I had hoped to get on the road early Saturday morning (that was the point of staying in on Friday night) as we had a heap of trains and buses to catch to make it to Jiufen and Fulong Beach in one day but, since the three Taiwanese teachers were joining us, we set 9 AM as our departure time (much to Apple’s dismay). In the morning, Penny announced that she would drive; SCORE!! So we piled into the car, made a stop for iced coffees (or ‘bing café’ as they are called in Mandarin) and got on our way.
We made it to Jiufen in about an hour and found a parking lot near the bottom of the mountain. We then hiked HUNDREDS of stairs to get to the famous “old street”. Jiufen is known for its tea, view, being the setting of many movies including Spirited Away and for being an old prisoner of war camp. It is an incredibly neat little town; the streets are all narrow and most don’t allow for cars. The narrow alleys and stairways that twist between buildings could be people’s yards or public property; it was hard to tell. We ducked under laundry and around scooters/mopeds and sweated like crazy people until we made it to the main street which was very much alive with tourists and locals alike. The shops were somewhat similar to what we’ve seen before but there was a bit more to look at and try. Apple got herself some wooden massage pieces, we all shopped for t-shirts, we checked out a famous mask store, saw a really neat way to brew iced coffee and saw (and smelled) a TON of fish balls. Penny had picked out a place for lunch so we went there. Turns out Penny had posted a picture of us to Facebook as had the Principal of her and her family in the same place! The Principal came to the restaurant to say hi and we met her and her husband. She was SO excited! She even paid for all our lunch J The food was divine and the few even more so. We looked out onto the hills, the Pacific and a little island called Turtle Island. It was wonderful.
After we finished, we stopped at a place that had an incredibly big line up. This place served a sweet dessert (called something-yuan) that was made of ice, QQ (the tapioca balls they put in bubble tea) BEANS, and taro and sweet potatoes! At one point Jen said “my mouth and brain are at odds; I feel the texture of the beans but it tastes so sweet” haha It was obviously a popular spot because my students even asked if we went there when I told them we went to Jiufen.
We made it to Jiufen in about an hour and found a parking lot near the bottom of the mountain. We then hiked HUNDREDS of stairs to get to the famous “old street”. Jiufen is known for its tea, view, being the setting of many movies including Spirited Away and for being an old prisoner of war camp. It is an incredibly neat little town; the streets are all narrow and most don’t allow for cars. The narrow alleys and stairways that twist between buildings could be people’s yards or public property; it was hard to tell. We ducked under laundry and around scooters/mopeds and sweated like crazy people until we made it to the main street which was very much alive with tourists and locals alike. The shops were somewhat similar to what we’ve seen before but there was a bit more to look at and try. Apple got herself some wooden massage pieces, we all shopped for t-shirts, we checked out a famous mask store, saw a really neat way to brew iced coffee and saw (and smelled) a TON of fish balls. Penny had picked out a place for lunch so we went there. Turns out Penny had posted a picture of us to Facebook as had the Principal of her and her family in the same place! The Principal came to the restaurant to say hi and we met her and her husband. She was SO excited! She even paid for all our lunch J The food was divine and the few even more so. We looked out onto the hills, the Pacific and a little island called Turtle Island. It was wonderful.
After we finished, we stopped at a place that had an incredibly big line up. This place served a sweet dessert (called something-yuan) that was made of ice, QQ (the tapioca balls they put in bubble tea) BEANS, and taro and sweet potatoes! At one point Jen said “my mouth and brain are at odds; I feel the texture of the beans but it tastes so sweet” haha It was obviously a popular spot because my students even asked if we went there when I told them we went to Jiufen.
After eating, we made our way back to the car and set out for Fulong Beach (where I was to meet up with my friend Josh who did engineering with me). To get to Fulong, we took an INCREDIBLY beautiful but harrowing drive through the mountains (why do I always end up in these while on vacation?!). Taiwan is very lush and mountainous and the only thing that broke up the green was the ocean, a rock outcrop or two that looked incredibly like Scotland or “nightclubs.”
So, a short story: I have a student in Halifax who is from a small island between Taiwan and China. When he heard I was coming, he told me that there is a famous 'night club' by the school. As he was a teenager and not from the area, I was shocked he knew this. It turns out that 'night club" means a cluster of tombs. This, for example, is a night club.
