Day 5: Xindian, wulai, keelung

 Starting the day right/wrong makes all the difference. We went downstairs and got some traditional breakfast foods from the cart lady, and had a brief chat to her about local recommendations.

Then we headed out to our day trip. Unfortunately, the hotel staff could offer no help as to directions. Instead, we headed out to the MRT station and headed to Xindian. This was a highlight of the trip for my mum. 

At Xindian, there was a suspension bridge that would be removed soon. It was spectacular, green lake is called green lake because it's actually green.

A bit of rain didn't spoil our day. If you recognize the duck boats, you are right, it's the backdrop and outing shown in various Taiwanese dramas.

A shame we already had breakfast, but we stumbled on a nice street filled with local food. The locals were so nice, that they let me try the food before we bought any. AND it must have been the best street food experience I've had in Taipei so far. 

We also picked up a fair few gifts in a little shop by the bridge. They also have heaps of stamps you can fill your stamp book to. REMEMBER TO BRING A NOTEPAD with you when you visit Taiwan, they have a strange fascination of stamps, and you can get stamps at all the major attractions- best part? If you bought along blank bookmarks, that equals FREE gifts that you make yourself!

So we looked for a bus to Wulai. Unfortunately, the line was incredibly long, and two buses had come along without hope of us getting on. Fortunately, we had taxi drivers solicitating their services. So we negotiated, 2 taxis for x price. 

It was WORTH IT. Truly. The trip up was not short, and standing another day on the bus really didn't appeal to me.

I haven't been to Wulai since I was very very young. And I have no recollection of much except for the waterfall and tiny train. This time, our purposes was to get a soak. 

Unlike Yangminshan, the water here didn't reak. 

Of course, we could have just gone to the side of the hot springs, and just put our feet in. But we were after a different experience. 

We wandered around the town and found a place we were comfortable with. For a set price, we had 2 hours in a luxury suite with 2 tubs. Our spa hotel overlooked the natural surroundings, and NOT other spa hotels. It was lovely, but don't stay in the tub too long! Alternate between hot and cold to remove toxins.

And to cap off our time at wulai, we got some good food- my favourite was the spa eggs- eggs boiled in the volcanic water. The food street leading to the spa hotels was DANGEROUS. cars would pass by in the middle, and there was little room to avoid. 

We took a bus to the halfway between Xindian and Wulai. Got off to have some very very special Taiwanese food. 

This chicken was smoked right outside the restaurant, and I had the pleasure of talking to the gentlemen running the restaurant. 

Because one of my travel companions was leaving early the next day, we headed to Keelung. 

We travelled by train via Taipei Main Station. When we arrived, there was torrential rain. We were all geared up in our rain suits and umbrellas.

Keelung was famous for a seafood night street market. It was a little disappointing due to the rain. All the undercover seats in shops were taken, we were given the option of just taking food with us or not eating at all.

Having stood up for enough, and having enough street food, we chose to grab two things, as we negotiated our way through the flooding streets back to Taipei. And on our way, we found the famous beef noodle soup shop.

They have no official sign, and they don't really allow photos, so here is my sneaky sneaky. 

The meat was not great. But the broth was EXCELLENT. We would have eaten other stuff, but by the time we went, late at night, most of the vegetables and small snacks were sold out!

Another lazy day turned absolutely packed. But luckily, we had a soak in the hot springs.

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Day 4: Taipei shopping, Taiwan international beef noodle festival, 24 hours of books

Disclosure: I was exhausted. My feet had blisters. 

It was to be a lazy Sunday. The previous night, I had been soaking my feet in ice water (make do with the garbage bin in the shower - does a wonder for the feet on holidays). 

We went to hunt for the local church we had found online prior to our stay. On the way, we walked passed the "camera street". I was really impressed, it was truly filled with all things electrical, but note, doesn't open till later in the day.

When we finally found the church, we saw people (many many people) wandering the streets in matching outfits (later on, we discovered there was a charity walk earlier that morning).

After church, we took the opportunity to walk around the proximity. Including the areas surrounding the peace park. The history of the peace park is worth reading about, but I won't dwell on it here.

To my mother's delight, we also passed by several bookshops. People in Taiwan just love to read. It's a facinating culture. If you ever go to a bookshop you will find people camped out just reading, even in the middle of the night.

We split ways with the rest of the group (who weren't worn out). They went to see the presidential buildings and wander around the 101 area (which we already did on our first day). We went to look for other delights. This is a special shop full of preserved meat. It was really funky actually, to find so many different animal parts - pig ears, stomach, pig bellies, you name it, it was there. I took a picture of the only things that most people won't find offensive- chicken wings. The taste was a bit too bitter and seasoned for my taste, but mum enjoyed it.

We also stopped by a fish noodle shop. It was "street food" but somehow, the shop had taken over the lobby of a building that was either under renovation, or about to be taken down. Slurpy, gooie goodness.

We headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. I had a few more articles to write before the rest of our journey, and I was waiting for another travel companion to arrive. Mum headed to a supermarket, several blocks from the hotel. She came back later on happily carrying teabags, and other gifts, that was substantially cheaper than we saw at the street markets.

I sneaked out in search of gifts myself. The Daiso at XMD was well stocked with homewears, gifts, and beauty accessories. I bought myself some facemasks, they were only A$1 for 100!! Yes, I know. Amazing value. I also bought a heap of other stuff, useless now that I've taken them home, but most I had given out as novelty gifts, including kitchen wall laminate that I gifted away.

My aunty arrived exhausted too. The best had dropped her off in the middle of no where, and she had walked from Taipei Main Station!

So as a reward, we found an award winning beef noodle soup shop nearby. NOT impressed. They were serving Australian meat, and cold/lukewarm soup. Granted it was 3pm in the afternoon. But anyhow, it was disappointing quality for Taipei, and the prices were like highway robbery, compared to other street shops.

