Taiwan 2014 Day 3: A day in Jiufen and Jinuashi

Our day started with a rush as we woke up early to catch the train to Ruifang. We stopped by a 7-11 shop to grab some breakfast, but the train was packed, and we had to stand all the way. So, we decided to find a spot to eat our food in a little square nearby. It turned out to be a good decision as we had a lovely time and enjoyed our breakfast.

If you compare breakfast choices seems one of us has gone native already. Guess who?


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On arriving at Ruifang, we saw a long queue of tourists waiting to board the overcrowded bus to Jiufen, so we hailed a taxi and went up the mountain road to Juifen, a beautiful seaside mining village. The village was bustling with people, and we spent the morning exploring the tiny alleyways, where we found a wide variety of products from paintbrushes to century-old eggs. 















Fresh guava juice ....delicious



Juifen is known to be the inspiration for the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away, and we could see why. We had read about a teahouse called ' Jioufen teahouse' that was over 100 years old, and we were excited to visit it. It truly did not disappoint. I think it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We enjoyed our delightful tea outside looking over the bay. The whole experience was just remarkable and the tea was divine. There was even an indoor pond and the most exquisite teaware.











  





I also bought a delicate tea set from the teahouse, which added to my collection. Whoops!

After leaving Juifen, we headed to the old mining settlement of Jinuashi, where we explored the place and trekked to the Japanese shrine. Unfortunately, some of us didn't make it to the top, but I'll leave you to guess who it was. 



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We returned to Taipei and spent the evening in the trendy Ximending area, where we savored a delicious meal of oyster omelet, marinated meat on rice with fried egg, and fried turnip cake. The oyster omelet was an unusual dish that we had to try as it's a local specialty. It was a great experience, but we agreed that once was enough. 


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We planned to have an early night as we had to catch the train to the Alishan Mountain area the next day, but we got caught up in the exciting Taipei nightlife and ended up rolling in at 12:30. Well, we can always catch up on sleep on the train.








 Taiwanese model shops do not disappoint someone 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 








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