Taiwan

With just one night at Skyone Hotel, I checked out early in the morning and caught the bus to Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum. I was a bit too early as the main complex wasn't even open yet so I went to visit the nearby building atop a hill that gave me a bird's eye view of the main complex with the eight pagodas and giant Shakyamuni Buddha statue. The walls on the second floor had an intricate sculpture of the Assembly on Vulture Peak but the main temple was closed due to an on-going film shooting. A female monk approached and told me about it and introduced me to an older Japanese lady from Beijing. We talked for a bit before I finally paid the main temple grounds a visit. The path leading to the Big Buddha statue felt like a journey of some sorts with every step leading me closer to enlightenment. I stopped by a pagoda on my right to find out that it was the first of the eight. A kind lady approached me and led me to the film room where they showed the history of the place. Apparently, one of the Tooth Relics of Buddha was enshrined here, though I've already seen a lot of tooth relics temple even over at Singapore so I'm wondering how many there really are since the video said there were only three.

Figuring that I didn't have the time to visit all eight pagodas, I went to the main building that further housed four museums. These ones I at least took the time to visit one by one, the most impressive ones were the Life of the Buddha museum and the Buddhist Festival museum as they had a lot of interactive exhibits. There was also a Jade and Golden Buddha in here. At the top, there were four stupas dedicated to several Bodhisattvas including Samantabhadra, Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Ksitigarbha. It was nice that we could donate flowers and candles to the deities. I also found the staff here to be very kind and accommodating, they were very eager to help me learn and engage with the environment. At the center was another area where I wrote sutras on paper and I was able to take them home with me.

I walked across the garden route going back, passing by the twin pavillions and found myself back at the entrance. I was getting hungry and visited a nearby restaurant and after waiting for 11 AM, ordered some vegetarian noodles. Hopefully, this will fill me up for the day but I wasn't counting on it.

Having already spent close to 3 hours exploring the place, I still hadn't even touched on the main temple which was a few blocks away from here. I didn't want to hike so I walked the main road and entered through the pilgrim's path. Seeing the familiar lines of stupas and Jizo statues, I followed them up to find another giant Golden Buddha surrounded by hundreds of smaller golden Buddhas on all sides, even cascading down the hill. At the temple for Ksitigarbha, a bhikuni greeted me with Amituofo and gave me some lucky candy and talismans for Jizo. I continued to the main temple which was again closed due to construction this time, so I went to the left side to visit the Great Compassion Temple where a giant white Guan Yin statue stood sentinel. From there, I crossed the bridge back and continued forward to visit the art gallery, viewing buildings embellished with golden Buddha statues on the way. At the end, I felt like I had explored everything there is to see but I took out my map again one last time before I was approached by a monk offering to directions. He agreed with me after I told him I have been to every place he had suggested and showed me the direction of the exit.

Surprisingly, I was able to book an Uber here going to Tian Liao Moon World and after half an hour or so I was ready to begin exploring the place. Contrary to what I saw in the photos, the reviews were correct in mentioning that the place wasn't actually that big and was easily explored in under an hour. The route was a loop that took me up close and personal to the Taiwanese badlands, these mud-like mountains that formed sharp and thin peaks, as if they were the spine of a stegosaurus. There was a short hiking section that took me up some stairs and I was able to get a bird's eye view of the entire space. Going down, I started to try and find another Uber going to the Jingzajiao Saltfields over at Tainan, however after three tries I realized it wasn't going to be easy to book a taxi out here in the boonies. My plan was to go down the Family Mart below and ask if they could call a cab here but my luck struck gold when I found a lone taxi cab at the parking lot. I went over to see that the driver was in there and gestured if he was available. He came out and I saw that he was a bit of an old man. He started speaking Chinese to me but I more or less was able to understand that he currently has other customers. After a series of back and forth, we arrived with a plan that I go with them back to Kaohsiung and from there he could take me to the saltfields.

I waited in his car while we waited for the couple that had gone ahead to explore Tian Liao. I have no idea how but we managed to make decent conversation despite me not understanding what he was saying 70% of the time. He gave me an egg and as I tried to crack it open, I was surprised to see that it had some sort of black jelly. I asked him "Zhe shi shen me?" And he joyfully exclaimed "Bi dan!" Century eggs! It was my first time seeing them inside the shell but they tasted really good! He also offered me rice balls but I had to decline as it had pork in it. He was really kind and I somehow knew that this was one of those things that was just supposed to happen in my trip. I patiently went with them all the way back to Kaohsiung and after dropping the couple that came all the way from Hong Kong back to their place, it was time to begin our own journey.

