Day 2 started off with me waking up obnoxiously early. I decided to get a head start on the day and grabbed my free hostel breakfast before heading to the MRT. A cheese “burger” sans the burger which was a piece of ham (so basically a cheese sandwich) and my first of my many green teas of the day.
I headed to the Lotus Pond (already sweating) at 8 am and spent an hour or so walking around some of the most beautiful and colorful pagodas I have ever seen. It was stunning and a definite MUST SEE for anyone traveling to Taiwan.
I stopped for another lemon green tea before trekking back to my hostel to charge my phone and figure out my next destination. I decided lunch was a good idea so I headed to this place I saw advertised for having vegetarian lunch. I had salted egg yolk and bamboo shoot fried rice, vegetable dumplings, and black tea. Pretty sure my blood was tea by this point.
I decided my next big move was Foguangshan, a huge Buddhist temple and museum. I ran out of my hostel quickly in order to catch the special tour bus that took you right to the entrance. I had seen this place on Instagram but wow was it more beautiful in person. So majestic and regal! The pagodas and murals showing Buddha’s good works line the pathway to his golden statue. After walking around the grounds and in all of the buildings, I went to the food court area for…. yup you guessed it…. another lemon green bubble tea!
The bus leaving from Foguangshan took longer since we had to pick up a few other tourist groups at different locations. It was a nice drive and I got to see some different views of Taiwan which was nice. Even though my feet were killing me, I realized that I hadn’t eaten in almost 6 hours so I decided to go for another vegetarian burger but this time at a different location called Ecoburger!
This was definitely the best fake chicken burger I have ever had. I stopped midway through because I felt like I was actually eating real chicken and had to double check before continuing. It had a fried egg on it which added to the goodness. I scarfed it down so quickly I couldn’t even finish my french fried which is a shocker if you know me.
Then I went back and fell asleep almost immediately. It was a beautiful and eventful day. Now, goodbye Kaohsiung and off to Taichung!
- Anna Goes Adventuring - 