Day 2 of my trip was really a highlight. After an oily Taiwanese breakfast from a trolley aunty, we did a taxi tour of Taipei surrounds with our hired taxi driver. He was an absolutely wonderful guide, and great recommendation from Tripadvisor friends.
We hit peak hour Taipei traffic but as soon as we escaped from the city, we were rewarded by scenic views of the northern coast.
The driver was great, we could stop for as long or as short as we wanted along the way.
For the sake of respect, we didn't take photos, but along the road in the country-side there were various little colourful houses. These turned out to be family grave sites. The taxi driver told us that there were always two doors in these graves. And the urns of ancestors would be placed inside.
They apparently have a tradition where the entire family would go to visit the graves once a year and it would be quite the gathering.
Unlike our customs in Hong Kong, they would bring food to offer their ancestors, and would actually have to EAT ALL the food they bring afterwards to symbolise the end of that matter.
So we arrived at Yehliu and purchased our tickets with the masses of mainland tourists. This is where my mum met my dad all those years ago. So this trip was a bit symbolic. When she got inside, my mother was surprised at how much had changed. It was now well signed, paved, and marked.
They even made an artificial Queens Head for people to take photos with! And unfortunately, many of the mainland Chinese tourists could not follow signage and line up where indicated. This caused a lot of conflict on the site.
A truly beautiful place with remarkable rock formations. But because of the packs of tourists, it's quite difficult to take any photos where there aren't others in the picture.
Plan to spend no shorter than 1 hour there.
To line up to take a photo with the Queens Head would take 30 minutes in itself. But if you go around to the other cove, you will find larger rock formations, and fewer crowds. The feeling was as if I was walking on a foreign planet.
Please follow the simple rules. Don't touch, don't go beyond the red line, and line up where indicated. These simple rules make the natural wonders last a lot longer for everyone to enjoy. And no joke about the red lines, the guards will be blowing their whistles to get tourists back in the safe zone. There is even a monument there commemorating a teacher who tried to save his student from the edge of these cliffs and died.
Next stop was Jinjashi. One of the places were wouldn't have gotten to in a day without the help of the taxi driver. See the picture below? It's an old abandoned quarry. In the day, the use of ventilation shafts was really innovative. From afar, it looks like a castle. And although you are forbidden to enter, you can drive to the top and see the view from above.
From the top, you can see the yingyang sea, the yellow and blue ocean below. This is caused by mineral run offs from the pipes that ran from the old quarry. The feeling of being up in the castle reminds me of old Japanese animations. Being in such a place, with mild rain feels almost mythical.
And on the way up, we were given a preview of the golden waterfalls. When we stopped and spent time there thought, it was something else all together. Pictures just can't do the place justice. You really need to go and stand there while golden rapids storm down the mountains to be able to tell.
In a different season, the guide told us that the mountains would be white, not with snow, but the with the colour of the plants which would completely change this landscape.
Our second major attraction for the day, Jiufen. The story goes something like this, the sloped city was once inhabited by 9 families, therefore the translation of 9 parts. In the city, they are many artsy shops and places to enjoy tea.
We picked our lunch spot to be a traditional Taiwanese food affair. It was where a famous movie was filmed.
Overlooking the ocean and eating wild boar, something I haven't tried before.
The xiaolongbao here was WWWAAAYYY better than the Ding Tai Fung at Taipei 101. But unfortunately, that meant that I was way too full to enjoy the street food that followed.
Tonnes of little stores selling gifts and food lined these old streets. The streets are filled with tourists. BUT this is a dangerous place to be if you aren't careful or wearing enclosed shoes. While we were there, a lady in high heels was run over by a delivery trolley, not once but 3 times. The guy just kept going over her foot when she screamed. It was a shocking affair.
We had the opportunity to visit one of the pineapple cake factories inside the old streets. And we watched the efficiency in which the chefs turned out the handmade Taiwanese icons.
One of the surprising things for me during this visit was to see the fusion of offerings. No longer just traditional, the addition of ice dripped coffee? A bit odd in a street filled with more traditional meat balls and prune juices.
2 great buys that I had while visiting this street. Jelly shaped like a bouquet of flowers only cost me NT$100 and made for a great gift for church group. The other is paper thin pork jerky, bit expensive, but really tasty.
Our final stop for the day was Shifen. Which roughly translated is 10/10 or perfect. This is a fantastic little town separated by the old quarry train (now a tourist train). During our visit, the train passed a few times, and the tourists will have to run off the tracks.
This is also a great place to write your wishes on paper lanterns and send them soaring into the air. Lanterns cost NT$120 for 4 colours. Staff were rude. But don't let them ruin your mood. Take your time to write you blessings and send them off.
Each colour symbolises something different. Some people are super greedy writing things like, I want to win the lottery, I want to marry a millionaire. Mine is not less guilty, but more true to what I believe- Faith, Hope and Love.
And here's how close the train was to where I was standing! I can't lie, I really loved the thrill of standing on the train tracks knowing that a train will come.
There was also a fantastic little suspension bridge in the town. I was a bit shocked when I got to the other side and it said that the maximum load on the bridge was... 0???
After a packed day, our taxi driver took us back to Taipei. We were blessed with the sunsetting on Taipei 101.
Too tired to hunt for anything better. We ate some noodles and duck trip advisor recommended in XMD. I don't recommend buying the plate of meat. Stick with the noodles which have a few pieces of duck in it. And then head on the street for street food.
For example, this brown sugar mango shaved ice :D. It was a sweet ending to a packed and wonderful day.
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