Ni hao! Have you been waiting for the next installment? The wait is over! Here it is! Earlier in the day we were in Shifen and from there we had to take the train back to Ruifang.
From Ruifang, exit through the main hall, and from there take a left to Mingdeng Rd. The bus stop is next to the Police station. You can take bus no. 827 or 788 to Juifen.
We arrived in Jiufen around 5 PM, and there was a light drizzle, it was already dark, and it was so foggy and windy we could hardly see anything below!
Jiufen is a 15 minute-bus ride from Ruifang, and it used to be a mining village, which became a popular tourist attraction because it is said to resemble the downtown in the Japanese anime movie Spirited Away.
In the old days, when there were still no roads and goods were transported by ship, it was said that 9 families lived n Jiufen. So every time goods were transported to the village, there were always 9 of everything, hence the name of the place became Jiufen.
Jiufen Old Street is an alley covered with canopy because of the frequent rains, hence it is also known as the "Dark Alley'. The alley is dotted with numerous shops selling souvenirs, foods and a myriad other things.
There was this shop that sold bags but what caught my attention were the dogs that were relaxing on the floor. They were very friendly and did not bark at all the passersby.
Since it was raining a bit and we were high up in the mountains, the weather was getting too cold for my sister who did not wear enough clothes for the weather up there, we did not stay too long in Jiufen.
We just walked for quite a distance, looking into the shops, taking pictures here and there, but we definitely did not arrive at the point where we could look down at the view below. Since it was also foggy, and we would not be able to see anything at all, we decided to just leave early.
We still took our time exploring, and took pictures of the charming lanterns and buildings, since we were already there.
It was quite crowded as well, so walking around was a bit tedious, and that added to our desire to leave the place.
We tried their famous taro ball dish, and this can be bought hot or cold. We tried the cold one, and it was quite good.
If you search for what to eat in Taiwan, this dish surely comes up in the search list, along with beef noodles, stinky tofu, et al.
There were other snacks, but we did not try everything because we were not that hungry yet, so we just took pictures of some, but there were interesting food items there.
The charm of the place I believe were the hanging lanterns everywhere. They come in different shapes and sizes, and they just looked so pretty lit up like that.
All in all, I think we spent about an hour or so in Jiufen, then we took the bus back to Ruifang and went back to Taipei. It was quite an eventful day, as we spent the earlier part in Shifen. It would have been nicer if the weather was clear and we arrived earlier, then we could have spent more time exploring and enjoyed it more. Oh well.
We went back to our hotel to rest and get ready for the next adventure for the next day. Stay tuned for the rest!
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