizihwan (西子灣) metro station.

Entrance to Takao Railway Museum

Old trains which visitors are not allowed to climb onto

Just beside Takao Railway Museum is the Hamasen Railway Cultural Park (哈瑪星鐵道文化園區). On the day we visited, there was a group of graduates taking photos in their graduation gown in this area... reminds me of my younger days so many years ago.

Art sculptures scattered among the old railway tracks

Giant dressing table and sofa art sculptures

Giant musical instrument art sculpture

Giant luggage art sculpture

Resting area under the tree

Fancy a ride on this mini train?

Mini train taking its passengers around the cultural park

These Labor and Fishwoman 「工人及漁婦」art pieces are found around The Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區). They are symbols of the important industrial and maritime workforce of Kaohsiung.

Pier2 Train Station wall mural 「車站壁畫」

Bumblebee?

Cijin Shell Museum (旗津貝殼博物館)

On Day 2 of our Kaohsiung trip, we started the day at Cijin Island (旗津島). We took the train on the orange line to Sizihwan (西子灣) station and walked to Gushan Ferry Pier (鼓山輪渡站).

Gushan Ferry Pier

One lane for pedestrians (on the right) and one lane for those with motorbikes (on the left)

Boarding the ferry

It doesn't take long for us to reach the island. I had initially wanted to rent a bicycle to ride around the island, but the weather forecast suggested that it was going to rain. Thus, we took the mini bus instead. It goes around the island in one direction. Before we reach our stop at Cijin Shell Museum (旗津貝殼博物館), the bus made a short rest stop at a market, where there is a beach on the opposite side of the street.

Cijin Island beach with greyish sand

Finally arriving at the Shell Museum

The museum showcases an individual's personal collection of seashells from all over the world. I never knew that seashells come in so many different shapes and sizes.

Kaohsiung Night Markets

We started with Nanhua Night Market (南華夜市) because it is nearest to our hotel. The stretch of shops along the sheltered road are mostly selling clothes and shoes (which I find are not very fashionable). I thought that I could settle my dinner here, but there was only a few roadside food stalls at the end of the street. As you can see from the photos below, there wasn't any crowd at all and the road was shared between the pedestrian and the motorcycles.

Food stalls at one end of Nanhua Night Market

In no time, we were out of there and we headed for Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市), which was a lot more interesting for me because there were more food varieties. There were also more visitors here at Liuhe than Nanhua, but the crowd certainly cannot compare with the amount of humans in Taipei night markets.

Different flavours of milk candies

Barbecued over charcoal

Pick your fresh seafood and proceed to the dining area behind

Fresh squid (on the left) vs fried squid (on the right)

Another seafood stall

Kaohsiung Lotus Pond (蓮池潭)

After unpacking and a brief rest at our hotel, we head out to the Lotus Pond. Armed with the camera and umbrella (because it had been drizzling since the moment we arrived), we took the metro from Formosa Boulevard station to Zuoying station.

Dome of Light at Formosa Boulevard metro station

When we reached Zuoying station, we were quite lost as there wasn't any signage or information directing us to Lotus Pond. So we had to approach the very busy customer service counter. We followed his instruction and found the bus stop.

The route of Red 51 bus that would take us to Lotus Pond from Zuoying station

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (龍虎塔)

It is said that for good luck, you should enter the pagoda through the dragon mouth and exit through the tiger mouth.

Paintings in the pagoda

Sculptures of legendary characters along the walls of the dragon and tiger walkway

Spring and Autumn Pavilions (春秋閣)

Entrance to the pavilions via the dragon mouth

Wuli Pavilion (五里亭) located behind Spring and Autumn Pavilions

The rain was getting heavier and the place was crowded with tourist, we decided to end our exploration at this point, although we have only visited a small section of the Lotus Pond.