Taipei, Taiwan

Today I was at the northern red dots-

My day started early as usual after a fantastic sleep.  What a great hostel!  I sat drinking coffee and catching up on the  “news” until 8 am which when the dining room opened to serve an included breakfast-

Noodles, marinated cucumbers, an egg and yogurt.  There’s also buns and toast as well as drinks.

My tour left from the main station-

a 7 minute walk away at 8:45.  

I’m not sure if she is homeless but she did try to sell me some candy-

24 of us, all from the Philippines and me, set out for the Yehliu Geopark.  The winds and reefs make the area very dangerous for ships so the Spanish named it the Devil’s Cape. It’s on the northeastern shore of the island- 

and because the coast is made of sandstone, it erodes into crazy shapes-

The Queen’s head- this one I  can see.  It’s Cleopatra-

Mushrooms-

Potholes-

My favorite thing - fossils-

There are lots of Geoparks around the world-

Before we left I had a brown sugar bubble tea and walked through the market. There’s lots of seafood for sale-

The seaweed has been coated and deep fried.  It was very good because it didn’t taste like seaweed at all, just the sweet batter!  That’s cheating!

Our next stop was at the Yin Yang Sea so called because of the two colours: yellow and blue.  The normal sea water is blue and the iron water is yellow flowing in from the Jinguashi mountains-

The Thirteen Floor Ruins are a 13 story former gold mine built by the Japanese during their occupation (1849-1945).  It runs for miles back into the mountain but is now closed-

Nearby is Chicken Coop Mountain with an altitude of 588 meters.  It  looks out at the Yin Yang/East China Sea-

The Golden Falls-

eventually drain-

into the ocean.

We carried on to Juifen, a former gold mining town 300 steps up on a hillside.  Only 2000 people live here now because the gold mine closed in the 1930s and those that do live here are all involved in the tourist trade.  

A nice door-

There are a few narrow streets filled with tourists, souvenir and food shops.  My first stop was for some taro balls-

mixed with beans served on shaved ice.  They put in kidney beans, but other than them, it was pretty good.  It’s sweet and as the taro cools on the ice it gets more chewy.  Taro is a vegetable with a white inside and brown hairy outside that has a mild nutty taste with a sweet aftertaste-

They add quite a few different beans-

The view from the restaurant-

I still haven’t tried it but you sure know where to find it-

I had a steamed bun filled with pork-

Goose liver and duck’s blood-

Chicken wings, chicken gizzards and chicken hearts-

Duck gizzards-

Boneless chicken feet-

All kinds of seafood-

Squid-

I had a popular dessert which was quite strange.  First they grate some peanut brittle from a big block-

It’s put on a tortilla-

Two scoops of ice cream are added-

Then cilantro-

and it’s rolled up.  Very odd flavours-

The Amei Teahouse is typical Japanese architecture.  The movie Spirited Away was shot here and that has made it even more popular-

We carried on to the Shifen Waterfall-

An interesting blossom on a nearby tree-

but our guide didn’t know what it was, nor did she take a picture to find out for the next curious guest.  I hate that!  Do your job!

Our final stop of the day was at Shifen to release a lantern.  I chose red for health and peace-

I had to paint the four sides-

then took it outside to send it away.  The train runs through the middle of the street but one had just passed so I was safe-

The man lit the inside-

and I sent it into the heavens-

Watching it go-

It was a very emotional thing for me.  

There are many lantern stands-

and lanterns ready to paint-

The colours signify different wishes-

There are nightlight lanterns for sale-

as well as mini lanterns-

Asians love trinkets!

I got back to the hostel about 7:30 and used the public bathroom at the hostel. Finally!  What I’ve been hoping to find all trip-

I decided to walk to the Ningxia Night Market even though I wasn’t hungry.  Night markets are “the” place to go in Southeast Asia.  Of course there were carnival games-

and lots of people-

Pig blood soup, pork ribs stewed in Chinese medicine and of course stinky tofu-

This stand is very popular and often the wait is 45 minutes.  Luckily I only had to wait about 10 minutes.  The cook dips the whole squid in an egg wash-

then into the coating-

and into the deep fryer-

The chef chops the squid into slices-

 and serves it with raw cucumber in the middle, topped with your choice of seasoning.  I had barbecue sauce and lemon-

A new lift of squid arriving-

Next to this stall is another famous one serving taro balls with a pork and duck egg filling.  Preparing the taro dough-

The ingredients-

I got 2 and didn’t like them so gave one away to an Italian mom and daughter I was sitting with.

This stall wasn’t too busy-

Goose parts-

Scallion pancakes-

Crispy pork-

It’s a very busy place-

I had a long but great day.  Tomorrow I check out but can store my luggage here.  I have a 10 am walking tour, then I’ll do some more exploring.  My flight leaves at 11:55 pm to arrive in Vancouver, then to Calgary and as long as the storm is over, I’m supposed to land in Saskatoon at 7:30 am Friday. I’ve had a great trip!

P.S.

Andi is seven today.  She is in grade 1, learning the piano, has a sheep in 4-H, has a horse named Rose and is the sweetest little princess-