Jiufen and update

So I probably should have mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I found out shortly after I got to Taiwan that I wasn't going to Seoul after all because of the MERS outbreak. But that just means I am staying an extra week in Taipei, which I can't complain about.

Earlier this week, Andrew and I went to Jiufen, a city near Taipei that was the inspiration for the Miyazaki movie Spirited Away.

Thankfully, Jiufen had fewer ghosts

To get to Jiufen, you take an hour-long bus from one of the Taipei metro stations. We were a little fuzzy on the specifics, but figured that the public transportation system in Taipei is clear enough we'd be able to find the bus stop easily.

We found a vegetarian buffet in the metro.

ah, America.....

"How did you spend your time in Taiwan?"
"Mostly by surreptitiously taking pictures of pugs in diapers on the metro"

The metro is SO NICE

It even has light up murals

As soon as we got off the metro, we were accosted by a man who tried to persuade us to get on his private bus to Jiufen. He promised that for only 1000NT (about $33) we would be able to get there a lot faster. He said that the city buses were all full, and also that they didn't work.This conversation was all in Mandarin, so I couldn't understand any of it, but his demeanor made me immediately suspicious.


Unfortunately for him, we decided to go around the corner and get on the local bus to Jiufen which a) wasn't full, b) wasn't broken, and c) only cost $3.

So in addition to taking our first day trip outside Taipei, we also met our first scammer!

After about an hour long bus ride, we started winding up a mountain.

Soon, we arrived at Jiufen. The town is nestled in the mountains, and overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

After stopping in a 7/11 (they are everywhere) for a drink, we headed towards the old street.

Pocari sweat is a Gatorade-like drink with a very unfortunate name. Andrew told
me they came out with a version for dogs called "pet sweat" (this was less popular)

The main attraction of Jiufen is the old street, which functions kind of like a daytime night market with different stalls and restaurants.

There were a lot of specialty shops that sold things like tea, candy, or souvenirs.

I know there's a story behind this sign and it makes me sad

There was also a visitor's center, which we wandered around for half an hour trying to find.  The maps posted around the area didn't really help, because they seemed to prioritize looking cute over representing the topography to scale.

We even got lost and stumbled on a temple.

There was a cat here

Finally we gave up and started walking up the mountain back to the old street, at which point I saw a giant sign on a building we'd passed five times that said "visitor's center."

Victory!!!!

They were closed.

In between afternoon tea and dinner (2 of the hobbits' most important meals), we wandered around the old street. Mostly what we found were cats. In addition to the cat outside the first temple, there was:

Cat #1

(Sleeping) Cat #2

Cat #3

(Sleeping) Cat #4. The shop owner poked and jiggled him.

There were three more cats down these stairs

 There were things to do there besides look at cats. There was a shop with a long line where you could learn how to make mochi. There were several very pricy teahouses for tea connoisseurs. Or you could:

look at this giant vat of tea-boiled eggs

or this wall of famous politicians outside the mask museum

or this shop of round glass objects

or this temple

We weren't sure if we were allowed in so we stayed out

There was also a store with Miyazaki merch, but I don't think we were allowed to take pictures.

Eventually, it got dark.

 We got on the bus to go home, but not before appreciating the sunset.

 Our box of mochi got a little squished on the journey home, but it tasted delicious.

The dark brown one (peanut mochi) was my favorite. It was the most wonderful thing I've eaten.

Other loot: sun cakes (flaky buttery pastries), green bean cake (tastes like green tea), and an amber lollipop shaped like a bear. It's been three days and we're still working on the lollipop.