Taiwan Day 3: Jiufen, Gold Waterfall, Yin Yang Hai, Taichung & Feng Jia Night Market

Once again, we were waken up by the early morning sun but we didn't really bother as we'd stayed up late at night watching TV =) Had to get up after a while as we're supposed to head to Taichung that day.

1. The bar/kitchen area     2. Coffee
3. Dining area overlooking Jiufen mountainside     4. Our healthy breafast

Our stay at Windsor B&B was inclusive of breakfast for two. We each got a sandwich together with some fruits and Jiufen's famous taro for breakfast. Together with that, we also had a choice of coffee and tea to go with our food. Healthy and delicious!! Hehe ^.^

I really like the design of the minsu. There's an adjoining balcony at the dining area where we can actually have our meal, and look at the view there!! Just amazing =)

The view from the dining area balcony. Imagine being able to see this everyday ^.^

We'd originally planned to leave Jiufen after breakfast but the owners of the minsu (Mr. Hsu and his wife) offered to bring us sightseeing around the mountains of Jiufen. As we didn't have a fixed schedule, we decided to take up their offer and were we glad we did. The owner himself, Mr. Hsu, brought a group of us all the way up to the mountains of Jiufen in his MPV. He stopped at several viewing areas for us to admire the scenery and take some photos as well =)

View from Jiufen mountaintop

Mr. Hsu was very nice, and throughout the drive, he'd be telling us stories and jokes about the places he was showing us. Thanks to him, we actually got to see a side of Jiufen which I think not many tourists see as I hardly saw anyone else there. Just look at the gorgeous view above!!

1. Teapot Mountain     2. Can you see the hippopotamus head?     3. Love the view there    4. & 5. Yin Yang Hai

Have no words to describe...just look at the beauty in the pictures ^_^

Golden Waterfall

The waterfall here has become discoloured due to the gold mining activities and has become golden in colour. It was really pretty, and we even saw a couple taking their wedding photos there. Kind of pity them as the weather was really, really hot.

We then went further down to the seaside, and we could see the water was very clear. Hehe, Mr. Hsu really brought us "up the mountains and down the sea". On the way back to the minsu, he even drove us past a large temple which apparently even has a lift inside. Didn't manage to get any photos as we didn't stop there, just passed by the place.

1. & 2. Rueifang Station     3. & 4. Bian Dang

We took the bus from Jiufen to Rueifang Station, then took a train back to Taipei Main Station. As it was almost lunch time, we bought a Bian Dang which was being sold at the station.

Though it was just a simple 'bento' with stewed meat, egg and some pickled vegetables, it actually tasted quite good =p Just thinking about it now is making me hungry..

Once we had arrived in Taipei, went back to the Eight Elephants Hostel to leave some of the souvenirs we had bought and then, bought a railway ticket to Taichung.

We went to buy some drinks at the 7-11 before getting on the train. The journey to Taichung took us about 2 hours, which were still ok for us as it was quite comfortable. One thing to note, it may be harder to get tickets for 2 or more people during this time due to the summer holidays. It may be better to purchase a bit earlier, but then our schedule wouldn't be as flexible.

Anyway, from Taichung, we took a bus to Feng Jia University which took about 1 hour as the bus had to make stops along the way. By the time we reached, it was already dark. First things first, we went to look for our hostel based on the directions provided. I'd booked a room with Tomato Rooms, which was super cheap. One night's stay only cost us NTD990 and this was inclusive of breakfast as well!!

I found the location to be very convenient as well, as it only took us about 5 minutes walk from the Feng Jia University. However, my fried felt that it was a little deserted at night once the surrounding shops were closed. To all their own, I guess. We were very satisfied with the room though. It was more like a studio apartment actually, and the facilities were really complete. There was a TV, fridge, kettle, there was even an electrical stove in the room.

Our room in Tomato Rooms, Taichung

We headed back to Feng Jia Night Market to get started on our shopping and have dinner. Hadn't had much to eat that day and was very hungry, so we stopped by a stall selling Guan Dong Zhu and chose some different ingredients. Then we moved on to the night market and bought other "xiao chi". The fried chicken and squid was nice but didn't really like the 'ti gua chiu', which I felt was rather tasteless.

1. Guan Dong Zhu     2. Fried Chicken     3. Ti Gua Chiu     4. Plum Vinegar, very refreshing     5. Squid    
6. Blackcurrant juice, i think     7. Mochi...actually bought this in Jiufen     8. Onigiri from 7-11

After eating our fill, we got busy SHOPPING!! Hehe, heard that this is one of the biggest night markets in Taiwan, even bigger than Shihlin Night Market, so of course we had to go. Anyway, to say the least, there seemed to be a neverending number of shops selling anything under the sun. And the prices! It was so cheap, it was all I could do not to buy everything in sight..

Love this pair of shoes - it's just so comfortable

Bought all this (not including shoes) for only NTD640 ^_^