As Mr Lai has to attend to his grandma's funeral, he assigned another guide to drive us around. I kind of look forward to this day as I have always wanted to visit QingTong, JiuFen and Shifen as well as to enjoy the much heard about scenery along the way.
As usual, the guide picked us up at 8am. He introduced himself as Mr Lee, who appeared to be in his early 50's. He seemed more down to earth, introduce places of interests quite like a pro, unlike Mr Lai's style, which is more chatty and jovial. Mr Lee is definitely a much more organized person. When we reached Jiufen before he let us alight, he even stopped by the roadside, drew us a map, showing us how we should navigate, where to locate those goodies stall etc..I like this guide!
Well for today, not many words are needed to describe our adventure. Sit back, relax and scroll through the pics, which speaks a thousand words!
Our first destination, Qingtong. We arrived at about 9.10am. Streets were very quiet as it was a Monday morning. Since the train will be arriving at 930am ( and always very punctual), Mr Lee suggested that we board the train and head towards ShiFen. He will drive there and meet us at the train station. We loved the idea as kids had never been on board a toot toot train before. While waiting for the train, put shutterbug to work. One tip - when you board the train, there is no need to purposely go and look for the train inspector to pay your fare. Mr Lee told us as Qingtong is the last train station, it is always assumed that passengers alighting / boarding would already have their tickets. Haahahaaa! We got a free ride! Everyone does that, so don't say I am cheapskate huh...
Pictures of Qing Tong Station, the street sceneries etc. Everything look so old and antique, including the provision shop !
Arrived at Shifen......
Views that greet the eyes when we alight and walk along the street leading to those Sky Lantern shops..beautiful, peaceful, quaint....
Rain was getting real bad. We are the 1st brave family who ignored the rain and let go our lantern on the railway track ! Haahaaahaaa...other groups followed suit. No need to worry, one of our wishes - good health. Thus we will be blessed!
Kids did all the writing. Grandpa does not know how to write in chinese. Mind is not much better. Gave up coz I keep having to ask kids to help me. Asked dad to write in English, he was shy. In the end, his grand daughter helped him write something. Guess what she wrote? Gong gong strike toto and 4D! Waaahaahaa! Old dad said so embarrassing. Later people think of him as a compulsive gambler. Then we looked around the store, got another old uncle worse ! He even write down all his 4D numbers on the lantern. It was really funny and rowdy at the same time. We met a few Singaporean families and started to chat and prepare our lanterns togetther. Strange...4D uncle and my dad never talk about their fav subject lei...
Souvenirs..
fly 
Our sky lantern..fly lantern fly ! Fly to the top of the world and let all know of our wishes, fly across the ocean and get bountiful bleesings for us.....fly across mountains to remove our burdens.....fly back to our sweet home and deposit all goodness life has to give ! Up up up and away...carrying our wishes with it to make it come true!
Affter a memorable time at Shifen, we hopped back onto the car and make our way to JiuFen. More shopping, eating, YAY!
Mr Lee chose to drive us via another road of really narrow streets to Jiufen. He said that the usual tourist road will not allow us to see those houses and backlanes of Jiufen..and gosh! he was right! We had never seen such narrow roads and amazingly, it allowed 2 way traffic! Those with lesser driving skills will definitely be freaking out for sure!
As it was raining rather heavily, the views that I was hoping to see when we reached the top of Jiufen was not visible. Sob Sob...Mr Lee parked his car aside along the narrow roads, whipped out a notebook and started drawing a very simple map to guide us how we should navigate Jiufen. Ahhh...confirmed Taiwanese all are helpful people who is passionate to make tourism flourish! heehee!
Once again, we tumbled out from Mr Lee's car, put on raincoats, opened up the umbrellas and started our walk around Jiufen. Despite the heavy rain, there were plenty of tourists! It was a real funny sight..you see umbrellas everywhere, just like the whole street was covered with brightly colored brollies!
Here comes the set of photos taken at Jiufen ..
Before my visit to Jiufen, I always wondered why all other people who post photos of Jiufen always have "signature" staircases as this one below in the picture. Now I know. When you hit the 7-11 store, you will start your walk around Jiufen somewhere around there. There are always left and right stores. And when u walk front, it is not a straight flat road. Either it is slightly sloped road upwards, or you have to climbed a flight of stairs and shop at both sides at the same time. Hence, most photos will show staircases. Ahhhh....mystery solved. lol!
