六合夜市 ~ Liouho Night Market

Pictures
美麗島捷運站 Formosa Blvd. Station 1 2 (Source: Yenwen.net)
六合夜市 Liouho Night Market 1 2 (Source: Wikipedia)

六合夜市
作者:史杰輝
編輯：黃馨慧

高雄市是在臺灣的南部。是臺灣第二繁榮城市。高雄本來的名字是「打狗」。高雄人既幽默又風趣。一百一十五年以前，日本統治時代，因爲日本政府覺得那個名字不好聼，所以創造個新的，而且非常文雅的名字，日文說「TAKAO」，中文叫「高雄」。

我去年暑假從日本到香港，新加坡，和臺灣旅行。我從新加坡飛到高雄，再從高雄到台南，台中，日月潭，最後抵達臺北。所以我對於臺灣的最初記憶是高雄。我剛到旅館就走路到六合夜市逛了一趟。

因爲高雄市是依著都市計劃建立的城市，所以道路比臺北的更寬且垂直，真是方便。夜市附近的捷運美麗島站好像新的，天花板有彩色的繪畫，相當漂亮。雖然六合夜市很熱鬧，但因爲道路很寬，所以不感覺擠。在小店後面也有許多的商店。因爲夜市的中心很寬廣，有很多桌子跟椅子，人隨時都可以跟朋友一起坐著吃飯，聊天，還有觀看周遭的人。

從衣服，照相機，手工藝品，小動物，夜市裏應有盡有，其中小吃店是六合夜市的特色。像鹹湯圓，蚵仔煎，豆花，各式各樣的臺灣特別的美食都有。您吃過蛇肉嗎？六合夜市有幾家蛇肉餐館。我覺得有一點可怕，所以決定將有機會要跟朋友一起吃蛇肉菜。那天，我吃了蚵仔煎，玉米，和臺灣式壽司，也喝了一杯奶茶，滿腹而歸。因爲臺灣的食物比日本的便宜，讓我沒花那麽多錢。

聽説早上學生常常打掃夜市周遭環境。我很好奇。在那裡一定能了解臺灣生活的樂趣。我們再一起到六合夜市去吃蛇肉吧！

Liouho (Liuhe) Night Market
Author: James Smyth
Editor: Huang Xin-hui

Kaohsiung is in southern Taiwan, and it’s the second biggest city in the country. Its original name was “Dagou,” which means “Hit the Dog.” Kaohsiung people have a good sense of humor. 115 years ago, the occupying Japanese government decided this name was embarassing, so they gave the city a new, unusually graceful name: “Takao” in Japanese, “Kaohsiung” in Chinese. (It means “High Hero” in English. The Romanization is Wade-Giles.)

Last summer, I traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. I flew from Singapore to Kaohsiung, and from there I saw Tainan, Taichung, Sun Moon Lake, and finally Taipei. So my first memories of Taiwan are of Kaohsiung. Soon after arriving at the hotel, I walked to Liouho Night Market to take a look.

Because Kaohsiung is a planned city, its streets are wider than Taipei’s and follow a grid format, which is convenient. Formosa Boulevard Subway Station near the market seems new, and the ceiling is beautifully and colorfully painted. Although Liouho Night Market is really busy, because the streets are so wide, it doesn’t feel crowded. Behind the standard food and merchant’s stands are various shops and stores. The center of the market is spacious, and there are plenty of tables and chairs there, so you can sit with your friends, chat, and people-watch while eating the food you bought.

Clothes, cameras, handicrafts, pets: Liouho has everything that a night market should. It’s most famous for its food. Salty rice balls, oyster omelettes, tofu pudding, and many other Taiwanese dishes can be found there. Have you ever eaten snake? Liouho has several snake restaurants. I thought it was a little scary, so I decided to try it some other day with friends. That day, I had an oyster omelette, corn, and Taiwanese sushi, and I drank a milk tea. I went home full and happy. Because Taiwanese food is much cheaper than Japanese food, I didn’t have to pay much, either.

I’ve heard students clean the streets of the market in the morning. That seems miraculous. The market is a great place to learn about the joy of Taiwanese life. Let’s go there and eat snake together!