Kaohsiung, Day Two - Lotus Lake

Having thoroughly exhausted Joan and Emily, we stopped for lunch at a local food court where I had some interesting dishes...

Tender braised beef with cabbage and funnily enough, gnocchi.

Emily's favourite - a trio of coagulated pig blood, coagulated duck blood and fish balls. I quickly zoomed for the fish balls, but tried a timid portion of the pig and duck blood. Can't say I'm a fan and it's hard getting past the idea that I am eating blood.

I then proceeded to bug Paul and little Doris. They drove me to Lotus Lake, home to many temples and a beautiful promenade where people have walks and talks by the lake.

Dragon and Tiger Pagoda at Lotus Lake. You enter via the dragon's mouth and exit via the tiger's mouth. Paul says that the Taiwanese believe it is bad to enter the tiger's mouth.

Painting of deities inside the dragon.

Exiting the tiger's mouth, as ordered! Doris and I.

People preparing for the Ghost Festival tomorrow at a temple.

Chinese opera along Lotus Lake.

Men playing chinese chess by Lotus Lake.

Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Japanese empire and Japan intended to turn Taiwan into a model colony. Those plans failed, but in today's Taiwan, you can still see remnants of Japanese influence. Some older Taiwanese still speak Japanese, and appreciate Japanese music, as seen along the shores of Lotus Lake, right by the Chinese opera and loudspeakers blaring Taiwanese music.