But we were in luck, a few MRT rides away, we found the Taipei Noodle festival. One of the highlights planned for our trip. There were demonstrations from quality chefs, tastings, and all in a very cool venue. We tasted some noodle soup for free- hot, flavoursome, and left a nice aftertaste. And samples were for sale for a very reasonable price. NT$50!

We also took time to check out the shops in the venue. This is a must see shop there- an old record store which had antiques and many gifts you can buy. The funky feel is surreal, as if you weren't in Taiwan anymore. The other shops worth looking at include the handicraft shops with handmade necklaces, and gifts. Very retro, very stylish, and affordable by western standards.

After all of that, we rushed back to the hotel to meet with our travel companions and have dinner at a famous hotel. Absolutely wonderful food. And the price, 10 times more than you would pay on the street, but well worth it.

The dessert shop underneath the hotel was great too. And the handmade pineapple cakes we bought here was a crowd winner.

To cap off what was meant to be a lazy day, we went to the Eslite bookstore. No photos allowed inside, but for those that can read chinese, it's a real treat. Seriously, people were standing around everywhere with books in hand, they were sitting on stairwells, on the ground next to bookshelves (occupation health and safety alert).

And to prove how much Taiwanese people loved books, we found a library inside a MRT station!

WHAT A DAY. Totally exhausted from walking. Visited more than 3 bookshops, ate award winning beef noodle soup, - so much for a lazy Sunday.

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Day 3: Yangmingsan, damshui, fisherman's wharf, ah chung noodles

After a mammoth day 2 in Taiwan, our plan was to have an easy day 3 in Yangmingsan, Damshui, and Fisherman's wharf. 

So we woke up and had the hotel Mos Burger breakfast then asked the concierge about how to get to Yang Ming Shan. They were NO HELP whatsoever. Because I was worried about the frequency of buses we took the MRT to Jintan to transfer to the more rapid buses there. Ask at the MRT tourist counter if you don't know how to get the bus. There was a HUGE line when we arrived. I totally recommend taking the trip on a weekday to avoid the local crowds. 

The journey standing up the mountain on the bus was tiring and scary. Almost like a super cheap version of a theme park ride. When we arrived at the terminus, we changed to a mini local bus up to the mountains. This time, it was even scarier and more packed. I don't think they read the bus load limits when they started loading the bus. 

So I was standing up the back, face flat against the window. And as in a Hollywood movie, we had motorbikes following us up the mountain and it was entertaining to watch them pass by us. 

First stop was the tourist information centre and the main crater. We could smell the sulfur, it was like  the smell of off socks. The visitor centre recommended the hike up the side of the crater which should take about a hour each way. About 15 minutes in, and 200 steps up, I felt defeated. It was hot, I was tired and my feet hurt. 

I started crying. It was so difficult for me on the way up, it was even harder on the way down. So we rested in the gift shop before exploring some more. 

This 30 minute track was much easier. And the views weren't too bad either. I actually dropped my massive backpack with my travelling companions and just ran the distance in about 5-10 minutes. It was much easier than the ascent up the crater with my backpack!

We also spent some time in the grass paddocks on our next stop. There were cows grazing and a few people with their guitars. A nice stop, and I just really really really needed to sit down. I had basically been standing for 5 hours (MRT, bus up the mountain, local bus, the walks we had been doing). So it was nice to catch my breath and rest my tired legs. 

On the way down, we took the express mini bus that took us all the way down to the MRT instead of the yangmingshan terminus. 

If you can afford it, a taxi guide for the day on Yangmingshan is not a bad idea. You can get to a lot more places and see a lot more. 

Failing to find food elsewhere, we found ourselves exhausted at 4pm in the food markets again at Shilin. And the beef noodle broth was well worth the allergic reaction after. I would avoid food that has been pre-prepared. Taste off. And I would avoid buying fruit to take home from the fruit sellers. Taste good there, but once you take it home, you realise it is off. (Maybe because we looked like tourists).

From there it was an easy MRT + bus ride to fisherman's wharf. IT's well marked in english and chinese. You will get a little concerned on the bus ride there as the crowds start getting off and as the bus enters residential streets, but don't worry, you are on the way.

The bus ride takes longer than you expect, so arrive early if you want to catch the sunset.

Lovers bridge was beautiful. A little bigger than I had expected with steps on both sides keeping you safe. 

The reward on the other side were restaurants. If this was anywhere else in the world, there would be offering food at ridiculous prices. But instead, we found the fish balls and noodle soups stock standard prices. We didn't really feel that hungry considering we had just had our lunch at 4pm (Shilin night markets). But we grabbed a few bits and pieces anyway. I recommend the sweet and sour drink next to the famous soup shop (avoid the soup shop, nothing special there). 

If I was hungry, I would totally have one of the reasonably priced buffet offerings. But instead, we enjoyed a slow walk along the dimly lit broad water. It was a beautiful end to a gruesomely hot and tiring day. 

And when we finally found the Damshui street food, we were again disappointed. It took half an hour for the stand to cook the mushrooms. My verdict is central Taiwan definitely has better run and tastier street food. Taipei street food has been westernised and disappointing in comparison.

And by the time we go to XMD it was almost 9pm. And Ah Chung was something on our to do list. So stopping by we ordered the famous noodles. Nothing flash, I was amazed that the noodles weren't terribly sloppy given that it was swimming in the slimy soup for the better half of the day. But there was really nothing special about the taste. It was bland, even with the sauce. I talked to locals, and they recommend the noodle store a few shops down which stock better broth and soup noodles. 

But hey, if you visit this city only once, you can't really judge until you've tried it for yourself. 

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