I telephoned a friend and we arranged to meet later on that day in Sanduo shopping district. The Sanduo area has become Kaohsiung's top shopping spot in recent years. Popular department stores here include the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Sogo, as well as the Mega'21 Far Eastern Shopping Complex. There are also many clothes boutiques and small discount shops here that sell cosmetics and various daily goods. Apparently the items at these shops cost as much as 50 per cent less than similar products sold in the boutiques at department stores. But unfortunately I didn't have enough money to splurge on myself.

I found the city's night markets more comfortable for me to navigate than the ones in Taipei. The streets in Kaohsiung are broader and less crowded than those in the capital. Products vary greatly from store to store, so if you see something you particularly like you would be wise to get it there, rather than hoping to find it again later at another store. Many shop owners decorate their shops carefully in order to draw customers, but sometimes the store fronts can be misleading. For example, I spotted a barber shop that looked more like a cafe to me, while not too far away there was a café that appeared to be a tea salon as it had a display of various tea sets on its shelves. I was, however, impressed by the creativity of the shop owners and stallholders. One in particular caught my attention – an earring seller who presented her wares on the top of an umbrella. Customers rotated the umbrella while perusing the earrings.

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