Each tomb hosts one person and this is their forever home. Our friend Apple, for example, says her dad doesn't want to be buried in a crypt as it is like having too many roommates. He wants a house or apartment to himself!
We arrived in Fulong and Josh had given me directions to his beach house assuming I’d come by train but I knew more or less where he’d be (there is a giant temple at one end of the beach) so we parked and hoped to find him. I got lucky! We spotted each other at almost the same time (he was tossing a Frisbee in the water with his buddy) and he came in to greet me. Apple didn’t want to get sand in her shoes so the girls went for a walk and I had a beer with Josh and his expat buddies (yes, me. I drank a beer….well, 90% of it before someone poured it out to give it to a woman combing the beach for recyclables. If it was so empty that they thought it was done, that counts, right?).
We hung out on the beach and threw the Frisbee around for a bit (maaaaaaaan it felt SO good to get in the water) the headed to the beach house (which was two little buildings surrounding a cement courtyard thing – very frat). A few of Josh’s friends were there as well and I had some of the ribs and pork they had on the smoker for over six hours; SOOO good. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with the girls and I spent much of an hour looking for them before leaving a map on the car and then finding them. At this point they were ready to go and I had to make a decision about staying the night and heading back with them (or in a cab which would have been expensive). Ultimately, I didn’t want to waste my Sunday as it was my last free full day in Taiwan and I felt bad after they had spent the day and driven us around so I headed back. It was too bad. I would have loved another hour or two to hang out/catch up. I will say, surfing in the morning sounded awfully tempting but I guess I have Bali for that J
The drive back was beautiful. We caught the sun setting over the water and followed a coastal drive back to the city; the mountains were on our left and the ocean on our right. Bright lights dotted the water; the fishermen were just heading out. The boats had strings of round bulbs all over them and each bulb was the size of my head; it was bizarre but made for quite the site!
Once back in the city, we shopped around in a department store (which is like a fancy shopping mall with a bazillion kiosks) then headed home. It was a superb day!
Note: I have to run; I will caption and edit (aka delete a bunch) the photos when I get back! xoxo
So, a short story: I have a student in Halifax who is from a small island between Taiwan and China. When he heard I was coming, he told me that there is a famous 'night club' by the school. As he was a teenager and not from the area, I was shocked he knew this. It turns out that 'night club" means a cluster of tombs. This, for example, is a night club.
Each tomb hosts one person and this is their forever home. Our friend Apple, for example, says her dad doesn't want to be buried in a crypt as it is like having too many roommates. He wants a house or apartment to himself!
We arrived in Fulong and Josh had given me directions to his beach house assuming I’d come by train but I knew more or less where he’d be (there is a giant temple at one end of the beach) so we parked and hoped to find him. I got lucky! We spotted each other at almost the same time (he was tossing a Frisbee in the water with his buddy) and he came in to greet me. Apple didn’t want to get sand in her shoes so the girls went for a walk and I had a beer with Josh and his expat buddies (yes, me. I drank a beer….well, 90% of it before someone poured it out to give it to a woman combing the beach for recyclables. If it was so empty that they thought it was done, that counts, right?).
We hung out on the beach and threw the Frisbee around for a bit (maaaaaaaan it felt SO good to get in the water) the headed to the beach house (which was two little buildings surrounding a cement courtyard thing – very frat). A few of Josh’s friends were there as well and I had some of the ribs and pork they had on the smoker for over six hours; SOOO good. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with the girls and I spent much of an hour looking for them before leaving a map on the car and then finding them. At this point they were ready to go and I had to make a decision about staying the night and heading back with them (or in a cab which would have been expensive). Ultimately, I didn’t want to waste my Sunday as it was my last free full day in Taiwan and I felt bad after they had spent the day and driven us around so I headed back. It was too bad. I would have loved another hour or two to hang out/catch up. I will say, surfing in the morning sounded awfully tempting but I guess I have Bali for that J
The drive back was beautiful. We caught the sun setting over the water and followed a coastal drive back to the city; the mountains were on our left and the ocean on our right. Bright lights dotted the water; the fishermen were just heading out. The boats had strings of round bulbs all over them and each bulb was the size of my head; it was bizarre but made for quite the site!
Once back in the city, we shopped around in a department store (which is like a fancy shopping mall with a bazillion kiosks) then headed home. It was a superb day!
Note: I have to run; I will caption and edit (aka delete a bunch) the photos when I get back! xoxo