Today we hired a car and driver to cover a few places that are part of a common tour itinerary. Two of three were places I had been to, but it’s a good way to spend the day with friends.
The car was organised through the hotel rather than online as we had missed the booking cut-off for most apps except one. It cost slightly more but WL had accidentally withdrawn more money than intended so it was a good way of helping her use up the cash.
We departed in a Mercedes van around 0845 for Yehliu Geopark where it stinking hot, sunny and humid as we walked through the park in search of the Queen’s Head which resembles Nefertiti.
At my age, seeing it for the second time, it was a non-event. It looked smaller than I remember. The resemblance to Nefertiti also seemed less than from the photos in various places of the park. I wonder if it had been further eroded in recent years.
Yehliu Geopark.
I was more interested in the crane we saw in the distance, next to the hill than looked like a lion rock, which was explained to us as remnants of a shipwreck. The snacks on sale, eg. dried squid, including the single free sample was probably the highlight of my visit.
Jiufen
From Yehliu we drove to Jiufen which I visited about two years ago and overnighted in bad weather. The driver parked and dropped us off and we were able to see Keelung Port. Last time, I could barely see the coast.
We snacked on the local specialty, fish ball soup near the beginning of our exploration of Jiufen’s hillside alleys in today’s humid weather. With nothing else grabbing our interest, we sat down in air-con comfort to share a couple of California rolls filled with pork floss. Yummy!
I was keen to show the others Ah Mei’s Teahouse. This involved walking downhill. It made sense to make our way down to the lower road for us to be picked up by the driver (rather than climb uphill again).
He picked us up at the bus station opposite the police station and we continued our way to Shifen.
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- Alleyways full of street food in Jiufen.
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- Alleyways full of street food in Jiufen.
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- View of Keelung Port.
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- Ah Mei’s Teahouse.
Houtong Cat Village
As it was around 1330, we had time up our sleeves. We asked the driver for suggestions so that we wouldn’t get back to Taipei too early for the night market. He suggested a brief stop at Houtong Cat Village.
This village is home to stray cats that have been caught, neutered and released here. It wasn’t exactly overrun with cats like Japan’s cat island but we did see a few cuties.
Historically, the village was home to the Ruishan coal mine washery. The museum had ruins of the machinery housed in a modern building. The neighbouring area looks like it is getting reconstructed.
Ruishan coal washery.
Shifen
We got to Shifen around 1500 and walked a short distance to where people were launching hot air balloons, written with their dreams and ambitions on the outside. I found this a bit strange as I would have written my worries and troubles.
The launch site was on railway tracks that were still in use. People have to clear off when the infrequent trains come through.
The balloon consists of what looks like a rubbish bag made from recycled plastic, with a frame around the open end that also has a little receptacle that holds some funeral money (paper) dowsed with some flammable liquid. There were lots of people participating in this starting from NTD200 (NZD11) to NTD1000 (NZD55).
As for environmental impact, no comment. Silent observer, not spoilsport. It’s super humid and lush here, no risk of bushfires I think.
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- Setting off hot air balloons of dreams and aspirations.
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- Mural at Shifen.
Shifen Waterfall
It was a short drive to the waterfall. By this time, it was super sticky with the humidity as we walked along the path to the waterfall, over a couple of bridges which included some stairs.
We were glad to see the waterfall, tick it off and return to the car for the ride in air-con comfort, back to Taipei.
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- Small waterfall to the main waterfall.
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- A bridge along the way runs next to a functioning railway line.
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- Shifen waterfall.
Ningxia Night Market
Hopping off at Ningxia Night Market, it was exactly 8h since we departed. We had used up exactly the 8h allowed for the booking.
The market was still in the final stages of getting set up. After a short walk, MH joined the queue for deep fried stuff squid while WL joined one without knowing what was on sale, till she got to the front.
Kim and I bought some simple beef and scallions in pastries from a place with no queues, and we all shared the goodies together at a table.
With the heat and humidity, we were very “over it”. We bought a few more things to share including some guava before catching a cab home even though it didn’t save us much time compared to walking.
After a shower, we shared a load of washing and drying in the hotel basement before going to bed.
Ningxia Night Market.