Jiufen Old Street 九份老街 @ Taiwan (updated August 2018)

One of the highlights of my Taiwan trip is Jiufen (Jioufen/Chiufen). But first, here's a quick, yet informative introduction which I hoped will not bore you:

Originally housed with only nine families in the 1800s, the villagers would purchase nine pieces of the same item in one reservation (hence the name, meaning nine parts/pieces) as roads were not built yet and materials were brought in mainly by ships. Located only minutes away from Jin Gua Shi (金瓜石), it was not long before someone struck gold at this rural village. Words leaked out and the village was soon swarmed with thousands of prospectors hoping to strike rich. The gold mines eventually exhausted and like its faded counterpart, Jiufen suffered the same fate.

Time passes and today, Jiufen is one of the most popular tourist attraction visited by travellers from all over the world to experience its former glory and well, its current glory of being a prosperous old street which offers nostalgic teahouses and the best Taiwanese cuisine, such as popular yam dishes, glutinous rice balls (粉圆), beef noodles, fish balls, herbal eggs, sun cakes (太陽餅) and the list goes on infinitely.

St Paul's Hill, Melaka

In the early 16th century (1511 - 1641), the straits of Malacca was widely colonised by the Portugese empire during the struggles between super powers. As a mean to maintain its colonial foothold in Melaka, a fort was designed and erected encompassing St Paul's Hill. The fort served not only as a housing and meeting place for the Portugese officials, but also an important vantage point, strategically overlooking the rivers. Following a seven-month attack by the Dutch, the fort was mostly destroyed and what remained is the entrance facade and ruins of the church.

Today, hundreds and thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the ruins of the what-used-to-be a majestic and powerful Portugese fort. Just be warned though, the ascend of St Paul's Hill via a series of steeply-inclined stairway is not for the faint-hearted.

Malacca Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary, Melaka

Officially opened in February 1991, the Malacca Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary is a popular tourist attraction located in Ayer Keroh, 15km away from Malacca Central. Also known as Tama Rama Rama, the sanctuary is home to more than hundreds of species of insects and reptiles, ranging from beautiful butterflies to birds, koi fishes, creepy crawlies and reptiles, such as crocodiles, tortoises and lizards.

The largest attraction is probably the Butterfly Gardens, which features hundreds of butterflies and moths of more than 20 different species, including the "Black and White Helen, Malayan Birdwing, and the Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing (Malaysia’s National Butterfly, named after Sir James Brooke, the ‘Raja’ (King) of Sarawak)." [Source: Malacca.ws]

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary: Day 4 - Fu Hang Dou Jiang + Taipei 101 + Ximending + Shida + Ningxia Night Market

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary - Day 4

Activity 1: Breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang

If you are looking an authentic and traditional Taiwanese breakfast, fried dough fritters (油條) accompanied by a good cup of soy bean milk (豆漿) is your best bet. While hundreds, if not thousands of eateries in Taipei sells these Chinese delights, Fu Hang Dou Jiang 阜杭豆漿 dominates the rest of them.

Located at Huashan Market, Fu Hang Dou Jiang is not only well-known for its food, but also for its insane, long queues as well. According to my internet research beforehand, one can easy wait up to an hour before ordering on a good weekend. Prior to this, we decided to head out early on a Wednesday morning and was no less surprised that it already has at least a 40-person queue. By the moment I joined the queue, I was at the staircase. That's how long it is and there is even a queue diagram on how to line up!

Activity 2: Taipei 101

Formally known as the Taipei World Financial Center, the iconic Taipei 101 (台北101) is officially the tallest and largest green building in the world as of July 2011. It comprises of 101 stories and 5 floors underground, with 6 stories dedicated to shopping. The 509m building features a 660 metric-ton damper which reduces up to 40% of swaying movement and is built to withstand strong winds and earthquake tremors.

Besides holding a world record as one of the tallest building, Taipei 101 is also equipped with the fastest elevators built with state-of-art technology, which goes up to the 89th floor in just 37 seconds - that's a whopping vertical speed of 3314 ft per minute!

