Woke up at 6.30am, heard pitter patter on the window....oh no....RAIN !!!! Well, since we are already here in Taipei, shall let nothing dampen our mood.
After a quick breakfast, we were soon ready to set off, armed with umbrellas and scarfs. Our guide, Mr Lai was already waiting for us. How shall I describe him...hmmm...when he first get out of his 7 seater Toyota Wish, I stared. Haahahaa! He has golden mixed with slight white hair, wore a white shirt and a light purple tie. For one moment I thought.. Taiwan Da Ge Da Mafia! Wahaahaa! But he turned out to be the nicest person, chatty and ever so considerate in looking after his clients! My initial wild imagination over, packed my family into the car. In high spirits, we enjoyed the car ride as well as the scenery along the way, listening to Mr Lai introducing Taipei to us. Looks like it will be a long-life rain...
The first thing Mt Lai told us : something very unique about Taipei -
you don't normally find dustbin / trash bins along the streets or in shops. Simply because it costs labor and money to dispose them. So when you are out on the street, you may want to bring a little small bag to throw your own rubbish. Of course if you visit any shops and buy things from them, they will be more than happy to help you throw your rubbish. This is lesson number 1.
Lesson No 2 - if you need to use a washroom, lookout for 7-11, which can be found at almost every corner of Taipei. Bigger outlets will have toilets for public use. Otherwise, you will have to use those in shops, or eateries. It will be more difficult to find public toilets in night markets..so "empty" your stuff before you set off ! :)
Arrived at our 1st desintation - Wulai at about 9am. Too early, plus heavy rain, we were the only car that was out there. Still, traveled all the way here, just get out of car with umbrella and snap photos for album lor...
After Wulai, we headed for a Strawberry Farm to experience harvesting. But gosh, when we reached there, the field were all muddy and soft. My son insisted on wanting to try out, so no choice :( put on those rain shoes ( phua chu kang boots actually) and started going into the field. Yeeeks....boots always get stuck in the mud and I almost trip over a rope..
After Strawbery Farm, we crossed the road to a Tomato Farm...we never knew that there were actually so many kinds of tomatoes ! Take a look..
Neiwan Old Street. Again, it was raining hence no crowd..
Amusing lamp post. Not sure what it means, but cannot resist taking a snapshot !
The is the shop we bought 2 big bottles of ginger black sugar tea. It is actually square cubes of hardened black sugar with fresh ginger slices embedded. Once you add hot water, the sugar will dissolve and generous slices of fresh ginger, dried longan pieces can be seen. It is especially nice if you drink it hot.
You don't have to make a special trip to Neiwan just to get this, it is widely sold in Taipei..though I am not sure if it is only available during the winter season or throughout the year.
An old cinema which has now been converted to a eatery place and some souvenir shops...
Our Hakka meal at Neiwan. Very satisfying ! Less than SGD40/- for the whole meal! Free flow of steaming white rice...
Statue made from Salt....
Made from salt...
For the tired travelers, there is this little pool where you can sit by the side and dip your sore and tired feet into the warm water. All tiredness will be washed away too :)
It was also our guide's 1st time to this salt factory. It is not the usual place that tourist will go, but we went there just have a see look to satisfy our curiousity.
After that, we headed back to Taipei. Sky grew dark at about 5plus pm thus makes it difficult to continue our sightseeing.
By the time we reached back the minsu, wash up, it was close to 9pm. Walked down the street (left of minsu) and came to this food outlet without any signboard. It was located at a road junction. A lot of patrons waiting is always a sure indication of good food. So, we decided to have our late dinner here ( later we found out that this stall has close to 50 years of history and locals just flock there to eat !)
This is the stall's signature dish. I don't know what is is called, but it is like our Yong Tau Hu, in braised sauce.. |
After dinner, passed this stall, can't resist, so bought a few sticks back to the minsu to enjoy...ahhhhh! no regrets! Got to wait 15 mins for the uncle to barbecue our orders though...
That's it! End of Day 2.
Weather : Rain was rather heavy in the afternoon. But towards the evening, it was reduced to featherlike drizzle. Kind of cold...probably around 16-18 degrees on that day.
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