Kaohsiung's Must-See Attractions 🇹🇼 Sanfong Temple, Dome of Light, Pier2 Art Centre / Nishi V

Good morning from Tainan. We arrived yesterday and we're already checking out and leaving. I'm going to really quickly show you our room before we do check out. We're staying at the Shangri-La in Tainan. It is absolutely fabulous. I mean just look at these views. Also they do oat milk. First hotel I've come across on my travels here that do oat milk but these views are insane. Now annoyingly I've been overly ambitious with our itinerary for the last leg of our travels. I don't know how this has happened. It's really frustrating because I felt there's so much I want to see and do but we just don't have the time. I'm actually not sure why we stopped in Tainan. I thought we'd have a full day to explore but we don't because we need to get on the train and go to Kaohsiung today. So I've made the decision to leave Tainan, not explore here and head to Kaohsiung early because we have two nights there which are our final two nights in Taiwan but there's more to do there and we either rush around Tainan today and then try and squeeze in two days worth of stuff into one in Kaohsiung which is not going to work so we have to pick one or the other. I think we're picking Kaohsiung right Jess? Yeah. Yeah it's just I don't know. I don't know what the best thing to do is but annoyingly this hotel is a 30 minute uber ride away from the HSR station and there's no metro system in Tainan so and all the stuff to do is near the station so we'd have to get an uber there, see all the stuff, then come back for our luggage and then go back again. It just doesn't make sense and we have a lot of luggage because we've been doing a lot of shopping. So we're heading to Kaohsiung but I will take you there on this vlog. I just wanted to show you this hotel because I can't believe we stayed at a Shangri-La. I know we stayed at one in China and that was a really nice hotel too, the staff and the service there were not great but this one is really affordable for a Shangri-La so if you're coming to Tainan I highly recommend you stay here even though it's a little bit further out from all the places that you need to see here. Pretty sure I've said this in a different vlog but the high-speed rail here is so efficient and it's just brilliant, it's so easy to navigate, it always runs on time, it's very smooth, it's very quick, it's very very clean, like I love everything about it and this is our third time taking it. So on the right hand side up there you can see that that's the southbound trains, it's just changed from English to Chinese but we only have one stop to go from Tainan to Zuoying. Zuoying is the station you go to for Kaohsiung which is the final stop on the line so we've only got one stop to go. I don't know how long it takes, oh 15 minutes or so, it's really good. It starts all the way in Taipei and I love it. We have our tickets, we have to basically go like these escalators, scan them somewhere and just look for the southbound platform. It even tells you which car you're in, so we're in car five, what our reserved seats are and on the platform there are arrows to show you where to stand and which side not to stand on so people get off on the other side. It's just brilliant honestly, it makes public transport in the UK just look awful honestly. We've just checked into our hotel in Kaohsiung and Jas is making me laugh. I would have showed you the room before we unpacked all of our stuff, I literally went to pee and Jas has opened up both suitcases, we've been living out of one at a time. He's very excited because this hotel has a complimentary laundry room and you don't need to pay for it and because it's our last hotel in Taiwan he was like just do all our laundry here because they have happy hour next door to the laundry room. He's like chuck all the laundry in, put it in the dryer. I'm actually loving the sound of this, I have nothing to do when I get home, it'll be perfect but let me just show you the room. It's interesting because the guy said we've upgraded you to the executive floor and we were like oh and we walked in and we're like oh. I mean it's nice, it's fine, it's a million and ten times better than that horrific place we stayed at at Southern Moon Lake but it's just small, it doesn't feel very executive. That's the entrance where Jas is, that's our suitcase, he's already got the laundry ready, there's a bed, a little sofa situation, our other suitcase, a TV and you can just about see people on the toilet through there which is a bit weird. I thought it was our room when we walked in, there's a room there. Oh I'll show you, okay let me put my shoes on we'll go out. You come out of the lifts just behind us and this is the first thing you see on this floor. Jas thought this was our room, this is a business centre slash meeting area. I don't think we can even get in, please sense the room card. Oh it does open, press the button. Oh so they serve drinks here, oh look they've got cookies and things. Nobody does like sugar-free drinks here which I'm really struggling to find apart from in a 7-eleven. They do iced, I think this is beer self-service and yeah it's just really cool, it's very very nice. Yeah it's a meeting room, oh it's a VIP lounge, meeting room and business centre. Are we going down? Yes. First though we're actually heading out to find somewhere to eat because it is 20 past 3 and we've actually not had a meal today. We don't really have breakfast included in most of our hotels that we've stayed in apart from the horrible one, Sun Moon Lake, so sometimes we've paid for