Activity 3: Ximending

Widely known as the "Harajuku of Taipei", Xi Men Ding is the place to head for modern fashion, good eats and culture, that is partially influenced by the Japanese. With several departmental stores such as Wanguo and Eslite, bookstores, pubs and individual vendors selling a wide variety of clothes, accessories, souvenirs and local eats, Xi Men Ding attracts shoppers and tourists of different age groups and cultures. Based on Wikipedia, it attracts more than 3 million visitors in a month!

The streets and alleys of Xi Men Ding are so vast and filled with excitement in every single corner. One night or even an entire day of exploration is definitely not enough, that we realized. Similarly to night markets, some items sold are repetitive, therefore putting on your determination and exploration spirit might just find you a better deal elsewhere.

Activity 4: Shida Night Market

There are some rumours that Shida  (師大夜市) has been closed down, but I would like to clarify that it is up and running (as of Nov 2012). Maybe a portion of it has been downed, but Shida Night Market still holds its vibrancy. It is located near a couple of universities, so do expect no less than crowded streets flocked by university students.

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary: Day 3 - Yang Ming Shan + Danshui + Xinbeitou Hotsprings + Ningxia Night Market

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary - Day 3

Activity 1: Yang Ming Shan National Park

Formally established in 1985, Yang Ming Shan is one of the seven national parks in Taiwan that boasts various mountain formations, cherry blossoms and hot springs during the different seasons, making it one of the most visited tourist attractions. Located within an hour's reach from Taipei city, why not head there to enjoy some sight-seeing and witness the beauty of God's creations.

For more information on Yang Ming Shan National Park, do check out their official website (english): http://www.ymsnp.gov.tw/HTML/ENG/INDEX.ASP

Activity 2: Danshui Lover's Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf

Danshui (淡水, or commonly known as "Danshuei"/"Tamshui") is a small fishing city located at the northern tip of Taiwan. Surrounded by peace and transquility, this beautiful paradise is often filled with foreign and local travellers, especially lovey-dovey couples who came to watch the romantic sunset and stroll along the prominent Lover's Bridge. Strongly recommended by my friends, I see no reasons not to visit this particular quainty side of Taipei.

Affectionally named by the former president, Chen Shui Bian, the Lover's Bridge is approximately 196 metres and takes 2-3 minutes to walk from one point to the other. This "cable-stayed" bridge is probably the star attraction of the whole of Danshui, so do not ever say you have been here unless you've walked the bridge.

If you managed to stay till late evening, when the night falls, you will witness a spectrum of colours that lit up the Lover's Bridge. The colours of the bridge change every minute or so, representing the different elements of love (I guess.)

Activity 3: Danshui Old Street and Museum of the Strange

If you are looking for authentic Taiwanese street snacks, old school arcade games or souvenirs to bring home, Danshui Old Street is the place that you want to slot into your itinerary. Located alongside the shore of Northern Taiwan, this charming old street is always bustling with crowds, both young and old who came to chill out amidst the nicely preserved Japanese colonial buildings.

Besides the gastronomic part of this journey, why not drop by the Museum of the Strange which is located near the mouth (from MRT station) of Danshui Old Street? It is hard to miss with its huge signage and quirky entrance. Admission fee is priced at only NT$70 per person.

Activity 4: Xinbeitou Hotsprings

Wash your tiredness away with a relaxing bath at one of Taiwan's favourite hotspring spots - Xin Beitou. Prior to research, we chose Sweetme Hotspring Resort, which is located approximately 3-minute walk from Xin Beitou MRT station. There are a lot other private hotsprings (such as Spring City, Beauty Age Hotel etc) as well, so remember to do your research.

For NT$1100, we have a spacious and private room to ourselves, with two baths providing hot, cold and spring water. The room is also equipped with basic toiletries, towels and hair-dryer etc.

If you are looking for public baths, it is advisable to come during mornings or afternoons, as they close when the skies turn dark. Moreover, if you visit Beitou in the day, do make a trip down to their thermal valley, public library and hotsprings museum as well.

Activity 5: Ningxia Night Market

Besides the famous Shilin Night Market, do give a visit to the minor and less "advertised" ones such as Ningxia night market (寧夏夜市) where nearly 90% of the crowd is made up of its local people. Although not as decorated and crowded with tourists, it does however offers an array of delicious street snacks, souvenirs and classic carnival games. On top of that, Ningxia was one of the cleanest and organized night market I had observed in Taipei.

