Light Show (Preparation) around Kaohsiung Music Center @ Taiwan

Distance back to Chateau de Chine Hotel Kaohsiung from Lingya / Ziqiang Night Market was about 2.1 kilometers, but curiosity beckoned after noticing the trails of light originating from the direction of the hotel. 

Light rays got even stronger and we noticed a familiar building.

One that caught our attention for its peculiar design.

Train tracks for the Kaohsiung Light Rail! Without much barricade and travelling on unconventional tracks that felt almost unreal with grass all around; a separate post shall concentrate on it even though I didn't take it throughout my 3-day visit. 

The oddly shaped and designed Kaohsiung Music Center; honestly, it gave a more scientific vibe, rather than one imbued with elements of the performing arts. From far, it might even give one the illusion of a contemporary Godzilla. 

Not so sure what this infers.

Take picture, for the sake of picture-taking.

Kaohsiung Harbour - now, I had assumed that the light show was concentrated around Kaohsiung Music Center but look at where this beam of light was pointing towards.

An impressive tower of lights that extended all the way to the sky, and infinity! From another angle, it would also look like a beacon of light shining from the base of a alien spaceship!

Now, this wasn't the actual light show as it was a boring Wednesday. But I guess rehearsals and testings would be necessary (with the elaborate light boards) before the actual show, which I shall presume would take place over the weekend instead. 

More photos of the weird yet beautiful Kaohsiung Music Center. Just in case you are wondering, the center does have the option of multiple colors. Officially opened in 2021, I bet it was already covered in LED lights that would have made the changing of colors much easier. 

Line of bollards that was used to park the many yachts at the marina. 

Crossing the Lingyaliao Iron Bridge; well, looked more like a conventional bridge that crossed the love river (so romantic right) although you should also let your eyes veer towards the right which is the track for the Kaohsiung Light Rail.

Testing was ongoing for the light truss totems.

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Address

No. 1, Zhen'ai Rd, 

Yancheng District, 

Kaohsiung City, 

Taiwan

Map

As above.

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

NOSH @ Sembawang (Victory 8) [Singapore]

I knew of NOSH for quite a while but never got to trying it as there were many other dining establishments that I craved for in the vicinity; like Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice (三巴旺原味煲仔饭)! 

This time round, however, my secondary school friend and I decided to pin down an exact day just to check out the cafe which commanded a Google Maps review score of 4.7 from over 1,000 reviewers. That's high for an eatery that's not even facing the main road. 

Without further ado, let's order via the QR code. 

Wait was bearable; first dish came in less than 15 minutes.

Halibut and Chips - said to be one of the best fish and chips in Singapore, this was what I came here for! Dip was this greenish Thai tartar sauce (you have option for the normal tartar sauce too).  

Chips in NOSH meant side winders, potato wedges lookalikes; albeit a slimmer, crispier version. Problem is; I don't like potato wedges and regretted not clarifying earlier on what chips meant! If chips meant shoestring fries, I would have accepted without a grouch. 

Using halibut was already a battle half won, and totally worth the price! Meat was moist with a fattiness that, to me, was second to cod fish, and batter was thin without losing the airy crispness so necessary in any fish and chips!  

While I associated green with wasabi, the Thai tartar sauce had an interesting yet appetising tinge of tom yum; and it complemented the fish so well; way better than the boring tartar sauce! And just in case you are wondering about its spiciness; it was mild. 

A perfect sauce would require adding some chilli sauce to the thai tartar sauce before dipping a piece of the battered fish in it! Mamma Mia! So good; I was enjoying every single bite.

Tater Tots - compared to potato wedges, french fries etc, nothing beats my weakness for these nuggets of crispy goodness. Often touted as a diced up hash brown, this is a highly carbohydrate side that I often can't resist not ordering!

Served piping hot with a crunch-crunch batter, the Thai tartar sauce exemplified what it meant to be the perfect snack! And it was a large serving! *guilt striken*

BBQ Pork Ribs - a 350-gram pork ribs; we thought this would have been a safe bet but we should have just asked the friendly waitresses for their recommendations instead. 

I was expecting a tender texture for the pork ribs but it wasn't to be; and the marination (including flavoring) was limited to whatever sauce you see on top. Disappointing. 

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Save for the BBQ pork ribs, you bet I would be back for the halibut and chips and the tater tots. And I did return yesterday for the former! Now, Alex has turned into a fan. Guess we would be back sooner than expected!   

Address

8 Jln Legundi,#01-13 Victory 8, 

Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre,

Singapore 759274

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Tater Tots - S$9.90

Halibut and Chips - S$25.90

BBQ Pork Ribs - S$24.90

(Subject to Service Charge Only)

Additional Payment

No credit card payment! 