breakfast, sometimes we've gone out, we just weren't really that hungry this morning and because we've had our travel sort of morning down to Kaohsiung we just thought we'd find a restaurant and eat and we got some crisps didn't we? I've got these like favourite crisps from the 7-eleven here, they're tomato flavoured but they're like they're like square straws and they're just really tasty and they're quite cheap and we shared a packet of those and now we're heading out for like a very late lunch. What's the total? $530. Thank you. So we've gone for a baked pasta to share, a tomato sauce, mushroom and broccoli, we've also gone for the teen spirit pizza to share as well and it's a spicy one. You have one of these shops in Taichung don't you? Yes, we Oh, oh yeah there's a few, I saw one I saw one in Taichung actually, it was very busy in there, they've got quite a few, wow. Oh dear god, doesn't this smell so good Chas? It is literally, what time is it? 4pm and we're having our first meal of the day. I'm actually quite hungry and I've got a date but this smells insane. So now we're just walking towards pier 2 art centre, it's a very short walk but it is so humid, I think this is the warmest city we've been to so far, it's a bit of a struggle walking not gonna lie, it's very very hot. I also think places are just starting to open up now that it's about five o'clock or quarter to five because I think a lot of places close right? Oh this is a Now I don't know if it's just the area that we are currently in but it's very quiet here in Kaohsiung isn't it Chas? And look the streets tell you which road you're about to cross, it's really cool. So we've come into this department store, it's called Elite Spectrum and I found so many really cool things in here, I mean to be honest we only came in here for the aircon but this brand is called The Cutting Edge and it looks so cool, I love anything that's silver. This looks like a really nice bag, oh that's so quirky, I don't know how much this is I will find out, £2,000, okay so it's just over £110 but really cool brand and then I also found this brand called Diff, light and unique, really like this bag too, the silver one which is similar to this but a bit smaller I guess and that's nice but again over 100 quid and then I found this which is really nice, they do these like card necklaces, I'm thinking about buying one for my friend, so it's a necklace, bubble tea necklace and there's a little like few words, this is what it looks like, I thought the bell was really cute but you can't actually tell that's a bell and I quite like the camera for myself but as Chas rightly reminded me I don't really wear necklaces, that's what everyone has here actually, they've got these like fake Dyson hand dryers, not hand dryers, hair dryers, oh this is so cute, made me laugh, there's a book section here but I feel like a book like this gets reprinted every two weeks because it's instantly outdated by the time it's published, rich dad poor dad, I think I've read that, definitely heard of it, this book just looks so aesthetic, yeah this is a really nice department store and they seem to have it all over Taiwan in different cities so I'd recommend popping in, they've got some quirky bits, the psychology of money, I keep borrowing that from the library and never actually getting it, I've read this, it's like four and a half out of ten, yes I am, as soon as we put our sunglasses on as we step outside they get all steamed up because of the humidity, we only popped into that department store for the air con because we are quite literally melting, oh is it not open? This is the peer to art center that we've just come to, oh quite nice, but where's the door? So if you walk around the side of the building there's a huge like transformer here and there's some graffiti here, I don't actually think that this is a building you can go into, so as you can see on the side here there's, I don't quite know what this is supposed to be, like a robotic transformery type thing, but the star of the show really is the front of this building that we just cut through the grass, this whole area is like really pretty, I don't know how people are riding bikes in this humidity, honestly it's so hot, but the artwork here and the attention to detail is just absolutely incredible, I have no idea who the artist is but they've done such a good job and it really is 3d art, sometimes you see like street art and graffiti and stuff like that and you just think yeah you know whatever, it just ruins the place, but this is insane. Good morning, I am stood outside Sanfeng temple, I will take you inside, we are up bright and early this morning, we haven't had breakfast, wanted to just get on with our day because it's our last full day in Taiwan and also it gets very very hot in the afternoons and I don't know how we will fare, so we wanted to just get out really early, try and see as much as possible and this temple is absolutely stunning, let me just show you, it's so quiet the streets are properly deserted and I don't know if you have to pay to get in actually because I just saw some numbers flash up but apparently there's a canopy of red lanterns inside and that's what I want to see, so let's go inside and I'll show you. Oh my goodness, this is incredible, it's so peaceful being here and there's not very many tourists, I don't think there's any tourists actually yet because it's so early, but the incense smells very nice, I finally found my way to the top and this is the view, how stunning is this canopy of lanterns and it is so peaceful with the music playing, you can't hear