Retired Nomads Part 4: Shih-Fen & Jiu-fen, Keelung, Taiwan

March 9

Today we are joined by Jim & Pam and Jill & Chris, (great group today) and this was our 3rd and last tour with Yi Fen. She has been a gem to tour with.

Since we had seen plenty of blossoms on prior visits we concentrated on the villages.

Our first stop was Shih-Fen, a coal mining village with a waterfall and a sky lantern release activity.

Coal mining in the area ended in 1971. The custom of releasing sky lanterns can be traced back to Fujian province in China, where the ancestors of most Taiwanese came from. It has the biggest waterfall in Taiwan.

Much like train street in Saigon (HMC), it runs right down the center of town and the only place to release the lanterns is on the railroad tracks. I said my wish is that I don’t get hit by the train.

Here, you can write down your wishes on the lantern and release it to the sky. People here believe your dreams will then come true! (and we tourists believe it)

driving out of Keelung

former living quarters of the coal miners

entering the center of town

balloon release stores not open yet

stores now open

here comes a train

Jim & Pam on the right

We were the only ones to release a lantern in the group. First, you choose the color you want (they all symbolize something) and then I wrote wishes on all four sides of the balloon before the guy lights a small fire inside the balloon and then we released it. (after a photo shoot done with your own camera) Just a wonderful experience. (about $6.00 - priceless)

you use paint to write your wishes on 4 sides - pink represents Happiness and Joy around, All is Well, Be Happy everyday

once it's dry it's moved to another side

pink is for Happiness and joy around, All is well, be happy everyday

or more simply just Bliss & Happiness

now for the photo shoot of each side with a different pose

Long Life- Happy Life - Travel

a guy lit a fire in our balloon, and we prepare to let it go

off it goes......

almost out of sight

after we let it go

another train is coming, everyone off the tracks

Jill & Chris on the right

we watched a few others with their balloons

After that we walked to the waterfall. The Golden waterfall runs off into the Shuinandong Bay and the sea there has two colors, the normal blue and the yellow from the waterfall's runoff. Because of this contrast of colors in the bay, the local people started to call it the Yin-Yang Sea. The color of the water is a natural occurrence. The soil and the water that runs off contains many minerals including sulfur, arsenic, and copper ore, which give the water its golden color. (people are advised not to get in it)

we crossed the bridge

small stream leading to the big one

small shrine

the waterfall

Plumbeous Redstart

matcha & fruit iced drink

We drove about an hour to Jiu-fen, a former gold mining village in Ruifang District, New Taipei City. It was starting to rain (seems we can't go a day without it) The driver dropped us off right next to a temple that was right next to the wall.

Yi Fen had wanted to show us the street and where to go and then give us free time. However, the group was stopping along the way, so we really lost most of our free time. It was an interesting street, and we were doing our best to dodge the rain in the uncovered areas.

Jiufen Zhaoling Temple

Old street entrance (Chris on the left Yi Fen in the middle with Jim & Pam behind her)

Greg is blue

Yi Fen & Jill

fish balls

We ended at a lovely Tea House where we had our lunch. The famous Tea House had a wait, so we opted for a lesser known one with a good view. (not that it mattered in this weather) Getting to it was half the fun. Down a tight winding alley/tunnel that led to it. The food was really good. It was interesting that they served one dish at a time as it was made. The food was really good, though we never knew the name of the Tea House. I grabbed a souvenir balloon that has an LED light though, it doesn't work well now that I have it home. We stopped for a chocolate filled cream puff and it was the flakiest pastry we have ever had. It was a mess to eat while standing in an alley trying not to get poured on by rain or drenched by runoff from the roof and just staying out of the way of the flow of people on Old Street.

could have been a nice view...

Jiufen Tea House

this is the way to the Tea House we went to

The Tea House

sweet and sour pork - which was good, but the rice wasn't

tea kettle being kept warm for tea ceremonies

back through the tunnel/alley

the flakiest pastry we have ever had

they piped in the chocolate just before serving

back at the beginning of Old Street

Back at the ship we dropped our things and went in search of deodorant (as I must have left my second travel-sized one in Hong Kong). There was a small mall close by and I did find some. We then went in search for ice cream and weren't finding anything, so we walked to the Night Market (which opens at noon) and got their ice cream.