The landmark 7-11 store that everyone is talking about. If you are taking public transport to Jiufen,the public bus wil stop in front of this 7-11, which is located at the sort-of start of Jiufen street and shops.
A colorful and vibrant sea of umbrellas!
Remember I bought these ginger drink at Neiwan? Well as I mentioned, it is widely sold inTaipei...
l
For coffee addict, it is easy to get a cup of aromatic, freshly brewed coffee in Taipei. Just getting a sniff of the coffee bean is enough to wake up the senses! But I must say that their brewing process seems complicated..to me at least. So many gadgets, flows, etc..
Quite a lot of eateries that sell fishball-like noodles and soup. We went into one that looked like it was converted from an old school. The tables, chairs etc really reminded me of primary school kids life during the 70's. Needless to say, the food is good, full texture and flavor. They sure don't stinge on soup bases!
See....I am very sure these are chairs used in schools....kind of low and suited to kid's height!
Cold rainy day... a bowl of hot noodles will sure perk you up !
Every eatery is packed to the brim. So if you ever come across one that
is without customers, avoid...hahaha yes! it is that simple when it
come to gauging good food!
Malt candies! Look at the transparency of it !
Finally found the place. Climbed a few flights of stairs..Whew! When u see this sign (below pic), continue forward for about 20 steps more, there is a sign on your right, stating the shop name again. just follow it. The desert shop is tucked away at a slight corner. The young man serving us is not too friendly. He does not talk much and expect you to know what you want to order. So after a quick read of the menu on the wall, we placed order. Once ordered an pay, you moved to the back of the shop, a little twist and turn there, passing by a small open warehouse and workers sitting down peeling sweet potatoes etc, you will reach a dining area. Choose the window seat. On a clear sky day, you can see breathtaking views! That is the main purpose why many patrons choose to come to this desert shop. So that they can dine in-house and take in the scenic view! The shop owner knew that this would be the selling point for sure! The desert tasted so-so. But since this stall seemed famous, we also went. Now took a look liao, won't go back again for the desert or service. haahaa! Mean huh?!
Ohhh...these black peanuts are fav products among locals. My mum carried 5 packets home! Nice? Duno...I am not a fan of peanuts :) Tasted a couple...not bad...
We ended our trip to Jiufen at about 2pm. Met Mr Lee at the carpark and we discussed our next destination. All the itinerary that we have planned have gone haywire because of the merciless rain. We have to cancel trips to waterfall, Jingguashi ( mining area ) and Yingyang Sea. As it was still raining cats and dogs from heaven, we told Mr Lee that we wanted to return to Taipei and visit places that normally locals go to, not tourist spots. Also, we would like to buy local products that locals swear by and not forgetting....trying the all time favorite food of most people - Lu Rou Fan ! ( Braised meat rice). Mr Lee took about 3 minutes to plan out a on-the-spot itinerary for us and we are off! On our way back to Taipei, we passed by the golden waterfall as well as a very very ferocious and angry sea! Scary! I love love love love the golden waterfall! It is not your your usual waterfall of great heights, but it is a very unique sight, awesome colors and the water flowing sound on a rainy days makes one worship nature in awe!
Finally arrived back in Taipei around 3pm. First stop...Sunny Hills to sample their renowned pineapple tarts! Mr Lee said since we have not tried Taiwan pineapple tarts before, just go to Sunny Hills, have a cup of tea and a piece of tart, soak up the atmosphere. That's it. He will then bring us to Chia Te, another famous bakery and from what I have read in the internet, queue is always super long. Difference between Sunny Hills and Chia Te ...Sunny Hill is located in a high class areas, surrounded by rich man's condo and houses. Chia Te is located in the massses area, along a main road.
Let's see Sunny Hill first..the entrance is kind of classy. When u stepped in, you will be greeted by a waitress whith a bright smile, showed you to a table where patrons will sit. Soon after, the waitress will bring you a small little tray with a piece of wrapped pineapple tart and a cup of chinese tea. Cool !
