Before I continue with my post, if you haven't read on Keelung, feel free to click here. This time round for my trip to Taiwan, I covered mostly New Taipei City 新北市 and Taipei City 台北市. So you will be quite familiar with most of the places I went to, with some new ones. Let's go!
TAIPINGSHAN
太平山
The steep stairs is a 'killer' to our friend who was panting for breath from the hiking. I prefer no stairs too because it seems more tedious. We climbed all the way up to a temple and down again for the Bong Bong Train ride, which I didn't expect to be a boring one because of the heavy fog. No views at all and just a train riding through the forest. Never go deeper into the forest out of consideration of our friend. Hikers can consider coming here but not for tourists. This place took us 2-3 hours one-way to reach and thereafter the same amount of time (or more) to Jiufen. Time-consuming trip to this place.
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| The Bong Bong Train Ride |
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| The station to ride back |
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| Incoming train |
The Bong Bong Train, also known as Railed Log Transportation Vehicle, was used for transporting logs from the forest in the old days. I thought it feels like Puffing Billy in Australia but this one here at Taipingshan is not puffing any steam and it has a irritably screeching sound through the ride. Need some greasing soon to reduce the sound.
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| Climb so high for the temple. God bless us. |
Check out the train ride on my Channel for review.
JIUFEN OLD STREET
九份老街
A City of Sadness 悲伤城市 was filmed in Jiufen in the 1980s and it won award at Venice Film Festival. And that has helped Jiufen's revival after its declining in gold mining activities. And now it is popular tourist attraction which most of us will add into our itinerary.
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| The famous stairs a.k.a photostop |
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| The iconic lanterns with Jiufen wordings |
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| The old school postal box |
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| Night view of Jiufen |
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| Jiufen Xiahai Cheng Huang Miao 九份霞海城隍庙 |
Because I have never stay in a 民宿 homestay before, so our guide Xiao Li helped to book 2 nights stay at Jiufen after our communication on LINE. It has been a long time since we visited Jiufen, so taking this chance to walk on the old street in the night time before all the shops close. It is less crowded than in the day that is packed with locals and tourists. Nothing much changes with the vibes that whispers its golden past.
Check out our stay and Jiufen Old Street videos now!
GOLDEN WATERFALL
黄金瀑布
Just a short drive away from our homestay, we are greeted by the naturally formed waterfall that looks like gigantic wall of golden rock cliff. Magnificent view with the mountain as the backdrop. A good photostop for your Instagram maybe.
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| Golden Waterfall along Shui Nan Dong Road |
YINYANG SEA
阴阳海
Further down the road, we got to see Yin Yang Sea, a dual tone part of the sea that appears in yellow and blue. They have a observation deck to have a clearer view of that part of the sea. This is my 1st time here after visiting Taiwan for so many times. Bucket list checked!
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| The Taiwanese drama and Japanese anime vibes |
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| Yinyang Sea in yellow and blue |
Check out the Golden Waterfall and Yin Yang Sea video now!
三貂角灯塔
Address: 新北市貢寮區福連里馬崗街38號
The San Diaojiao Lighthouse, known as the "Eye of Taiwan", is an important indicator in the Pacific region, guiding the direction of many ships. It was built in 1935 on the easternmost point of Taiwan where the first light of dawn is welcomed every day. There is an small exhibition hall inside the lighthouse to visit, allowing travelers to have a deeper understanding of the history of Taiwan's lighthouses. It is also a popular filming location for many Taiwanese idol dramas and weddings with the romantic installation of art and European style pavilions. When we were there, the strong gush of wind that is chilling and can almost blow us away.
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| Entrance to the lighthouse |
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| A closer look at the lighthouse |
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| Overlooking the deep blue sea |
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| The shape of Taiwan in the world map |
TOUCHENG MR BROWN'S CASTLE CAFE
頭城伯朗城堡咖啡館Didn't know of this place and also didn't expect a cafe out of Mr Brown's brand of coffees. If you wanna chill out in there, a minimum spending of TWD 100 per pax is required. Simply get 2 coffees and a cake (we have 3 pax) to meet the min.
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| Castle 1 with the café in operation |
There are 2 castles with one facing the windmill and carpark, and the other further into the park about 300m walk. Take more Instagram-worthy photos because the castles are so beautiful. Please note that the castle on the outside is operating the café and the other one is empty. Probably use for events, I'm not sure at all. Both were established in October 2009 (as stated on the building façade).
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| Castle 2 not in operation but take some IG worthy shots |
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| Nice and sturdy windmill |
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| Spot Guishan Island from Castle 2 |
Check out our café Shorts now on my Channel!
OUR LUNCH STOP AT 大嵌城罋缸雞
Xiao Li always has his own pocket-list of favourites, even for dining place. He brought us to this restaurant that serves roasted chicken from earthen jar and helped us with the tearing of the chicken into shredded pieces. Condiments were pepper salt and chicken oil. Also to complement our lunch were a simple stir-fry cabbage that was surprisingly sweet, and Mala Stinky Tofu too. Now then I know Stinky Tofu has 2 types, one is deep fried, another is braised. Hub prefer the deep fried while I'm okay with either.
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| Our lunch venue |
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| Stinky Tofu and Stir-fry cabbages |
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| Roasted chicken from earthen jar |
Check out our meal video in the link below:
Cong Bao Bao Experience Farm
葱宝宝体验农场
Do you know that Sanxing Scallions was named after Sanxing Township in the west part of Yilan, Taiwan? Now you know it and so do I. And here at Cong Bao Bao Experience Farm, they sell their scallions to restaurants/5-stars hotels. So you won't get any of them outside. Was told that most we see in the market were Yilan scallions and not Sanxing scallions. The scallions were big and sweet, unlike those we had in Singapore that has a hint of spiciness.
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| Scallions field |
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| Big stalk of Scallions |
We were here for a hands-on experience in making our own scallion pancake and pluck scallions on the field like the hardworking farmers in Taiwan. It was fun and memorable. Just TWD220 per person for the 2 different activities. They have a small shop that sells the local snacks which you can visit and buy some nice ones home.
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| Scallion pancakes in the making |
Check out our farm videos in the links (some to be updated on later date when released) below:
JIN GUA SHI 金瓜石
As many would have known, Jin Gua Shi is a well-known town for their historic gold and copper mines in the past. Wow... gold is everywhere in Taiwan back then. And if you are one who loves looking at beautiful ruins, you can visit this place and hike up the mountain to see the Japanese Shrine ruins (is FREE!). It actually took us almost 45mins to an hour because we stopped here and there, waiting for our friend and catching breath too. The signs of aging but still freaking alive after 3-4 days of hiking.
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| Jin Gua Shi 金瓜石 |
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| Cherry Blossoms? |
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| Hiking up again, in search of the Japanese Shrine ruins |
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| Torii Ruins |
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| Almost there to the Shrine ruins |
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| Here we are at the Shrine site |
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| Torii at the entrance |
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| We can see Teapot Mountain from the Shrine site |
Okay now I'm done with this post. And God bless everyone in Taiwan who are greatly affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 3 April 2024 . Stay safe and calm despite small tremor occurring every now and then. And stay tune to my Taipei post!
Disclaimer: All the above were paid by the writer. Not a sponsored post.