Taiwan Trip 16 - 23 May 2015 (Jiu Fen + Shi Fen + Kee Lung)
This is a long awaited post since I was back in Singapore couple of weeks ago..
After being to Taiwan a few times before, this is considered the most exciting and fulfilling trip. One reason is because this is the first time that I traveled with my boyfriend (Our first trip YAY!!). Secondly, I planned my own itinerary (I always depended on my friends to draft the itinerary previously =P). Thirdly, I managed to go to the attractions that I never managed to go before, ALL IN 7 DAYS.
As I have mentioned this is the first time I planned my own itinerary, hence there was little glitch in the schedule flow, haha!! We wasted some transportation time but it was blessings in disguise! Shall share more later. Since there was a glitch in the schedule flow, I will not recommend you to follow my exact itinerary, but I will touch on more on the places that we go, for your reference.
Travelling in Taiwan
Before I start, I shall give you a brief introduction on the various transportation systems in Taiwan
1) Railway Station (台铁) - http://twtraffic.tra.gov.tw/twrail/English/e_index.aspx
2) High Speed Rail (HSR) - http://www5.thsrc.com.tw/en/
3) Bus. There are MANY types of bus in Taiwan. Some are public buses which you pay with cash or their concession card 优游卡. Some are private buses which you have to pre-purchase tickets at their counters (客运). There are also many private bus companies around, you have check with them if they goes to your destination.
4) Cabs/Taxis. Some drivers will charge you a fixed amount to drive you to your destination, while some others will charge you by meter. Many drivers there are very used to driving tourists around and they will sell you tour packages, i.e. to drive you around the county and charge you a package price. Good if you are travelling in groups (at least 4), but could be costly if you are travelling in pairs (Like us =\). In general, taking cabs in Taiwan is not really expensive if compared to Singapore.
Next, if you would like to remain contactable while you are in Taiwan, you can sign up for their data prepaid card, there are many tel-cos to choose from and we chose 台湾大哥大 (Taiwan Mobile). For 7 days, we paid about NTD550 and there was NTD150 of free calling values. I used it to call home and also topped up NTD100 more for the last 3 days. You must remember to bring your NRIC (Identity Card) with you to register for this card. Passport is not sufficient. I have not tried using photocopied NRIC though. =X
Alright, 'nuff of the brief intro, HERE WE GO~~!!
16 May 2015
We took the midnight flight by SCOOT, and reached Tao Yuan International Airport in the morning! While waiting for the hotel driver to come and fetch us, we headed to the Hi Life! Convenience Store at B1! You know what is the most comforting food to have when you had a rough night (can't sleep well on flight), feeling cold on the plane, and having gastric in the morning? For me, it has to be something warm, best is something soupy as well! YES! LOK LOK!!! I super love their Lok Lok!! Especially their super huge pork ball, pork fish cake and the soup. Tasted so sweet!!! Yumz! We also grabbed two of those rice ball (饭团). Tasted yumz as well! =D
From Taipei, take the train north to Ruifang Station. After exiting the station, cross the street to the bus stop next to the Wellcome Supermarket and board the Keelung Transit bus towards Jiufen. The bus trip takes roughly 15 minutes, and the fare is NT$21 during the week, NT$15 during weekends/holiday.
One of my favourite! Seaweed flavored Fried Squid ! 海苔花枝烧! This is really super yummy. Cannot be shared! Hahaha!
This none other than the famous KING Oyster Mushroom (杏鲍菇)! Nice but I still prefer the fried squid. =P
At underneath of the suspension bridge.
The most awesome plate of sashimis! Very generous portion and thickly sliced. They so fresh, that even the sea urchin tasted sweet.
Ok I really love this plate of beans. It's call 四季豆. Don't see that it looks sticky, but the beans are really crunchy and awesome.
These are top shells. So-So, but Boyfriend loves it.
Hehe. my favourite fried oysters. Abit too salty. The tastiest ones I ever tasted before, was from 度小月 at Taipei. You can check it out if you are curious. :)
After being to Taiwan a few times before, this is considered the most exciting and fulfilling trip. One reason is because this is the first time that I traveled with my boyfriend (Our first trip YAY!!). Secondly, I planned my own itinerary (I always depended on my friends to draft the itinerary previously =P). Thirdly, I managed to go to the attractions that I never managed to go before, ALL IN 7 DAYS.
