What a welcome
The second time we called at Keelung Port it turned out to be a bright, dry day. Having been there before and chosen to make a day trip to Taipei, it is time to explore the ‘rainy port’ as it is often called because of its record rainfall, to the tune of nearly 200 wet days a year! What will the 2nd largest Taiwanese seaport port have to offer?
As we sail in, engulfed in golden liquid light, a tall bright-orange tower stands out for it looks like any port crane but a bridge extending like a finger from it draws our curiosity. Definitely something to explore.
Auspicious
As we walk out of the pier in the general direction of the city we notice the gracefully upturned eaves of a Chinese temple. The laughing Buddha seems to greet us with much glee. Ascending the stairs through the arches we are met by a pair of smiling cheongsam clad temple greeters.
Aesthetic coalescence
Within is an awesome sight. This temple has embraced modernism as well as adapted different styles for its interior– motifs on the ceiling, modernistic murals depicting the buddhist creed, chandeliers, and patterns of colored marble on the floors. There's none of the incense smoke traditionally associated with Chinese temples. A good place for quiet meditation.
The stairs not taken
Geographically we are at the foot of the three tall pagodas atop a hill that forms the park. We have to hunt for the path that will take us to the top. A short exploratory walk around the temple helps. A gap in a grove of trees is a giveaway. It leads to a little path on a slope. We hope it is the right one. It is, as we find out after what seems like 100s of steps alternating with sloping windy paths through the trees. Walking through the copses and lush vegetation we breathe in the scents of the foliage speared by the sun's rays. Drink thinks he's had enough so he finds a shady spot to sit until I return. I have an hour. I'm not giving up. So, up I trudge with a sense of adventure. There are quite a few different diversions by way of short flights of stairs but many have been cordoned off.
I have now reached Zhu Pu Altar, the 3 pagodas seen from below. This is the famous temple associated with the Ghost Festival. But,it is cordoned off just as the alternative routes had been blocked. It's because some part of it has been considered unsafe and therefore undergoing repairs.
Elevated
As I work my way up even furthur, at one point I face huge steel cylindrical supports and bright orange beams and girders. These belong to none other than the crane-like structure we spotted from the pier! A little more huffing and puffing takes me to the entrance atop the Keelung Tower which has a long viewing platform. It actually has lifts from the ground floor. Sadly, it wasn't open. The vantage point offers panoramic views of Keelung City and the harbor. If you can identify the various places you've seen all of Keelung. Slightly down below, on the opposite side, a huge Confucius statue forms a roundabout for vehicles.
The Magpie connection
A bridge, called Magpie, leads to the next hillock where I hope to visit the acme of Zhongzheng Park. I meet a couple of women, one with a professional camera, walking about taking pictures and wondering if the roughly cut stairs before us would take us up to the park. At the same time a couple walks down the same stairs, encouraging us, “only 150 steps more!”. Again the path alternates between flights of stairs and sloping windy trails passing through vegetation punctuated by little altars. Finally after nearly 250 steps I'm at the peak, mercifully at the foot of the Buddhist Goddesses of Mercy. She is 25 metres tall, protected by the Big Buddha and two gigantic dragon guards. This statue is said to be the tallest of its kind in Asia.
Inside the statue, a stairway leads to the top, providing an even more stunning vantage point. I am quite satisfied with the wonderful views I've had so far and therefore turn to the airy pavilion for a breather and then bounce my way back to Drink who has been waiting patiently in a shelter armed with a water bottle and snacks. We jaunt back to our liner for lunch.
Miaokou Night (and day)Market.
And then we are back on the streets again. We shouldn't miss the night market so we are told. I felt we were walking into a temple after negotiating some of the old streets for we are surrounded literally by row upon row of tasseled bright red and yellow lanterns.
And then we see it. A temple entrance to a small 100 year old shrine . This is the DiajinTemple. The night market is called Miaokou Night Market because ‘miaokou' means temple entrance.
The ‘night’ market, a foodie heaven, is open throughout the day!
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Creepy remains
Having read something about an old mansion in the vicinity we begin to try and locate it with the rudimentary tourist map we have. It turns out to be a hunt for we are hampered by unmarked alleys and difficulty in judging distances, recognising hidden restaurants, etc. We have been walking along Jiufen Old Street. We find a potential short narrow windy staircase, along which are homes (a definite privacy problem there with tourists inadvertently wandering into their yards) and even tinier restaurants. At the top of the stairs we stand in a reasonably large square that leads to broader, more colourfully tiled stairs with twists and turns. Looking up from there we get our first view of the ruins of a 1913 house which belonged to a local politician during the Japanese colonial period. The abandoned house is overgrown with vegetation, making it quite picturesque. Just sidling up the sides gives me the creeps, so walking into its damp and mossy bowels is a no no. It is obvious that this Taiwanese building had elements of the Chinese and the West – red brick walls, bamboo windows, and tilework. Since the derelict is high upon the hills it gives us another panoramic view of the city.
Have metro will go
Since we are close to the Metro station, why not try the system? We get a day pass from the automatic ticketing machines. The Red line takes us to Formosa Boulevard Station whose "Dome of Light" in the concourse ranks among the top 50 most beautiful subway systems in the world. We hear music as we enter, and lo and behold, there is a school orchestra performing. A feast for the eyes and ears indeed. We sit for a while on the thoughtfully placed chairs and enjoy the music. A walk around the vicinity is also sensory. The glass shell structures at the four corners of a junction are subway entrances. One particular street is devoted to wedding dresses. We realise that we've run out of time and risk missing our boat and so return to the station to be overwhelmed by the number of busy stalls, selling toys, trinkets, clothes, etc..at the concourse.
Dome of light
Railway museum bonanza
A discovery. Back at the Port we find we have a few hours to kill and we still have a valid metro ticket. Why not take the Green line to the far end of the art pier? Almost at the end of the line is the Takao Railway Museum. The interior replicates Kaohsiung station during the 60s and 70s, its golden days, replete with antique cabinets for tickets and documents, a ticketing machine, the station master's room with a route map under curtains to keep it from spying eyes. The Station master's hats are available to try on
Pier2 art centre is worth more than a peer
Walking towards the cruise dock several stations away takes us through the Pier 2 Art Centre. Located at the sides of the pier are the artistic warehouse clusters. The warehouses are now a cultural centre hosting a series of exhibitions all year. All around me I see creativity, imagination and animation in murals, installation art and statuary. It is fascinating to see lots of people appreciating the quirky works. Many stalls selling art and craft and artisan food are just closing up perhaps because the exhibition of the day is coming to an end.
The Pop Music Center stands out for its architectural beauty. Called ‘Great Wave’, the ensemble is rounded off by ‘Coral’, a roof composed of hexagons on branching steel pillars.
More wonders
The Great Harbour Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, happens to be the first rotating bridge in Taiwan. It's also the longest cross-port rotating bridge in Asia.
Walking through the old streets we pass through rows of yellow claw machines both on the five-foot ways and within shop houses. Hundreds of them each with a glass case enticingly loaded with soft toys and what-nots, prizes that would delight a child and the child in you.
A farewell that matches the welcome
When our ship berthed at the dock we were ushered in by dragon dances. As we leave, a whole lot of visitors line the pier to wave us as we sail off into a beautiful sunset.
Note:
Keelung is especially festive during the 7th Lunar Month (around July or August based on our calendar), which is unusual in the rest of the Chinese world for it is an inauspicious month when hungry ghosts roam free.
The wooden promenade by the harbour is a vast open space with plenty of benches to simply sit and absorb all the beauty of the skyline and liveliness surrounding it.
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