I was very thrilled to visit jiufen because it is the inspiration of Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away and it certainly did not disappoint :) we took the TRA to Ruifang and had lunch there which cost only TWD$95!!! Amazing value for money!
Intrigued by this oven, we bought a baked black pepper bun to try. Although the crust is tasty with the sesame seeds, we found the filling a little too peppery.
We took a 15-min taxi to Jiufen and since the roads are very narrow, had to walk a short distance to find our minsu.
When Chris told me we will be staying in a minsu 民宿, I pictured myself squatting in the bathroom scooping out water from a tub/pail to bathe. But when we arrived at 日光涵管, I was very impressed with the amazing view from our rooms. It's a maisonette unit where the lower level is a living area and the upper is the bedroom, toilet and bathroom. And thankfully, I didn't have to squat in the toilet and scoop water to bathe hahaha perhaps because I didn't have any expectations, I was rather happy with the room. It's certainly not luxurious but you can think of it as a very nice chalet. In Chinese, we describe it as 麻雀虽小，五脏俱全. Even though I felt the mattress was hard like rock, we slept through because we were tired from all the walking.
The pink guava here is really sweet and juicy!
We enjoyed strolling along old street 老街. A must-try is Ah Zhu's ice cream popiah. It's so good that we went back the next day to eat it again!
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| Hinoki soap |
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| Grilled mushrooms |
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| Ah Zhu ice cream popiah |
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| Shaving caramel peanut for the ice cream popiah |
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| Melody and her lollipop |
Worth a try is the yam ball dessert which we were too full to try. There is also a bakery selling freshly baked pineapple tarts and sun biscuits but we didn't buy because we already got the cute ones from a shop in Taipei. Old Street is open from 9am to 7pm.A visit to the iconic Ah Mei Teahouse for a pot of oolong is also necessary. Although rather pricey at TWD$300 per pax, if you get a good al fresco seat, the experience is quite memorable.When night falls, the whole street lined with tea houses comes alive and is packed with Japanese tourists gasping in awe at Ah Mei Teahouse "Sugoi!", "Kirei!" are common adjectives you hear uttered at the sight of this beautiful antique teahouse. You're almost transported to the magical street in Spirited Away. The street lined with tea houses is open til 11pm and there are various dinner options available.
After a leisurely breakfast and saying goodbye to the minsu's house cat, we took a taxi (the minsu called one for us) back to Ruifang to deposit our luggage (TWD$50 for a cabin-sized piece and TWD$30 for a small one) and got the one-day Pingxi rail pass to Houtong 猴硐 a cat village where many cats roam freely. The place is actually rather rundown but we enjoyed the cat-spotting and paparazzi-ing nonetheless.
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| Pineapple tarts |
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| Even the toilets are so cute |
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| I collected so many stamps! |
We hopped back on the pingxi rail to Shifen to see the famous waterfall and fang tian deng 放天灯. I have read about how scenic the pingxi train ride and was thrilled but the train was so crowded that I hardly had the chance to look out. When we arrived at Shifen, it reminded us of the train station we went to in Thailand where the train runs through the town. The railway track actually runs through the shops and people walk along the track and fang tian deng there. Of cos when the train arrives, you should move to the sides unless you want to die. We didn't get to see the magnificent Shifen waterfall because it was under restoration so we proceeded to fang tian deng before returning to Taipei for the night. It would have been much nicer to fang tian deng when it's dark but we were rather tired from the hot weather and wanted to go back to Taipei fast haha.
I guess if you are staying only for one night in Jiufen, it's rather difficult to see Jiufen at night and also fang tian deng in Shifen at night because you can't be at two different places at the same time.
Method 1: Upon arriving at Ruifang, leave luggage at luggage deposit (costs apply), get the Pingxi one day pass and do the visit that you want, ending off in fang tian deny just as it turns dark. Come back to Ruifang, grab your baggage and catch a cab to Jiufen to check-in and stroll the streets (since they close at 11pm). The next morning, go through the streets again to see it in the day before going back to Taipei.
Method 2: Do like us but hang around in Shifen until dark and fang tian deng then return to Taipei late.
Access: Take the TRA to Ruifang and transfer to the Pingxi line to Shifen. You may want to get the one-day pingxi line pass if you intend to hop on and off. Train intervals are about an hour apart so do plan your travel carefully to avoid having to wait an hour if you miss the train. From Ruifang to Jiufen, it's a mere TWD$180 15-min taxi ride so don't bother taking the bus if you have baggage.
Do make reservations for the TRA to and from Ruifang if you want to get seats, especially if you are traveling with children and old folks.
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