any other sounds apart from water running and the smell of the incense, it's really really nice and peaceful here and there's a few different layers to this temple, so some people go further up and there's another temple like on this level, there's a couple more levels down, you can light some incense down there, there's a lot going on and the detail on this architecture is just breathtaking honestly. I'm not sure why we're walking down in the middle of the road, oh god, scared me, we need to cross, it's very hard to cross the road here, you're not allowed to jaywalk but we've just spotted this market so we're going to go and have a look, this definitely looks like a market for locals, just checked on google maps, we're in a place called Sanmin market and it's definitely for locals but the smells here are not for the faint-hearted, I can't, it just smells too bad everywhere, this place sells a whole variety of things from fresh groceries to cooked meat, clothing, herbs, everything. Right we finally made it to Sanfong street, it's really funny because motorbikes and people walk through here, this looks more like a market doesn't it, but maybe not quite a locals market, I don't know, it's hard to tell. Market number two of the day and we still haven't found anywhere for breakfast because cafes and restaurants just don't really exist, I don't know. This whole shop just sells mushrooms, I feel like they might be different types, I don't know, I mean I would just call them all porcini mushrooms but they all seem to be different prices unless they're like different qualities, oh some are a bit different back there, oh my god imagine buying a big bag of mushrooms that big, some of them are taller than me. We've come into what I think is Kaohsiung's answer to B&M and we're buying a few bits, Jas can you show them? I really wanted a rice spoon, this isn't quite like the one I've seen in a restaurant but you know, I really like the spoons that he used to serve rice with here and Jas said this looked quite Joseph Joseph for our kitchen and then I think these are children's chopsticks, I'm buying some for Jas because he still doesn't know how to use chopsticks and I'm buying some for my baby nephew, they can teach one another how to use chopsticks. Okay so we finally found somewhere to eat that is like inside and has air conditioning and proper tables and chairs, I have no idea what it's called but it's not like the most veggie friendly place but I will take it because it is nice and cool inside at least, at least I'm not sitting on the street. I don't know if it's a supermarket but it's a Carrefour which I've heard of, they don't actually sell food, anyway I found like what I assume is a Japanese section and obviously I want every single one of these items because they're fabulous, I'm definitely buying one of these jugs, I can't pick it up because I'm holding my coffee in my other hand but initially I was thinking to put soy sauce in there but I don't know if soy sauce goes off if you don't put it in the fridge and then obviously for all your plates and stuff and then Jas found me a smaller one, I kind of want to get both, oh no I've lost where it was now oh god I'm a bit lost, nope it wasn't here, okay well I found a smaller one but my question to you is they were with, it was with like tiny tea cups so do we think this is for tea? So it's like this, you see that little jug? But the one I bought was actually the last one in this set so it comes with these two little tea cups, oh where's it gone, the thumb indents in it which we love, Jas drinks a lot of like green tea, loose leaf tea so he's getting two of those and I've got the matching white jug to that but would this be for tea? Do you reckon I could put soy sauce in the smaller one and maybe olive oil in the bigger one? Can you help a girl out and leave me a comment please because I actually have no idea what I'm doing, I just want to buy all of the things! Okay so this little homeware stall in the middle of the shopping centre is so cute, we've just picked up a few bits, whenever I'm abroad I like to buy unusual things that I will actually use in my house so I picked up this little radish chopstick rest and I bought some children's chopsticks, actually the ones I picked up last time were not children's chopsticks for my nephew and Jas picked up one of these little teaspoons with a cat on them, I think we went for this orange cat, very cute, this is just the sort of stuff you use as opposed to souvenirs that gather dust you know, yes can I get both in there? Sure, yeah please, thank you. Guys I'm having my first boba, I can't believe it's our last day as well so obviously I can't get a milk tea but I can get a peach black tea with the brown sugar boba and the brown sugar grass jelly, I'm not entirely sure what thank you very much we're just in Kaohsiung station for the first time and look at this ceiling, it's incredible it's called the dome of light and there's I think at least four different entrances or exits to this station so every time you walk in you see this, isn't it magnificent? Obviously loads of people are posing taking photos here but it never really feels that busy, it's quite a quirky thing to have in the middle of the main train station here. We've had the best afternoon doing some shopping and we're about to have lunch, it's like four o'clock, we always do this at the moment and while I was trying on clothes Jas had one job, it was to find a restaurant for us to eat in that had like, it was a proper restaurant with air conditioning and tables and sit inside not sit on the street and it was