First, I went to this little store called Cook Box. It's a baking shop that also has a bunch of other items. I went earlier in the week and I'm trying to get some ideas for Thanksgiving. Will I be able to find ingredients to make certains pies and breads? If they are in Kaohsiung, they would be at Cook Box.
This whole area is just starch. Can't cook Chinese without cornstarch or some type of starch to thicken the sauce. I just never knew there were so many kinds. This was just the cornstarch section. The bags are HUGE! I can't imagine I would ever use that much in my lifetime!
Sweet butter spread...not in the fridge...just on the shelf.
Holy mackerel! Sorry, couldn't resist. They sell every type of fish in a can or dried or smoked or salted. Students eat dried fish for snack. Yup.
You can find some old American standards here.
Ketchup on sale for 40NT. That's just over a dollar.
So many different vinegars in this country! I love it!
And so many sauces and items I can't even begin to identify.
My visit to the afternoon market was great. It's amazing how quickly we adjust. It is so much less overwhelming than it was just a few weeks ago. I now have my favorite vendors that I go to for items. One woman has my favorite greens and green beans while another has my favorite cabbage, bok choy and onions. Another stall has edamame while another has locally made sausage. I stop at one stall for watermelon juice and have a short but adorable conversation with the man there. He always yells out, "My friend! Boston!" When people ask me where I'm from I say Boston because they know that; they don't know Maine. Apparently his sister lives in Boston. Then, on Saturdays, there is this tiny old woman who sells noodles. She always greets me with such warmth and starts putting my noodles together before I even order them. Finally, the fish guy. He is by far my favorite and he is only there on Saturdays and not always every Saturday. He has such amazing fish and today he reached for the salmon before I even asked. I was flattered that he remembered me but then I had to laugh. "Don't flatter yourself!" I said, if only in my head. I've been to this market at least a dozen times and I have NEVER seen another white person (unless I brought them there). I'm not that memorable in the states. I just really stand out here! You would be proud of how I've learned to navigate the market. I'm learning how to say numbers in Chinese so that helps. It's still hard to understand how much to pay but I'm getting there.
Often, when I'm paying, I know that the seller and other customers are talking about me. I'm not being paranoid. I just KNOW it! I hear the Chinese word for American and sometimes they have a laugh and smile alot. Whatever! It is what it is. I'm not a common sight around here. I don't notice it as much anymore but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to being stared at so much.
After my dinner I decided I needed to get out of my apartment and go do something. I decided to take pictures of Kaohsiung at night. To be honest, I was having a bit of a pity party and I had to distract myself. I have to say that, overall, I am a very happy and content person. I truly appreciate what I have and am grateful for all I get to do and for all the amazing people in my life. That doesn't mean that every now and then I don't get all weepy and become a big pain in the butt. I was having one of those, "Will I be living the rest of my life alone?" moments. "Will I ever find someone to share my life with?" Boo Hoo and shut the hell up! I had a good pout, let myself wallow in feeling lonely for a bit, shed a few tears and then I told myself to get over it and go do something. That's what I did.
The weather is AMAZING in Kaohsiung right now. The temperatures are in the 80's by day and low 70's by night. The humidity is much better and now I can walk and bike around without becoming a hot, sweaty mess. Love it! I headed out on my bike and decided to just go where my bike took me. I figured I know the main streets pretty well now and if I get truly lost, I'll use my phone to get back. I biked north to the park and thought I'd go up past the Museum Park. Bad idea! I guess there was some type of political rally going on and all I could hear was fireworks as I biked past. There is this big open area across from the museum between Mingchen and Meishuguan that must have had tons of people because I could hear them responding to the person talking over the sound system.
I made my way around the crazy traffic and snapped this photo to show you how everything is so lit up and often in neon lights. This is the 24 hour market, or as my friend Wendy calls it, the Plastic Store. I have yet to venture into one of these but I guess you can get pretty much anything there.
I ended up north of where I live heading toward Lotus Pond so I decided to bike around the pond and snap some pictures of the temples etc. There was a big event going on at this huge complex above.
Decorative lights are used everywhere. No wonder I can't see stars around here!
There are stations like this all over Kaohsiung where you can rent a bike for a few minutes or longer. The first hour is free then it's incredibly cheap after that.
I made it to the pagodas on Lotus Pond. This was my first image as I came around the corner. I love the reflection in the water. It was such a beautiful night; there were people walking, biking and just hanging out everywhere.
You can see the tiger's eyes burning bright!
Remember the Confucius Temple across the road? Here it is at night. I went closer this time. Wow!
This is the huge kettle that had burning incense. It's a smell I'm becoming familiar with.
These intricate pillars are where you enter.
I continued on my journey along the path lit with beautiful lanterns.
You can see the lanterns all around the lake.
Hello again big boy! That's a pretty good shot!
There is a little karaoke place just outside the temple. There was quite the crowd gathered listening to traditional music.
Another beautiful temple.
I rode my bicycle around the lake and decided to cross over this beautiful bridge that takes me over the highway. That is the bridge above and the view below.
I rode across and biked along, not knowing where I was exactly but I kept going. I figured I'd see something I recognized and I did.
This is the Kaohsiung Arena. I knew exactly where I was and made my way home.
I zigged and zagged my way around the hundreds of people strolling along and finally made it to the main road heading to my apartment. Again, BAD IDEA. The political rally was just getting out so there were thousands of people heading to the hundreds of buses waiting for them. It was INSANE but I kept dodging people and traffic and made it home safe and sound.
Do you know what is incredible about Kaohsiung? I biked around 15 kilometers tonight and not once, other than the crazy drivers, did I feel unsafe. I went down little side streets, parks and paths and not once did I even feel a moment of not feeling safe. That's pretty incredible!
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