They basically sell only 1 product, pineapple tarts in boxes of 12 or 15 pieces. While sitting there for 10 mins sipping my tea, I actually see people coming, join the queue, and goes off with 10-15 boxes of pineapple tarts! Wah! one box is not cheap ! For 15 pcs, it costs TWD500-TWD525 ( can't remember the exact price). Mostly local patrons as the place is not located in a convenient location. After our "free" afternoon tea, we bought 2 boxes, and left. Found that one of our umbrella was gone, waitress quickly brought out a new one for our use. Hmmmm....makes me wonder if the cost of the umbrella has been factored into the 2 boxes of goodies I was holding. Haahaa! Ok ok, shall not be mean!
After that, we took a short drive to Chia Te Bakery, a completely different feel altogether. Many Many many people, and I feel like a local myself. Cannot see of identify any tourist, probably not right timing as we went there late afternoon. No Train goes there and like Sunny Hills, it is out of the way. Locals exit from the shops with bags and bags of pastries...wow! Like FOC and no need money. We see people grab this and that, so we followed suit. Took an empty box and started filling it with sun cakes, pineapple tarts, almond cookies etc etc....
I must say that the serving crew are too busy to be extremely helpful. Get the feeling like if you don't want to buy, it is ok, we have lots of customers. One tip : if you see lots of goodies and don't know which to choose and if there are no samples..what do you do? Of course grab one, pay, eat and see if you like it. If you do, buy more. If you don't, then you save money and not buy stuff that you don't enjoy. We did just that. Bought 1 piece of each pastry that we like, and short list one by one as though we were pastries competition judge. Haaha! End up, we left the shop with a very full stomach and 5 big bags of things. After we finished buying, comes the question...how to pack all these into our luggage ? Waahaaahaaa!
We continue our car ride to Dihua Street. This is a conserved area by the government. All the buildings are really old and rich in history. You can find lots of wholesalers for dried goods, sweets, tidbits etc along these street. It is actually also only about 10 mins walk to Ningxia night market.
After Dihua Street, Mr Lee brought us to this shop that sells pork as thin as paper, hence the name " paper pork". According to Mr Lee, this shop is so well known that it does not run any advertisement. They also do not have any other branches or places selling their goods. Ahhh...food sampling time again. The thickness of the pork? Yes, really paper thin! There are 2 flavors, original with almonds or with almonds and Sakura shrimps. Buy a minimum of 3 packets and they will pack it in a box for you, properly sealed and ready to be carried away, not worrying about the fragile goodies inside.
The place that we have our dinner after that - HU XU ZHANG ( Moustache Zhang) located along the street of Ningxia Market! Yeah! Famous for their Ru Lou Fan. In facr, we went the twice during our trip ! This is a food store with a really old brand name.
After your meal, you must visit the washroom on the 2nd floor.. On the walls you will find some records of its history and an old bicycle which probably Mr Zhang has used in olden days to sell his now famous Lu Rou Fan.
Step out of the restaurant, turn to your right, there are some more mouth-watering eating places ! In the end, we had our 2nd little meal just straight after dinner...hahahaaaa!
Finally, the following Wah Kuey ( cup kuey) is a must to try! When you come out of the restuarnat, turn left, that's it. Right beside HU XU ZHANG restaurant. We packed 2 of these and brought back to our minsu. Very nice! Got meat, saled egg yolk, shrimps ..... Mr Lee strongly recommends this stall! He says lots of older generations said this is the best!
That's it for Day 5!
Having Mr Lee as our guide gives me a different kind of experience. I felt the warmth and hospitality of the Taiwanese and never have to worry about being fleeced. After having walked the old streets of Taipei, while it is a reminder of history, I find them all rather similar. It is either selling food or some other goodies. I must say that Taipei is really a haven for all food lovers! Every nooks, corners, little street that you can sneak a push cart into, there's always food! Don't know how the hawkers do it, but all the ingredients that they use are always so fresh and where possible, food are always cooked / barbeque on the spot. ( minus off those that you get at tourist spots eg: Ximending:))
By the time we reached our Minsu and reflect back on the day's
activities, it seemed that we have achieved a lot within a day and my
god, our visit to Jiufen and Shifen seemed to be like days ago and not
just that morning !
Collected a lot of name cards too!
Weather :
Bad weather that lasted till about 5-6pm, Practically rained non stop.
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