Morning call was at 6:30am but I set my alarm at 6. I usually take one hour to get ready because I move like a sloth early in the morning. Anyway, at the other end of the line was this guy's voice with a sexy Taiwanese accent asking me to wake up.. I think any girl would immediately be awake HAHAHAHA.
The (small) room was already crowded at 7am.
The choices of food were not very appealing to me (they are quite limited as well). All I had was udon noodles, mantou, egg, and a few crackers. The noodles tasted so bland that I miss Malaysian food already D: Honestly, the only food that suited my taste buds was the mantou.
We departed one hour later.
Going up to Jiufen (九份), a mountain area in the Ruifang District of New Taipei City.
Halfway up the hill, our tour bus stopped at one area (specifically for tour buses) and we continued our journey in a local town bus. The winding road is similar to Genting but not as bad. However, accessing the steep and narrow road will be dangerous for our double-decker tour bus.
We arrived at Jiufen Old Street (九份老街) in just a few minutes. It was drizzling so the air was extra cold!
Did you know that the spirit world's design in Spirited Away (the popular Japanese anime) was inspired by Jiufen Old Street??! It is one of my favourite Studio Ghibli animes and I did not know about this cool fact until after I came back!!! D:
Here's a picture that I got off the Internet, which looks almost like the setting in Spirited Away! SO. AWESOMEEEEEE.
Okay, hysterical fan reaction aside...
It was 8 something in the morning, so most of the shops were not open yet.
Our tour guide brought us to this shop that sells local delicacies like ginger tea cubes, mochi, almond crisps, peanut candy and etc.
They gave out mochi and ginger tea samples :D
Drinking warm tea on a cold day is the best feeling ever. I like their ginger tea better than the one my mom boils. Mostly because it has a sweetness to it and the ginger taste is not very strong. The ginger tea is made into cubes so you just have to put them in hot water. The convenience is perfect for lazy people like me haha. I pestered my mom to buy a packet but she said it is a little expensive :/
A stall selling a type of kuih made with sweet, herb-flavoured dough.
A stall with photos of customers pasted all over the walls. Cute!
These stairs somehow made me think of the olden days.
We tried the yam kuih (芋粿), which was still warm when I teared open the plastic. Tiny yam cubes filled every bite, together with a hint of saltiness. Very nice!
A tea house and art gallery.
At the end of the main alley...
...which overlooks a beautiful landscape of hills, buildings, and ocean.
Such a breathtaking view of Keelung (基隆) harbour!
HAHA my sister looks so distorted.
Can you see two cats?
There is actually a hostel located in Jiufen Old Street itself. Woah, I am totally staying here the next time I come! I did not manage to explore every nook and cranny of the place as we were there for only two hours (yes, two hours is still not enough) sigh.
I really love this photo. Those hidden spots below will be kept for the next visit, where I will slowly uncover their mysteries. Have you seen photos of Jiufen Old Street at night? It is beyond magical.
Look at the table! So traditional.
Calligraphy brushes in different sizes and shapes.
Walking towards the bus station.
Was fascinated with the Chinese words on the road HAHA. I wonder if it is easy to paint the curves in the characters.. hmmm.
It was a one-and-a-half hour ride to our lunch place at some hotel.
We went one floor down to a huge dining hall full of people - it seemed that the majority were tourists. We had typical Chinese dishes such as fish, vegetables, and meat. The food was mehhh :/ Guess I really cannot get used to Taiwanese flavour.
My sister posing at the bridge behind the hotel.
The stream is so unbelievably clean!
Back on the bus again after lunch.
After another one-and-a-half-hour ride, we arrived at Zhongshe Toursight Flower Market (中市观光花市) in Taichung.
It is best to visit this place in November-December, where the flowers will be in their full bloom. It was love at first sight when I stepped in. Such an impressive array of flowers; such beauty. Well, I shall let the photos blow you away!
Happy me, surrounded by my favourite flower :) :D
Like something you would see in a Jay Chou music video? ;)
So. Many. Bees.
Swimming in a sea of flowers ;D
We then proceeded to Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村). Like its name, the walls and even the floors are painted with a myriad of colours, making it possibly the most joyful-looking village in Taiwan. It felt like I was transported back to my childhood times ^^
Any empty space would be filled with these vibrantly-coloured, whimsical caricatures. It is hard to believe that the whole village was painted by a (now) 92-year-old man, who is a war veteran!
They say that after the war, he was so bored that he decided to paint his entire village to while away time. Wow, I wonder how long he took to paint the whole village.
A performer trying hard to camouflage himself.
This is the painter! He is best known as The Rainbow Grandpa haha. By the way, he is well and alive and was signing cards and other souvenirs when we were there. Amazingggg.
Only the back of the village is not painted.
The sun was already setting at 4pm.
On the way back to the bus.
We were stuck in a jam for about an hour on the way to Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市).
Fengjia Night Market is said to be the largest night market in Taiwan.
Some stalls selling really delicious food will have people queuing up patiently. I saw a teh tarik (印度拉茶) stall :O
This lady gave us samples of pineapple + bitter gourd + lemon juice, which I liked, surprisingly. I am not a fan of bitter gourd but the taste was so mild that I almost did not notice it. It was such a refreshing drink, too.
Different types of squid.
Sprinkled in plum powder and dipped in sweet and spicy sauce.
They look sooooo tantalising.
Shrimp cake - a new snack to me. It was not bad at all. The crisp of the wrap kind of complements the softness of the shrimp paste.
German pork knuckles.
Nice display of cuttlefish!
Mixed with seaweed.
Tau fu fa shop.
Sweet potato fries with sour plum powder.
HAHA I think this life-size cardboard cutout is great for girls/women who dream of marrying a Korean/Taiwanese guy ;)
While waiting to go to the toilet in McDonald's...
There was no public toilets in the vicinity, except for the ones in McD. It does not help when it is a huge, two-storey shop, occupying the corner lot. So obviously everyone would flock to the first floor of McD to do their business, resulting in an extremely long queue... for the ladies (-.-"). However, we gave up halfway as we did not want the tour group to wait too long for us.
Luckily, our hotel - Zhong Ke Hotel - is just 20 minutes away.
Our room is enormous (as it is near the fire escape) :O My sister and I each had a king-size bed!!! How awesome is that!
... However, the toilet gave me a shock .____. So potong stim.
The view from our room!
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