Taipei 5, 9, 10

We flew with SCOOT. The 3 hours delay did little to dampen our spirits. At least we got the see sunset from the sky. We arrived at Taoyuan airport, took the car and drove into the city, but that was another story. By the time we were settled into our cosy AirBNB apartment, it was 10 pm.

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Well, since we were driving, the place we chose was random. This also brought us to the Taiwanese “heartlands”, away from tourists. We stayed in the San Chong district for two nights. It did not matter where we stayed because our itinerary was interestingly out of Taipei city. We shall leave exploring the city on another trip, as there are many other things to do. So at Sanchong which is very local, we had simple takeaway dinners and the next morning a very local breakfast.

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Why the numbers in the title? Well, those were the 3 places we went for the day. And the names were in these numbers.. hmm.

9 – Juifen Old Street (九份老街)

An hour drive from Taipei, it was a nice old street with many eateries, instagramable buildings and sight. It has been raining the past week and the weather has withered down, so in a sense we were lucky. Just the magnificent sea view was replaced by fog. But we did enjoy the local sights and foods. We were there early and got to see the crowd built-up.

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We visited the old (refurbished) cinema, a slice of the towns’ history. Feeling of nostalgia especially for my Mother-in-law.

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The whole town was built on sloping terraces overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The streets were sloped with steps to climb and descend. They were lined with food stalls and tea cafes, souvenir shops and novelty local products. Self-driving and not time restrictions we spend quite some time there, trying foods and drinks at every few steps, and each turn.

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Naturally, no sit-down lunch as our stomach was filled with small quantities of delicacies accumulated. We had yam ball desserts as well as the renowned black sugar bubble teas, our all-time favourite throughout Taiwan.

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10 – Shifen scenic area (十分风景区)

We drove for another 30 mins to Shifen scenic area. Well, it was a tourist district, not quite our intentions to go there but we did enjoy the activities there. The popular ones were the letting fly of “Kongming” lantern and lighting up mini fireworks. The old street is lined along an active railway track and we were interrupted by the occasional passing train!

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Nearby, within walking distance are a series of waterfalls, also popular amongst tourists. So we took a short stroll under the light drizzle. Since we are by ourselves, we took our time, sat by the fruit stall near the waterfalls to enjoy some fresh local fruits and savour the sounds of the rushing water.

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5 – Wufenpu district (五分埔)

So we spent the day out of Taipei, so on the way back, we were looking for dinner and some shopping. We stopped by the Wufenpu Shopping District. It is the wholesale centre for clothes covering latest trends. The rain did not dampen our excitement with our shopping spree.

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We had our humble dinner at a seafood steamboat restaurant. Cheap and fantastic food. What a good way to wrap up the day.

gobassky

• Join Airbnb. It is still the best choice for a big family like mine.