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary: Day 2 - Jin Gua Shi + Jiufen Old Street + Shifen

5D4N Taiwan Trip Itinerary - Day 2

For a more updated itinerary for Jiufen, click here.

On the second day of the trip, we will be venturing outside Taipei to visit the Gold Ecological Park at Jinguashi, the bustling Jiufen Old Street as well as the rural beauty of Shifen. Fortunately, these 3 places are easily accessible by taking the Taiwan RailwayAdministrationn (TRA) at Taipei Main Station. Just approach any counters, or if you are familiar with the ticketing system, skip the queue and use the self-service machines. The friendly staff (donned with blue vests) are there if you have any purchasing enquiries. For Jinguashi/Jiufen, buy a ticket heading eastward towards Ruifang Station.

TRA counters in Taipei Main Station

Getting a TRA bento box (NT$100) is recommended if you haven't had breakfast, as the train ride would take approximately 40 minutes. They can be consumed at the train stations, as well as inside the train. Anyway, the bento box which consists of chicken cutlet, vegetables, pickles and braised egg was really good.

Upon reaching Ruifang station, head towards the bus stop which is located just outside Wellcome mart (see picture below) and take a bus heading to Keelung. Again, do not hesitate to ask the bus driver if you are unsure.

Note: Jin Gua Shi is located AFTER Jiufen Old Street.

Activity 1: Gold Ecological Park at Jin Gua Shi

Located within the mountains in the Rueifang District, and once a flourished gold and copper mining town, Jin Gua Shi was named a potential World Heritage site in 2002 for its rich historical, cultural and natural resources. It is opened to public since 2004.

Known as Kinkaseki in Japanese, Jin Gua Shi is used as a prisoners-of-war (POWs) camp during the world war. Although the minerals have been depleted, this nostalgic old town still attracts vistors from all around the world to experience a journey back to its former glory. Take the similar buses back towards Jiufen Old Street.

Activity 2: Jiufen Old Street

Originally housed with only nine families in the 1800s, the villagers would purchased nine pieces of the same item in one reservation (hence the name, meaning nine parts/pieces) as roads were not built yet and materials were brought in mainly by ships. Located only minutes away from Jin Gua Shi (金瓜石), it was not long before someone struck gold at this rural village. Words leaked out and the village was soon swarmed with thousands of prospectors hoping to strike rich. The gold mines eventually exhausted and like its faded counterpart, Jiufen suffered the same fate.

Time passes and today, Jiufen is one of the most popular tourist attraction visited by travellers from all over the world to experience its former glory and well, its current glory of being a prosperous old street which offers nostalgic teahouses and the best Taiwanese cuisine, such as popular yam dishes, glutinous rice balls (粉圆), beef noodles, fish balls, herbal eggs, sun cakes (太陽餅) and the list goes on infinitely.

Activity 3: Shifen

From Ruifang station, purchase a train ticket heading to Shifen. Train ride takes about 15-20 minutes.

Located amidst the mountains of Taiwan, and similar to how Jiufen derives its name, Shifen is a scenic rural town built by ten families a long time ago and is most well-known for the railway tracks and the majestic Shifen Waterfall 十分瀑布.

Shifen is also famous for its traditional sky lanterns, which wishes are written on it and sent into the high heavens. The best time to launch the sky lanterns is at dusk or during the sky lantern festival, but you can see people sending their wishes as early as in the morning.

Additional Notes:

If you are visiting Shifen in late autumn or winter season, it is strongly advisable to do so during the morning or afternoons as the entrance to the waterfall closes at about 5pm.

Taipei 101 @ Taiwan

Formally known as the Taipei World Financial Center, the iconic Taipei 101 (台北101) is officially the tallest and largest green building in the world as of July 2011. It comprises of 101 stories and 5 floors underground, with 6 stories dedicated to shopping. The 509m building features a 660 metric-ton damper which reduces up to 40% of swaying movement and is built to withstand strong winds and earthquake tremors.