As I have mentioned this is the first time I planned my own itinerary, hence there was little glitch in the schedule flow, haha!! We wasted some transportation time but it was blessings in disguise! Shall share more later. Since there was a glitch in the schedule flow, I will not recommend you to follow my exact itinerary, but I will touch on more on the places that we go, for your reference.
Travelling in Taiwan
Before I start, I shall give you a brief introduction on the various transportation systems in Taiwan
1) Railway Station (台铁) - http://twtraffic.tra.gov.tw/twrail/English/e_index.aspx
2) High Speed Rail (HSR) - http://www5.thsrc.com.tw/en/
3) Bus. There are MANY types of bus in Taiwan. Some are public buses which you pay with cash or their concession card 优游卡. Some are private buses which you have to pre-purchase tickets at their counters (客运). There are also many private bus companies around, you have check with them if they goes to your destination.
4) Cabs/Taxis. Some drivers will charge you a fixed amount to drive you to your destination, while some others will charge you by meter. Many drivers there are very used to driving tourists around and they will sell you tour packages, i.e. to drive you around the county and charge you a package price. Good if you are travelling in groups (at least 4), but could be costly if you are travelling in pairs (Like us =\). In general, taking cabs in Taiwan is not really expensive if compared to Singapore.
Next, if you would like to remain contactable while you are in Taiwan, you can sign up for their data prepaid card, there are many tel-cos to choose from and we chose 台湾大哥大 (Taiwan Mobile). For 7 days, we paid about NTD550 and there was NTD150 of free calling values. I used it to call home and also topped up NTD100 more for the last 3 days. You must remember to bring your NRIC (Identity Card) with you to register for this card. Passport is not sufficient. I have not tried using photocopied NRIC though. =X
Alright, 'nuff of the brief intro, HERE WE GO~~!!
16 May 2015
We took the midnight flight by SCOOT, and reached Tao Yuan International Airport in the morning! While waiting for the hotel driver to come and fetch us, we headed to the Hi Life! Convenience Store at B1! You know what is the most comforting food to have when you had a rough night (can't sleep well on flight), feeling cold on the plane, and having gastric in the morning? For me, it has to be something warm, best is something soupy as well! YES! LOK LOK!!! I super love their Lok Lok!! Especially their super huge pork ball, pork fish cake and the soup. Tasted so sweet!!! Yumz! We also grabbed two of those rice ball (饭团). Tasted yumz as well! =D
Staying in Taoyuan was initially part of our plan because I had wanted to sign up for their Bungee Jumping activity (http://bungy.com.tw/) and visit some other attractions. We booked our accommodation but unfortunately after many emails and texting them on Facebook, they did not reply. Hence we dropped the bungee jumping itinerary. T.T
We had also wanted to explore some other parts of Taoyuan but the hotel staff told us the places were quite far from the hotel, hence we thought of going Jiu Fen (九份) & Shi Fen (十份) instead, so we could free up some of the time at Taipei during the later part of the trip. He also recommended us to head to Kee Lung (基隆) after that if we wanted some seafood. See, I told you my scheduling was not very good.. hahaha. So we heeded his advice and went to Jiu Fen and Shi Fen!!
The trip there was.... ...... .... adventurous? We took a railway train (台铁). You can purchase a train ticket from the station and it will travel from Taoyuan (桃园) directly to Rui Fang (瑞芳) station . It cost about NT134 for 自强 train types. You can always find train schedules in every train station to know when is the next available train. If you accidentally took another train and changed train to reach your destination, you just need to top up the differences when you exit the station. Hahaha sounds complicated? but that was EXACTLY what happened to us! We were advised to take another train and change train 'cos there was a train delay due to a tree collapsed on the railway track.
While waiting for our train, we went to the building beside the train station for our morning dose of Starbucks. Their menu were slightly different from Singapore. My usual Caramel Frappucino had actually Oreo Cookies added to it. It just taste sweeter.. Yumz! Price wise, almost the same, slightly cheaper due to exchange rates.
Just a reminder to you if you are taking the railway train. Please opt for designated seating. Otherwise, you will be standing through the ride, like this fellow: Boyfriend don't like the jam-packed train. "^_^
Anyway, we reached the destination safely. Hehehe..
And we saw 50岚！It is a famous bubble tea brand in Taiwan. Singapore's KOI originated from this brand too!
Some cute birds had settled in on their unit no. plate. Chirping cheerfully. ;)
After reaching Rui Fang Station, you can choose to take a bus to Jiu Fen or cab there. We chose to cab. Taxi drivers at this area will always offer you tour packages/ a lump sum to Jiu Fen or Shi Fen attractions. We did not take up the offer and opted to just travel to Jiu Fen, cos we wanted to fulfill our own itinerary.
