Taiwan Trip 2024 - Week 3

 03.06.24

We booked a van again for the North tour, this time with Jennifer Chang, who speaks English very well as she studied at a university in Canberra a few years ago. 

Our first stop is Shifen Waterfall. Thanks to the heavy rain the day before, the waterfall looks quite impressive.

From the waterfall, we continued our trip to Shifen Sky Lanterns. Here, we wrote our wishes on the lanterns and then released them into the sky, hoping they would carry our dreams aloft.

Our next stop is Shuinandong, renowned for its stunning two-coloured sea. This charming old mining town also features a Gold Museum, which, unfortunately, is closed on Mondays.

Our next stop is Jiufen. I was a bit worried about this destination, as Jiufen has many steps, which can be quite challenging for David and my Auntie. Cleverly, Jennifer dropped us off at the top, so we only needed to walk down and meet her back with the van at the bottom.

Along Jiufen Old Street, we sampled some street food for lunch. We also stopped at A-Mei Tea House, a popular tearoom that serves oolong tea with delicious desserts and offers windows overlooking Keelung Harbour.

On the way back to Taipei, we stopped by Houtong Cat Village, but we didn't see many cats. It was quite disappointing because, according to Nick Kembel's blog, Houtong Cat Village, is home to hundreds of cats.

Back in Taipei, Xiao Gu Gu invited us to Dimsum Kitchen, an all-you-can-eat restaurant with hundreds of various dishes. We wanted to try everything, but we were so full. Thanks, Xiao Gu Gu, for the delicious dinner!

04.06.24

Early in the morning, my aunt took me to the bank to close my savings account that I opened in 1999 while studying Mandarin in Taiwan. The bank where I opened the account has since been taken over by another bank. Fortunately, they still recognized my account and helped me close it. It took a while because I no longer have a Taiwanese resident card, and my passport details have changed. Luckily, Taiwan recognizes the Chinese seal (印章 yìnzhāng), which is often used to mark important documents and my aunt had kept my yìnzhāng and savings book very well. Thank you, Auntie!

In the afternoon, Janice came with us on a gondola ride to the Maokong tea plantation, known for its awesome oolong tea. The gondola ride gave us a great view of Taipei city below, so we decided we didn't need to go up to Taipei 101 anymore to see Taipei from above. 

We visited a couple of teahouses to try some tea and bought some for friends and family in Adelaide. David made friends with one of the shop owners. The boss lady even invited David to try her expensive Kaoliang liquor and honey hornet liquor.

We then returned to Taipei and stopped at the underground shops in Taipei Main Station to find a teapot for David’s friend. After walking for a while, we found the perfect one and decided to call it a day. After taking David back to the hotel, I went back to Hsin Tien to see my brother and sister-in-law, who would be going back to Indonesia the next day.

05.06.24

This morning, we had brunch with Janice and Glenn at the Second Floor Cafe in the Breeze Nanshan Shopping Mall. We enjoyed a nice meal and had a window seat with a view overlooking Taipei 101.

After brunch, Janice and Glenn took us to find a NET store because David wanted to get a couple more hats for himself and Dad.

After shopping, Janice and Glenn had other commitments, and we needed to start packing since we were flying out tomorrow morning. We agreed to meet again for dinner at a night market near Glenn's dorm. 

In the afternoon, Xiao Gu Gu came to the hotel to drop off some pineapple cakes that my cousin, Liu Xiang Yin, had spent 40 minutes queuing for. Xiao Gu Gu then joined us to the night market, but Glenn was too tired to come, so it was just the four of us.

We were delighted when one of my cousins offered to pick us up from the night market and take us back to the hotel. When we arrived, two other cousins were already there, waiting to catch up with me one last time. We went to KFC and talked until almost midnight.

06.06.24

Finally, it was our last day in Taiwan. We hired a car once more to take us to the airport. With our flight scheduled for 8 PM, we made a stop at the X-Park Aquarium in Taoyuan on the way. X-Park Aquarium, located in Taoyuan, Taiwan, is a modern and interactive marine life attraction that offers visitors an immersive experience of the underwater world. Janice and Glenn joined us for this final outing. 

Since we still had a little time after exploring X-Park, we stopped by Gloria Outlets, Taiwan's first and only open-air mall. However, we didn't buy anything.

So, our 2024 Taiwan trip has come to a close. There are still so many things we want to see and experience here, so we might plan another visit in the future. A heartfelt thank you to my Taiwan family for your exceptional hospitality, the delightful meals, your generosity in showing us around, and your remarkable patience with our numerous requests. We’ll miss you all, and we hope you'll come visit us in Australia one day.