It was an hour away and the first thing I noticed was that as we headed towards Tainan, the clouds that once covered the skies completely started to give way to bright sun. The ride was further accentuated by the music of enka that the driver seemed to also like. I later found out he was playing it for me too. When we got there, I noticed it was 4 PM but it was a bit too early for sunset. I tried to find a way to stall and invited him to come eat with me. I wanted to treat him but was surprised that he offered to treat me. I've never encountered a taxi driver so willing to spend their own money to treat a customer to dinner. That just didn't make sense to me. Still, I ordered the soup and rice thinking that I would still treat him but he actually beat me to it. It also wasn't exactly the cheapest price I've seen too. I made sure to give thanks. As I was eating, I saw that he was taking pictures of the nearby Taoist temple. I later went inside and he joined me. I was surprised that he came by with some incense and gave some to me, inviting me to pray with him. This was great as I really had no idea how to pray inside a Taoist temple, or rather it's been a long time. We first went outside and I was instructed to place three incense on the incense burner. He muttered a prayer under his breath and I followed his lead. Then we went inside and placed three more in front of the deities, he knelt down and prayed again with me mimicking his movements. I felt that this was just one of those experiences that would stay with me for a long time.

As we neared the saltfields, we were then approached by the local guide who was telling me all the stuff I could learn and offered me a price of 400 NTD. I only had 4,000 on me and told him that I first needed to confirm with my taxi driver how much it was going to cost to get me from here all the way to Chiayi HSR Station and we agreed on 3,500 NTD. With only having a few bills on me, I decided not to take the tour but I was later approached by him again offering to do it for 200. I thought it was a reasonable price and I could stall some time for sunset so I took it. Instead of the saltfields though, he took me to the back and showed me some old houses and taught me about the different architectural styles and materials used back in the old days. I learned a lot about the customs and the importance of directions and whatnot. Yet, I was wondering when were we actually going to learn about the saltfields? Well my answer came quicky as our next stop was finally the saltfields themselves, I was quite jealous of the taxi driver as he seemed to be happily snapping away photos left and right while I was stuck listening to this person. Not that I had anything against him, but I was just getting flashbacks to my time in Bayon at Cambodia when I hired the tour guide just to realize how much I actually didn't like standing around and listening to some one talk for ages, I didn't like getting shepherded and my attention being called on when I try to take photos. The fact that the sun's golden hour was already happening was making me a bit impatient now. At one point, I asked how long was the tour and he asked if I wanted to end it here. I told him yes, and he asked me to pay up to which I happily obliged and gave him the thousand dollar bill. He went inside to get some change and I gave him some additional coins as a tip. In return, he gave me a tip to check out the north side as no one goes there, but the views of the lagoon were said to be outstanding. I found my driver and I invited him to take a walk with me.

We passed by Helmet Avenue where there were a bunch of helmets on sticks prodded to the ground and as soon as I got a view of the lagoon, I knew that getting that engaging with the tour guide was worth it. Sunset painted the sky orange and being able to see the sea was absolutely golden. I remember doubling back just to get the taxi driver to hurry and see the view with me. He was having the time of his life too and it was great!

Now I was ready to make the most of golden hour and began taking photos of the saltfields. I could understand why this place was known to be one of the most photogenic spots in Taiwan and it's exactly because of the still waters that reflect the scarlet skies. I went up the main platform to catch more photos and on the way I encountered the tour guide again. He insisted on taking my photo and I finally obliged when he wouldn't take no for an answer. He wanted to take a photo of the sun above my head as he said in Taiwanese culture, this was considered very lucky. He gave me another tip to check the east side as the views from that side was also beautiful. I thanked him and as I made my way there, he exclaimed that my future was going to be bright.

I passed through the landbridge and was even more amazed at what awaited on the other side. I'm not sure what they were, perhaps oyster farms or just sticks that functioned as wave breakers but they added a lot of life to the otherwise open seas. I was also feeling a bit guilty for making the taxi driver wait for too long so I hurried back and apologized and told him it was okay to go now. He bought me some fish dumplings and gave me some peanuts, telling me it was my dinner. I was so touched! Instead of Enka, I asked him to play me his favorite Taiwanese music, and he played some old school tracks that sounded as I would expected them to sound. I realized he was going to a different Chiayi in the city center and I had to redirect him to the proper Chiayi HSR station which was another 11 KM away. He said that 3,500 NTD wouldn't be enough to cover the trip but I was planning on giving him everything I had anyway as thanks so I offered him the 3,800 NTD and jokingly asked if it was enough. He said it's fine since I didn't have money anymore and that we were friends. I laughed out loud with that but I was happy either way. He dropped me at the station and I gave him one last thanks and a tap on the shoulder as a farewell.

I got my HSR ticket going to Taichung, having missed the first one since we made a wrong turn going to Chiayi. I wasn't exactly in much of a rush. I ate the peanuts and arrived at Taichung just in the nick of time. Just as I exited the main station, I saw some local bboys rocking it and was really impressed that the Taiwanese were really reppin'. On the way to Palmer Hotel, I stopped by a street corner with Indonesian restaurants and ordered fried duck. I was still hungry after such a long day. After checking in, I chowed down, took a shower and went straight to bed. It was going to be another one-nighter here.Read more