February 6, 2008 | 12:00am
Kaohsiung By Day • by Ong May Anne
As the SilkAir aircraft makes its approach towards Kaohsiung, the first thing that catches my eye is how busy the city looks. The landscape is dense with skyscrapers and the highways leading to the city teem with cars and motorcycles in both directions. It seems as if everyone was going somewhere in a great big hurry.
Hectic though it looks, the real bustle in Kaoshiung is at street level. Despite the sprouting of mega malls and hypermarts, much of everyday buying and selling still takes place on the streets, as it has since time immemorial. At Sanfengjhong Street, I spend a delightful hour sifting through mountains of dried goods – fruit, squid, fish maw, bamboo pith, nuts, spices and Chinese herbs, not to mention cans of premium abalone and other types of shellfish, all potent reminders of Kaohsiung’s status as a busy fishing port.
Sanfengjhong has a retro vibe to it, having bloomed in the 1960s, when flower farmers from the areas around Kaohsiung opened up shops to wholesale their produce.
Where the streets are liveliest, however, is New Jyuejiang, a shopping precinct bounded by Wufu 2nd Road, Renzhe Street, Wenhen 2nd Road and Hsintien Road. Teeming with teenagers, this is Kaohsiung’s equivalent of Toky’s Harajuku. The sheer quantity of street fashion is overwhelming – clothes, wigs, jewelry, shoes, hats, belts, knock-off T-shirts, handphone pouches, and handbags going for as little as NT$100.
Street life isn’t all about bargains, though. At the section of Sinle Street is Goldsmith Street, reputedly responsible for selling more gold products than any other neighborhood in Taiwan. Other precious finds can be spotted at the jade market, located at the confluence of Shihcyuan Road and Zihli Road. The focal point for jade, jewelery, antiques and Buddhist beads every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday since 1960.
The streets are definitely alive in Kaoshiung, and it doesn’t take much effort to uncover the real gems. Most importantly to me, there is something interesting to see in virtually every streetblock, like a posh French bakery sitting incongruently in a row of motorbike repair shops, or a chic boutique of frilly fashions between humble noodle shops.
When every corner serves up little surprises like these, a longish distance goes by very fast indeed. So, the next time you feel like taking a stroll, get yourself toKaohsiung first. It’s streets ahead of many cities.
Kaohsiung By Night • by Alan Lee
Unlike in many countries, nightfall doesn’t bring peace and quiet to the streets of Kaohsiung. Despite the sometimes heavy traffic, the city is good to pedestrians - distances are manageable on foot, and most junctions have traffic lights with a countdown display letting you know how much time you have to make it to the other side.
Love River, on the western edge of the city centre, marks the beginning of Yancheng, a neighborhood of foodstalls and temples. The roads on both sides of the riverbanks are lined with open-air cafes and parks. I don’t know about the romance bit but there is definitely a fairy-like atmosphere to this place.
The pace picks up as I make my way to Liou Ho Night Market. Visually vibrant, it is also filled with appetizing aromas. Joining the jostling crowd, my eyes soon glaze over from the choice of tasty treats on offer. Although I am not hungry, the sight and smell of freshly made meat buns browning in a clay oven is tempting. This scene of people having their meals on the streets is repeated night after night in many parts of downtown Kaohsiung. Eating out is a daily routine for the locals, and street eats both delicious and cheap.
If you’re looking for entertainment besides eating and drinking, Kaohsiung’s nightlife is mostly a karaoke scene. The last time I went to a karaoke pub and took to the mike, the customers all left and I was promptly asked to hand back the mike to the DJ manning the console! I certainly didn’t want that happening again and so wisely decided to give it a miss.
The Pig and Whistle on Siwei 4th Road piqued my curiosity. I had to go see. It is an English-style pub that serves a variety of beers on tap and some very English meals on the first floor. There’s a disco-style nightclub on the second floor that gets very crowded on weekends and a more relaxed Luxury Lounge on the third. The friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere make for a very pleasant night out on the town.
By l:00 a.m., that’s enough carousing for me and I head back to The Howard Hotel. Back in my room on the 26th floor, the iconic 85 Sky Tower looms on the near horizon. The hotel was the tallest building in Taiwan until Taipie 101 was built. Seventy-four floors up, its viewing tower provides you with a mesmerizing view of the city and the nearby harbour and that’s where you’ll get a panoramic, true view of Kaohsiung by night. Pretty impressive, I would say. Pretty darned impressive.
Kaohsiung In A Nutshell
• The world’s sixth-largest container port, Kaohsiung is also Taiwan’s Maritime Capital and its second-largest city. Expect warm weather throughout the year – and mostly sunny skies, except for the rainy season from May to October. More than 1.5 million people live in Kaohsiung. As in the rest of Taiwan, the languages commonly spoken in Kaohsiung are Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka, and one in three locals speaks English, as well. Communication is rarely a problem for non-Chinese speakers.
SilkAir flies from Singapore to Kaohsiung four times weekly.
Source: Silkwinds – Inflight Magazine of SilkAir, Volume 6/2007