There are other awe-inspiring details, yet some might find it a boredom to look through, but if you're interested to visit their main site or search it in Wikipedia.

For tourists, it is none other than the paranomic 360-degrees scenery that fascinates us the most. It features an indoor observatory(89th floor) and an outdoor one(91st floor) as well, which offers unparaleled views of Taipei district in both day and night.

Directions to Taipei 101

1. From Taipei City Hall Station Exit 2, take a free shuttle bus to Taipei 101. Bus frequencies vary from 15 to 30 minutes. Either way, hail a cab to Taipei 101, it should not cost more than NT$80.

2. From Taipei City Hall Station Exit 2, walk south approximately 15 minutes towards Shifu Road or Songzhi Road.
 

Interesting fact: 4 in Chinese means "death" and hence an unlucky number. Floor 44 of Taipei 101 has been replaced by Floor 43, with Floor 42A replacing the actual Floor 43.

Besides holding a world record as one of the tallest building, Taipei 101 is also equipped with the fastest elevators built with state-of-art technology, which goes up to the 89th floor in just 37 seconds - that's a whopping vertical speed of 3314 ft per minute!

 

(from left) World's fastest elevator, one of Taipei 101's damper character

 

If you're hungry in the middle of sight-seeing, there is a cafe named "Bigtom" located at the indoor observatory. Although slightly more expensive than your usuals, what do you actually expect when you're dining amidst breath-taking sceneries (a.k.a tourist trap)?

Bigtom's Mango Shaved Ice with Ice-cream is on promotion so we decided to try it out. It tasted more like a sorbet than ice cream, but it was generally awesome. The tart (left) was a little over-floury, however the hot and fragrant mushroom fillings was nice to have during winter.

On the way out, you will pass by a exhibition of impressive figurines carved out of the prized red corals, and if you're interested to bring some back home, there are several gift shops that specializes in red coral (as well as other gemstones) as well.

Just look at those impressive, fine details - the time, the effort, the patience and determination used to finish each and every single piece of master-piece.

Xi Men Ding 西門町 @ Taiwan

Widely known as the "Harajuku of Taipei", Xi Men Ding is the place to head for modern fashion, good eats and culture, that is partially influenced by the Japanese. With several departmental stores such as Wanguo and Eslite, bookstores, pubs and individual vendors selling a wide variety of clothes, accessories, souvenirs and local eats, Xi Men Ding attracts shoppers and tourists of different age groups and cultures. Based on Wikipedia, it attracts more than 3 million visitors in a month!

Some might compare Xi Men Ding with Orchard Road (Singapore), I wouldn't deny that both shopping streets are famous tourist spots, but for me, they are of different experiences. Shopping centres in Singapore are made up of different shops housed in a mall (Ion Orchard, Wisma Atria, Paragon etc.), however in Taiwan, or specifically Xi Men Ding, a majority of their shops are stand-alone, meaning one building assigned to only a few shops except for the occasional ones. They even have hair salons which are 3 to 4 stories high, which really reminded me of a famous shopping district in S. Korea - Myeongdong.

The streets and alleys of Xi Men Ding are so vast and filled with excitement in every single corner. One night or even an entire day of exploration is definitely not enough, that we realized. Similarly to night markets, some items sold are repetitive, therefore putting on your determination and exploration spirit might just find you a better deal elsewhere.

Directions to Xi Men Ding
1. Exit from Ximen Station (Exit 6). It is conveniently located just outside the station.

We got hungry soon after and decided to head to a fun dog-themed restaurant called Ah Mao 阿毛, which apparently specializes in risotto. For those who are clueless what that is, risotto is actually an Italian rice dish that is cooked in broth with a smooth and creamy consistency.

And yes, for those who noticed - Ah Mao  阿毛 is the golden retriever lying at the entrance.

For NT$250, you get a bowl of risotto (NT$160 w/o meal), soup of the day and a drink. To be honest, the risotto is not that fantastic, the rice was bland and overly-dry, in addition they were real stingy on the ingredients. Basically to savage it, we ate it with lots of grounded black pepper and salt. However, the Cream of Chicken was smooth and flavourful enough, and their signature 阿毛 tea was probably one of the best tea I had in Taipei.

