Even before our cruise started, we knew that the original plan to visit China had to be scrapped due to Chinese restrictions on visitors. This opened up space for the ship to visit Taiwan. On June 10 (Day 148), we visited Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
I took an excursion that started with a walking tour of a market. (Have I mentioned yet that it was hot and humid?) The smells of piles of ground “something” (fish or animals or bugs?) and other goods for sale were what I remember most. I didn’t take many pictures, but did feel called to memorialize the spirit of this creature for sale in the market.
In this part of the world, there is a luck-of-the-draw when it comes to the English skills of tour guides. For this day, it was very hard for our bus of 30 to hear what the guide was trying so earnestly to convey. I did pick up that she wanted us to know that they (meaning people from Taiwan) are not afraid of the Chinese.
After the market, we saw many temples, which are influenced by Chinese religions.
And the influence is very evident in the public space.
My favorite temple was a large Confucian temple.
In the Confucian temple courtyard, we encountered a group of children listening to a story teller or teacher. Confucianism is more of a philosophy than a religion (although I saw some debates on this point). It emphasizes teaching, and ethics, so this seemed a perfect way to capture the spirit of the place.