55年老店豬血湯 - Their Braised Pork Rice @ Kaohsiung City in Taiwan

豬血湯 means pig blood soup; a dish that shouldn't be on my to-eat list since I am not into blood dishes, despite being an ethnic Chinese. Nevertheless, I came to this eatery simply because of a variety show which showcased their braised pork rice! 

One thought about the name of this shop; who would call themselves a shop that had existed for 55 years?! What happened next year? 56 years? And you can't just stop the brand from growing old, which by itself, would be testament of good food, should it survive. 

Braised Duck Egg - it's quite rare to see braised duck egg as they are usually made from egg eggs. Out of curiosity, and that it only cost NT$20 (plus Alex loves braised eggs), let's have one! 

Two key differences; the yolk was much larger, and the flavor was richer! 

Stir Fried Bee Hoon - As this was our first meal for the day, I thought a second main would be helpful, and to provide variety, we went with this simplistic stir fried bee hoon. Turned out to be similar to Singapore's pork trotter bee hoon; which I didn't like! 

Braised Pork Rice - the pieces of braised pork were large; not as finely diced as with most, if not all, of their Taiwanese counterparts, and less fattening too! In a way, I found this to result in more satisfaction, and the taste was richer in savoriness and less so in sweetness; latter of which is pretty unconventional in southern Taiwan. 

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Well worth a try if you wish to try another version of Taiwanese braised pork rice! 

Address

No. 221, Datong 1st Rd, 

Sinsing District, Kaohsiung City, 

Taiwan 

Map

As above.

Order List (in Chinese)

As above.

Pricing

Braised Duck Egg - NT$20

Stir Fried Bee Hoon - NT$45

Braised Pork Rice - NT$45 

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Cable Car Ride from Hoang Lien Cable Car Station to Fansipan Station @ Sapa in Vietnam

The journey to Fansipan required a few transfers and after we took the Muong Hoa Funicular train, another cable car from Hoang Lien station would be needed to get to Fansipan station, which wasn't even the end of the journey! 

Seeing a queue is always stressful as we wouldn't know how fast it would clear and that's one thing I hate when I travel as this could literally be time consuming and take up too much of our precious time.

Thankfully, the queue cleared fast.

And we were almost at the start of the line in 10 minutes.

No wonder the queue cleared so fast! The cable car was huge and can sit around 30-35 persons each! With 33 cars in the system, it can carry an average of 2,000 passengers an hour. 

Handphones out to memorialize the views to come! 

This should be the Muong Hoa Valley; known for its terraced rice fields, it looked nice from high above although one natural factor marred the experience. 

The clouds took charge and limited visibility across the valley! It made us feel like we were caged up, and with pent up excitement since we wouldn't know what else would come to sight. Maybe a brachiosaurus with its long neck? 

A cloud of nothingness.

While the sky slowly cleared up, it was already past the valley and what's around us were just forests and more forests that didn't wow us. Nothing special and reminded me somewhat of the cable car ride up Genting Highlands. 

Boring everyone was.

So, wefie time! 

Finally some clarity although again, the view was meh.

Until we turned to the side! Peaks peeking out from the clouds. And the blue, oh so blue sky. In the past few days since we arrived at Hanoi for this trip, it had been continuously hazy, with no sign of the blue sky, until now! Sometimes, we really take such things (like sunlight, blue sky, green ocean etc) for granted. 

Before long, we were enveloped once again with gloominess. 

This angle still looked alright; with the sea of clouds below us. As we were pretty far from Hanoi, said to have terrible air pollution, I am guessing the situation in Sapa was more due to the winter season. 

Dad was still happy with the experience. Even though this cable car system is no longer the longest in the world now, it still maintained the "world’s largest height difference between the departure and arrival terminal at 1,410 meters"! 

My mobile phone was used for time-lapsed video taking. 

Arrival at Fansipan Station.

Distance covered: 6,292.5 meters. 

Purposely let the others depart first so that I could have the full cable car for myself for the above photograph showing the seating configuration. If you like to take photographs / video, do make sure to plan in advance to sit at the side. Remember, there will be about 30 persons jostling with you in the same car.

Picture time! 

More than two hours later, we were back at the same station, this time making our way back to Hoang Lien station. Visibility had worsened but well, we can't control the weather and the most we can do was to embrace and make the best out of it. 

Let's start the journey down! 

Well, it's literally the same way that we came up from. So you shouldn't be expecting something different, except for the fact that there was something I noticed on my way up but didn't have enough time to take a photo.

This wooden structure that appeared out of nowhere, where there's nothing around it. What does it remind me of? The movie "The Cabin in the Woods"!

Continuation of journey. 

Nothing outside caught my attention but something within the cable car did. There was like a amulet pasted in the car; anyone has any idea what it meant? The only character I am somewhat familiar with was the last one, which could have meant suppress.

 

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Location

Sun World Fansipan Legend,

Sapa, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

Click here for my summarized itinerary of my 3 days trip to Sapa