The highly acclaimed "Prince Cheese Potatoes", which was frequented by celebrities was closed on the day of our visit. Sigh. But if you happened to be in Xi Men Ding, please do try this stall out!

Located just beside the potato stall, there was a long queue and although I have no idea what they are selling, being the kiasu Singaporean that I am, I knew I got to have one of whatever that is. My, or rather most Singaporeans' thinking? The shop must be good enough to have a snaking long queue, hence being afraid of losing out, we just got to have it.

My "kiasu-motivated" intuition was right, for the shop sells real good Muah Chi 麻滋 (glutinous rice flour) which is done in Japanese style - by grilling and topping with assorted flavours of your choice. We had the black sugar (left) and peanut flavoured, the latter that reminded me of Singapore's version was a tad dry, but the generous amount of peanut shavings made up for it. However, the former was splendid for a person with a sweet tooth, the sweetness of black sugar infused really well with the rice flour and the slight caramel formed on the charred areas tasted so good. Highly recommended!

Being on the same league as Shilin Night Market and Jiufen Old Street, Xi Men Ding is also a premier shopping district that one (especially for shopping maniacs)  MUST include in his/her itinerary. If you are lucky, you might even catch a performance or two at the central space.

Ningxia + Shida Night Market @ Taiwan

Besides the famous Shilin Night Market, do give a visit to the minor and less "advertised" ones such as Ningxia night market (寧夏夜市) where nearly 90% of the crowd is made up of its local people. Although not as decorated and crowded with tourists, it does however offers an array of delicious street snacks, souvenirs and classic carnival games. On top of that, Ningxia was one of the cleanest and organized night market I had observed in Taipei.

Directions to Ningxia Night Market

1. From ZhongShan MRT Station Exit 1, walk approximately 10 minutes westwards along Nanjing West Road.

2. From Shuanglian MRT Station Exit 2, walk approximately 10 minutes westwards along Minsheng West Road.

 

Note that it is indeed quite a distance from any nearest station, but do hang in there for a rewarding night market experience awaits you at Ningxia. Don't forget to try out their famous Muah Chi (麻糬), which comes completed with peanut and sesame powder.

One of the greatest creations created by mankind is combining a piping hot baked potato wrapped in a nicely crisped skin, together with a generous amount of mayonaise and melted cheese. Here we had the potato with mashed tuna filling (NT$60). No wonder my friends strongly raved about this, cos' I can tell you what it tasted like - heaven.

Most of the stalls in Ningxia Night Market are equipped with tables and chairs, which is comforting to have after a whole day of walking. We chose a stall located near the end of the street and decided to have our proper meal there.

 

Braised Pork Rice 滷肉飯 (NT$25) and a good bowl of Lamb Stew (NT$80) with lots of meat (and ginger too).

Another night market I would like to recommend is Shida 師大夜市. There is some rumours that Shida has been closed down, but I would like to clarify that it is up and running (as of Nov 2012). Maybe a portion of it has been downed, but Shida Night Market still hold its vibrance. It is located near a couple of universities, so do expect no less than crowded streets flocked by university students.

 

There are all kinds of shops selling all sorts of items, but mostly on apparels and accessories (which of 70% are female-based). Well, being the guy, I had to wait for Peiyi to finish her shopping before continuing our gastronomic journey.

Directions to Shida Night Market

1. From Taipower Building MRT Station Exit 3, walk 5-10 minutes before reaching.

I highly recommend 咸水鸡, which means chicken cooked in salt water. This particular corner stall in Shida proves to be an expert of the dish. We had chicken breast mixed together with at least 4 various vegetables (mushrooms, sliced cucumber etc) and chicken gizzards for just NT$110. It is then de-boned, cut into smaller pieces and mixed together with drizzles of sesame and chilli oil. I found it a perfect dish to be part of the family dinner, plus it's highly addicitve.

 

Onion Pancake (蔥抓餅) is another must-try in Shida. It costs NT$25 and an additional NT$5 for egg and NT$10 for extra ingredients such as cheese, bacon and vegetables, which then you drizzle your own combination of sauces. It surely does remind you of Roti Prata, doesn't it?