Greetings from Taipei Main Station! It was ZC's birthday, we went for a quick breakfast in a cafe nearby our hostel and then headed to Shifen via Taipei Main Station. Since it's not MRT and quite similar to Malaysia's KTM, we had trouble looking for method to purchase train ticket from Taipei to Ruifang. After asking few locals as well as employees of the train station, we finally got it in our hand!
It was an... unexciting ride from Taipei to Ruifang. I was expecting a scenic ride filled with picturesque scenery since Ruifang is far away from the hectic city of Taipei, but the sceneries were a little disappointing. Nevertheless, we arrived at Ruifang and changed train to Shifen.
Shifen is an interesting town. It's street is divided into 2 and built next to the train track. It was weekday but the station was packed to its brim!
Somehow Shifen is popular with sky lanterns, where people write their wishes on the sky lanterns, burn it like a hot air balloon, release it into the sky and wish that your dream will come true. Money money come!
Shifen is also famous with its waterfall. It is about 20mins walk from the town center.
Plenty of stairs and steep hills along the way... But the final view is rewarding. Behold, Shifen Waterfall with rainbow. The splash were so great, we were wet in no time eventhough we are far away for photos opportunities. We had to make it quick so that our lenses wouldn't get too wet.
Then, it was another 20mins walk back to the little town, and I was starving. Saw a stall selling BBQ chicken wing with fried rice - where the fried rice filled the (almost) boneless chicken wing!
To get to Jiufen, we have to take a train back to Ruifang, then walk a km to a bus stop, where we can hop onto a bus which heads to Jiufen. Located somewhere on top of a hill, the bus has to go through quite a number of twist and turns before reaching Jiufen. The weather was fine when we arrive, slightly cosy wind and bright sun... But soon, the sky turns dark.
Jiufen has few famous delicacies, one of it is taro balls. The taro balls here were very 'Q' or elastic, if you get what I mean. However, I prefer if they could use much finer shaved ice.
It was quite a crowded day, and the sky is starting to get dark. So, we decided to spend our remaining time in a cafe which has a breathtaking view of Jiufen and the sea!
It is compulsory for each person in the cafe to order a food and beverage. Ordered some food which are extraordinary. The outside skin is edible while the glutinous rice inside tasted weird, a little sweet, sour and salty at the same time @_@
We sat in the cafe until 6pm, where night time starts. Night view of Jiufen definitely gave it a different feel... I don't wanna leave this place! It was time to leave Jiufen but we found out that the public buses doesn't operate much in the night. Thus, we have to fork out extra to hitch a ride back to Taipei in a Volkswagen Caravelle.
We left 2 days before leaving Taiwan, thus we decided to pay Ximending another visit to get some souvenirs, especially 姜母茶 which my mom has been urging me to buy for her. A-Lin's song is displaying in Ximending!
Tried out 阿宗面线 as supper, I am not a fan of noodle or vermicelli, but I found it quite delicious! Worth the try if you are dropping by Ximending.
NEXT - Taiwan Day 6: Tamsui District
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