Directions if you would like to take bus:
Jiu Fen Old Street (九份老街) used to be a prosperous gold mining town, but of cos there aren't anymore gold left for mining! Now it had became a very popular tourist attraction. You can see several Tea Houses, shops selling old toys, shops selling souvenirs etc. The headquarter of 李仪饼店 is also there!
One of the must try food over there is none other than the taro balls 芋圆! There is one very very popular one at the peak of the old street. However the queue was so damn long, we settled for the 赖啊婆芋圆 which was also not bad!
Along the way we also had some other street foods!
Peanut with iceCream NOT peanut ice cream 哦!
One of my favourite! Seaweed flavored Fried Squid ! 海苔花枝烧! This is really super yummy. Cannot be shared! Hahaha!
This none other than the famous KING Oyster Mushroom (杏鲍菇)! Nice but I still prefer the fried squid. =P
One reason why I want to come Jiu Fen is to bring my boyfriend to this shop, that sells hand-made owl decors and tea leaves. I got this from my last trip:
You will see many shops selling these but the one that we went to is the one with a big owl right in the shop. They even hung a certificate in front of their shop to claim that they are certified in making the owls. Boyfriend forgot to take photo, so I really can't show you the exact shop. The owner of this shop is an old grandma, but right now her children are taking care of it. I have met the 2nd daughter on my previous trip and her specialisation is reading personality, based on looks. Sound bazaar-ed??? Well, she was very spot-on when describing my friends and my parents when I showed her their photo. I even showed her my current boyfriend's photo then. She said he was nice. Hahaha! so I decided to bring him back this year. However, we did not meet her, but her younger brother. This younger brother specialised in palm reading. So same thing, he was quite spot on (at least my boyfriend also think so), and gave us some more pointers on our relationships. Haha but well, my boyfriend and I know ourselves very well enough to know how to maintain our relationship, but his pointers is a mere reminder I feel. So, if you are curious about this shop, do drop by! No obligations to buy any stuff at all!
There were many other shops selling small items and leather goods (very expensive), but didn't interest us, so we left for Shi Fen!!! To travel from Jiu Fen to Shi Fen, you need to travel back to Rui Fang and take the railway train- Ping Xi Line (平溪线) to Shi Fen station (十份火车站). However as we are rushing for time, we cabbed instead.
If you have researched enough, you will know Shi Fen - Ping Xi (平溪) is well known for their sky lanterns and releasing sky lanterns (放天灯) in turn for good fortune! We also walked abit to Shi Fen Waterfall (十份瀑布). It definitely looks awesome!! But the walk is a little too tiring for me (given that I didn't sleep well at all.. T.T)
We took a walk on this shaky suspension bridge.. It's REALLY, pretty SCARY. Not that I'm timid, but it was really very shaky and hard to walk steadily.
At underneath of the suspension bridge.
After enough phototaking.... We went to the area where the sky lantern shops are! This is our sky lantern! Various colours have various meanings. You can refer to the charts and select your preferred coloured lanterns and write your wishes on it! Those shop owners/helpers are so used to help the tourists take photos and even shoot videos! Haha! As if they have undergone some tourism training.. :P
Do be mindful that this track is still in use on certain days, so be careful while you are having fun! The train that runs on this track is used for travelling to and fro Rui Fang station and Shi Fen - Ping Xi. Unfortunately we missed the train and the next one is 50 minutes away!!! So we decide to take a cab out. We are very lucky to meet this driver Mr Lian, who recommended us this nice seafood restaurant at Kee Lung. The whole dinner was NOT costly at all. We only spent about NTD 1250 for both of us!!!
Clams. Very tasty sauce and fresh clams.
The most awesome plate of sashimis! Very generous portion and thickly sliced. They so fresh, that even the sea urchin tasted sweet.
Ok I really love this plate of beans. It's call 四季豆. Don't see that it looks sticky, but the beans are really crunchy and awesome.
These are top shells. So-So, but Boyfriend loves it.
Hehe. my favourite fried oysters. Abit too salty. The tastiest ones I ever tasted before, was from 度小月 at Taipei. You can check it out if you are curious. :)
So where is this place.....
基隆市市仁愛區成功一路118巷3弄1號
After our very sumptuous dinner, we took a cab back to Kee Lung Train Station and then a train back to our hotel in Tao Yuan.
Lucky News Classic Hotel. *Lights off*
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