南部的艷陽天，熱得讓我很受不了，不過，相較於北部的悶熱，南部的乾熱還是相對比較好，我這次是想搭著輕軌小旅行，在等輕軌列車到來時，我順著軌道往下個站點走，正好到處逛逛，看到一處建築群，上面寫著香蕉碼頭，既然碰到了，就過去看看吧。
網路上查了一下，香蕉碼頭為高雄港三號碼頭香蕉棚改建而成，最初是為了因應香蕉大量外銷，建的露天開放式倉庫，我小時候，常常聽長輩說，我們這邊產的香蕉很好吃，香甜好入口，可以幫助消化、防止抽筋，每年都大量外銷到日本賺取外匯，難怪這個地方，會被命名為香蕉碼頭，應該是為了紀念那段外銷香蕉的歷史吧！
碼頭旁停著幾艘遊艇和觀光船，海面波光粼粼，讓人心情也隨之平靜下來，此外，還有一些裝置藝術作品，散落在步道上，假如是假日時，可能會有街頭藝人在表演，有人唱歌、有人變魔術，應該能吸引了不少遊客來此逛逛，而且，假如不耐酷曬的烈陽的話，還可以躲到室內的複合式商場，吹著冷氣，點一杯香蕉冰沙，消磨一個下午。
我記得好多年前，我經過高雄時，特別是港邊的碼頭區，很多都是破舊未整修的倉庫，直到前幾年，聽說這邊弄一個駁二藝術特區，把很多老建物或貨倉，活化再利用，並招商文創團隊進駐，產生了不少有意思的碰撞，看來，香蕉碼頭也是一個類似概念的產物。
The blazing sun in the south was almost unbearable for me, but compared to the humid heat up north, the dry heat down here actually felt a bit better. This time, I planned to take a light rail mini trip. While I was waiting for the train, I started walking along the tracks toward the next stop, just wandering around. That’s when I spotted a group of buildings with the sign "Banana Pier" on them. Since I happened to be nearby, I figured I might as well check it out.
I looked it up online and found out that Banana Pier was originally built as an open-air warehouse at Kaohsiung Port’s No. 3 Pier to handle the huge amount of bananas being exported back in the day. When I was little, I used to hear my elders talk about how delicious our local bananas were — sweet, fragrant, easy to eat, and even good for digestion and preventing cramps. Every year, tons of bananas were exported to Japan, earning a lot of foreign currency for Taiwan. No wonder they named this place Banana Pier. It’s probably meant to commemorate that golden era of banana exports.
Next to the pier, a few yachts and sightseeing boats were docked, and the sunlight shimmering on the water gave off such a peaceful vibe. There were also some art installations scattered along the walkway. I guess if you come on a weekend, you might see street performers — singers, magicians — putting on shows and drawing in crowds. And if you can’t stand the blazing sun for too long, you can always head into the indoor shopping area, enjoy the air conditioning, and chill out with a banana smoothie for the afternoon.
I remember years ago when I passed through Kaohsiung, especially around the port area, a lot of the warehouses looked really old and run-down. But in recent years, I heard about the Pier-2 Art Center project, where they started renovating these old structures and inviting creative industries to move in, giving the whole area a fresh new vibe. It seems like Banana Pier is also part of that same concept — bringing new life into old spaces.