Happening With Hillary

The lanterns of Jiufen

Hi everyone! This is part two (of three) in my Taiwan travel series blog posts. To read part one, click here. This post will focus on a fun day trip that my friends and I took, just outside of Taipei to a small village named Jiufen.

Walking along the narrow streets

Jiufen has recently become a popular tourist attraction because of its resemblance to the popular anime movie, Spirited Away. It is a beautiful village situated abreast Taiwanese mountains, and it is equipped with a street market of its own. On top of that, visiting Jiufen at night allows tourists to see the decorative lanterns lit up all around the village.

Panorama of Jiufen

My friends and I decided to head to Jiufen in the early afternoon and stay until sunset so that we could see the lanterns! The bus was a bit confusing to navigate, with private taxi owners trying to rip us off and take us there privately (with jacked up prices). We opted to wait for the public bus, which we eventually found and no harm done. The bus ride was about two hours long, but we made friends with other passengers on the bus, so time went by quickly.

Lanterns and Crowds

When we got off the bus, we started walking around Jiufen, weaving our way through the narrow streets. Of course, we tried tons of street food, bought souvenirs, and stopped for a coffee to take in the beautiful views.

Narrow Staircases

It started getting pretty crowded towards late afternoon, assuming everyone wanted to see the lanterns lit up in the evening. To be honest, I was starting to become a bit annoyed by all of the pushing and shoving going on, but I made it through.

A day in Taiwan is never complete without dumplings

It was a rather simple day, but tiring nonetheless. A great sight to see, and I recommend visiting if you ever find yourself in Taiwan.

As most of you know by now, I took a week-long trip to Taiwan with a few other Fulbright buddies during the winter vacation. I will be splitting this trip up into three separate posts, related to each city that we visited throughout the week. First up is Taipei, where we spent the majority of our time.

The gang! Hanging out at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Hospitality: Happy Taipei Guesthouse

Perks:

Staff were extremely helpful in providing navigational directions and tips
Comfortable beds, spacious rooms, clean!
Privacy curtains, personal outlets, lamps, and shelf for each bed
Centrally located: 2 minutes' walk from Shilin Night Market, 10 minutes' walk from Official Residence, 5 minutes' walk from Shilin metro/subway station
Within 15-20 minute subway ride to other main attractions in Taipei

Drawbacks:

Steep stairs, no elevator - might be difficult for people with physical handicaps
Not noticeable from the outside - have to call staff for assistance in finding the guesthouse

Overall:

I highly recommend this guesthouse! The staff was very well prepared in answering any questions and helping our group make any necessary accommodations. I would definitely stay here again.

Shilin Night Market

Taipei Night Markets

Throughout the week, my friends and I visited a different market almost every night that we were in Taipei. Each night market was so different, and we tried a bunch of different food and found various products. Exploring the different night markets was probably my favorite park of traveling within Taipei. It was like the city didn't even come alive until after 7:00 p.m., haha!

Pork with green onions and chives

Shilin Night Market:

By far the largest night market in Taipei! And a very short distance from our guesthouse.
Foods we tried: pork wrapped with green onions and chives, sugar-coated fruits, egg tarts (various flavors: brown sugar, original, raspberry, green tea, and more...), milk tea, sausage on a stick, ALL the dumplings, Japanese udon, ice cream, crepes, and more!
Souvenirs we bought: Plush dolls everywhere, jewelry, magnets/typical souvenir items, fashion pieces, etc.
All the food was between ~$0.25 (dumplings) - $3.00 (crepes) - SO CHEAP!
So large that it might be difficult to explore in one evening! We came back for two nights
Crowded, especially on weekends! And there's no map to guide you along the way, so you have to twist and turn and remember landmarks of where you have/haven't been.

Egg tarts

Ningxia Night Market

Ningxia Night Market:

Considerably smaller compared to Shilin
Much more organized - just one long road - side-by-side - of vendors selling food and products
Prices were a bit more expensive compared to Shilin
Foods we tried: stinky tofu, milk tea (frog eggs), meat on a stick, fresh fruit, dumplings, and more!
Souvenirs we bought: postcards
Much quieter than Shilin - a bit "out of the way" from other night markets

Stinky Tofu

Raohe Street Market

Raohe Street Market:

Next to a large Buddhist temple - very cool to walk by during the Lunar New Year preparations
Another fairly large night market, but also just a few long roads of vendors selling food and products - more organized
Foods we tried: Russian pastries, chicken hearts, dumplings, desserts, and more!
We didn't spend much time here because we were exhausted after a day trip to Jiufen.

Overall, the street markets were SO fun and an essential part of experiencing Taiwanese culture. English levels are great, and vendors are super friendly. We definitely just ate our way through Taiwan. No regrets about it!

Official Residence

Attractions / Activities We Did in Taipei

Of course, no trip is complete without visiting some of the tourist spots! Here's a brief overview of places we visited!

Official Residence:

BEAUTIFUL entry park leading up to the house. Walking around the park/garden was so awesome, and there are fun/random statues to pose with and take pictures throughout.
Entry into the actual residence: Maybe ~$5? I don't remember, but it was super cheap.
The tour of the residence took about 30 minutes. There's a free audio guide, and it's worth it. The rooms are decked out with classic furniture and lots of history.
Good place to hang out, enjoy nature, and learn some Taiwanese history.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Palace Museum:

Crowded! And expensive (~$10).
My friend and I were too tired to walk around 5 floors of a museum, so we made a bad choice. Especially with noisy children and families around.
Best just to view it from the outside, that's the pretty part anyway.
It has a lot of rich history related to Taiwan, its artifacts, and more, but focus was lacking.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall:

AMAZING! And free! Very cool architecture to view here. Take lots of pictures.
Very large space to walk around and enjoy the fresh air. Definitely worth a trip!

Taipei EYE Traditional Opera

Taipei EYE Traditional Opera:

Probably the most expensive thing we booked (~$17), but very interesting!
Reserve tickets in advance!
The show itself was conducted in Chinese, with translations in various languages displayed on screens to the side.
It was hilarious! We got lucky and saw a few mistakes and crashes, which made the whole thing even better. One of the actors was doing some flip jumpy kick things and he crashed right into the orchestra. It was clearly the best part of my day. Hahahaha!
The actors present an excerpt from a traditional Taiwanese story.

Taipei 101:

EXPENSIVE (~$20) to go up to the top of the tower
We decided it wasn't worth it, so we just hung out around the bottom area.
We took pictures and left.

Beitou Hot Springs

Beitou Hot Springs:

So relaxing! Bring a towel if you don't want to purchase one on-site.
Bring a swimsuit - most are public/outdoors
Average price ~$15 for unlimited usage for a day
Worth a trip! We felt amazing during and afterwards.

Overall: We spent a lot of time in Taipei! It was totally worth it, and each attraction was unique and fun. I can't wait to explore other parts of Taiwan when I plan a trip to go back.

Stay tuned for two more posts regarding my trip to Taiwan. They will be covering a day trip to Jiufen, and my two days spent in Hualien, Taiwan's "countryside". See you soon!

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Taipei, Taiwan: Day Trip to Jiufen

Friday, February 10, 2017

Taipei, Taiwan

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

New Design!