Day 3: 140508 Kaohsiung

woke up earlie today to catch the bus 151 to Fo Guang Shan..it was a long bus ride for 2h..very bumpy too..along the way.. many old folks boarded the bus.. filled with hokkien languages which we at times listen and seem to understand a bit haha..i didnt know taiwan has quite a large population of elderly..

finally we reached our 1st stop: FoGuangShan.. located up on the hill.. surrounded by beautiful greenery and peace that cant be found easily in cities..
we each received enlightenment from a nun..superb indeed.. without even sayin.. she knows what kind of person we are.. i tink this is an interesting encounter.. having to finish our uni courses.. embarking on a different journey from now.. we may have to face with different challenges.. her words of enlightenment somehow gave us guidance on how we should do to enter into the workforce that lies up next.. haha.. we indeed do feel peace after a trip to FGS.

in the noon, we took the same bus 151 to 旗山北站 to catch another bus that bring us to Meinong Hakka Village.. but boy.. i tell u.. something very bad happens.. each bus frequency is like 30mins.. at any time, a bus will reach the station and a lady will report where does this bus go to.. but she speaks very quickly and the stereo sound system is very bad over there.. we sat there waiting.. looking at the supposedly-correct-signboards on the destination that each bus number brings to.. we sat there staring for 1.5h.. but no bus to Meinong comes.. we decided to ask the lady.. she say 2 buses have gone off le.. and she says the number board is WRONG!.. by the time we know about this.. it was 3pm.. Meinong Hakka Culture museum closes at 4pm.. out of despair.. we took a cab.. reach there.. and went into 美浓文化村..initiallie i tot the museum is within this 村, but wrong.. is located somewhere further.. no choice we jus explore this area.. is very touristy.. onli sells things but never show how oil umbrellas are made.. i came with an intention to know more abt the umbrellas.. but didnt manage to.. i onli saw the beauty of them.. not the work.. quite disappointed though...and this area closes at 5pm.. all close so earlie how to enjoy.. sigh.. we went to the bus stop and wait for bus back to Kaoxiong railway station.. and then again, we met with another setback.. buses of such frequency is like once in 1h.. so we sat there, got stranded, while seeing the greenery of Meinong.. i expect more actuallie.. i want to experience the food they offer, the work they do..and the Hakka culture but all was not met.. as my thoughts wander away.. Dear suddenly jumped up and I was startled.. he said the bus jus moved off even after seeing us at the bus stop.. wth... arg.. 1h wasted.. how could this happen!

duno is it heaven knows we very 可怜, about 10mins later..this 小黄(taxi) comes to us and ask whether we wanna return back to KH railway station at NT100 each.. piang.. is cheap!we quickly took his offer and asked if he could bring us to Dream Mall instead.. phew.. finallie no more waiting for buses.. Kaohsiung reallie needs more improvements on their transport facilities.. tourists will go crazy waiting for buses one lor!
we reached Dream Mall梦时代 in abt 1h..taxi driver surprised us by giving 2 mangoes which he has grown at home.. touched~cuz we told him we were very very stranded in Meinong.. and he said it was such a pity we didnt try 板条which is the most famous food ever as produced from Meinong.. no where can you taste such tasty 板条, so he offered us two mangoes haha.. but i was quite startled when i saw his mouth.. cuz he was chewing 槟榔, his whole mouth was deep red.. i almost tot he dropped his teeth and was bleeding.. i wonder how that fruit taste like
dream mall was very huge.. and EMPTY... practicallie no one wanna shop in shopping centres.. things are expensive as compared to night markets.. quite waste electricity if open the whole day and no one wanna patronise..there were many storeys actuallie.. it will be good if they do more promotions haha..but i think highllight of this mall is the Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.. is cheaper than Sg ferris wheel.. probably more colourful.. and we enjoyed the memorable night view of Kaohsiung from the ferris wheel!