vegetarian friendly and he really understood the environment, oh my god I have absolutely no idea what it's called, I was a bit like confused at first because they have stuff that says like pork or chicken hamburgers whatever on the menu but it's all vegetarian, I don't think it's vegan because she said are you okay with eggs and I said yeah it's fine, I've been eating far too many eggs here but it's self-service, we have to go back up to order let me just show you downstairs, it is so cute, you have to tell me the name of this place Jas look at how cute that is, that little section there, I don't know what they're playing it's just so adorable, she recommended the Korean chicken ball pasta, I asked her what's popular and she pointed out quite a few things but look at this menu, my battery is about to die on my camera which is a real shame but this is the one she recommended and it's spicy which stands right up our street, we're gonna get a couple of bits to share, so it's not like traditional food which is fine, you know it's like salads, sandwiches and hamburgers, pasta, she did recommend like two or three risottos but I'm not keen on like mushy food and she said the Provence gratin risotto was good, I don't know how I feel about that, vegetarian oyster okay, yeah and they've got brunch, they've got salads, vegetarian Japanese shrimp salad, I think we have to get this, oh mandarin pomelo oolong oh really and they do cod burritos, it looks so good, I'm really looking forward to this food how much did it cost, 15 quid, we ordered so many things, like five, nine, eight, so 600 dollars I just see spicy sauce and I'm like yeah, I'm so tired, we've done about 15,000 steps today Jack, we had a very early start this morning, we've done a lot, I really like how shiny, do you? Yeah I love it, I think it's my second favourite city after Tokyo, I am glad that we spent longer here and skipped Tainan, but I would like to go back to Taichung and Tainan next time and obviously the east side of the country as well, Hualien would be nice I really like Taiwan and I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow morning Gone quick hasn't it, we'll do some more drawing Jack literally was like a man on a mission yesterday, he like just filled up all our laundry bags with everything in our suitcase, was shoving them in the washing machine, kept going back to check, took them out the washing machine, put them in the dryer, the dryers weren't working, went back out three or four times, it was like midnight by the time he finally brought all the dry clothes back, including the laundry basket that stays in the room, so we have quite a lot of clean laundry, does it smell nice though, because it didn't smell nice in Tokyo? No it's not, we put the laundry in the car Oh so I really don't have to re-wash it when we get home, I'm going to do the rest of it tonight I need food, I'm so sad This looks like a little fish finger sandwich, the wait for food is quite long but she brought this up for us which does look tasty, let's hope it tastes as good as it looks Sorry but does this not look insane, because it looks like a prawn but it doesn't look like a prawn which is why it doesn't put me off, it comes with the Japanese dressing, sesame dressing, and it also comes with some yogurt but I don't know if that's vegan or not so I can't eat that but this, oh I just needed a salad in my life Back in the hotel room, our lunch slash dinner, whatever that meal was, was absolutely incredible, we basically ordered the whole entire menu, it was such a good find Jas, I know it wasn't like local Taiwanese food but you know we've been traveling for just over two weeks now and I feel like I've had my fill but also when it comes to vegan versions, it may not be authentic but I just often think the UK does it better, I think we're a little bit more conscious about the amount of salt and the amount of sugar that we put in stuff and things, I mean not always but they're just less greasy and there's just so many more vegan options aside from just the one vegetable so yeah this is our very last night here and I'm about to end this vlog, our hotel room is an absolute tip, Jas has been doing all the laundry haven't you, like I don't think there's much left for me to wash when I'm at home, I've done all the shopping like honestly, I might actually write blog posts about all the bits and pieces that I've bought, I don't know, I'll think about that one but I want to end this vlog here because we check out tomorrow, we have a two-hour flight to Shanghai, we have less than 12 hours in Shanghai before we then fly back to the UK so no more vlogging from me for a while which I'm quite happy about, it's hard work having the camera in your face every single day. So I really hope you enjoyed watching all of these Taiwan vlogs, let me know down in the comments which one your favourite was, I think our favourite city was definitely Taipei, followed by Kaohsiung, I think we had a really good day today. Tell me about the weather, really hot? Yeah it was dry, I'd rather it was less hot and raining than no rain and intense heat. The rain here is completely fine, it's very manageable, Sun Moon Lake was just a bit of a disappointment I think, anyway you will you will see in that vlog that I recommend going there only for a day trip, do not spend even one or two nights there, but anyway I'm going to end this video here, thank you so much for watching and I will see you in my next one wherever that may be. Bye! Should I say bye? Bye everyone! Look at the mess we have to deal with, oh my god there's stuff everywhere, okay bye!