Taiwan Travelogue: Jiufen

29/12/2012

 ^ The sign that says "Do not throw here *angry face*", but it had opposite effect.

 ^ Rubbish truck that drive through the crowded small and narrow alley.

The sky darkens quickly after spending some time at Pingxi. As my friends want to go Jiufen to buy things, we have to give up going Shifen. It was too late for us to visit both places on the same day. Thus I would recommend to go early if you want to visit the three places (which is recommended). We should have headed out early but we did not expect ourselves to be at Pingxi for that long. It is a pity we have to give Shifen a miss. Anyway, we took the train back to Ruifang Station and walked to the bus stop so that we can go Jiufen (it was quite a distance and have to ask around).

At Jiufen, I tried fried smelly toufu for the first time. I have always wanted to try smelly toufu cause I was curious how bad it would smell and wonder how it taste. Verdict for the one I had: it tasted very dry, the smell is not that smelly, but the taste was queer. I gave up after eating one piece. It was not tasty. Nevertheless, mission accomplished! Crossing out one item under my to-do list.

There was this funny incident that happened on our way back. The train was fairly empty and we all got seats. The train journey back was long and everyone was tired so all of us napped. When I woke up, I saw the screen flashing "Taipei Station". I asked my sleepy friend to look at it too, in case I see it wrongly. My friend verified it is, and we got shock immediately at the thought of missing the stop. I hurriedly woke all my friends up and try to rush to the door. But the door snaps shut before we were able to get out. The fate was sealed, and I was a little stunned by the fact. I was thinking the only way to go back is to drop off at the next station and take the other train back. It took me awhile later to realise that we were only at Houshan Station. It is a station just before Taipei Station. So what the screen was indicating was just what the next station is!    

There was a group of guys sitting near us, who was also dozing off on the train, and their destination was Taipei Station too. The commotion we caused cause them to stumble from their sleep and woke up in surprise. When I told my friends we did not miss our stop, the guys seems to realise it and I heard one of them said he was shocked too.

Seriously, it was so embarrassing. I saw people from other cabin looking at us too. :X 

** I am documenting my 2-weeks trip in Taiwan (20 Dec 2012 - 2 Jan 2013), but not in chronological order.