Explore Jiufen

On the last day of my Taiwan Trip, I finally reached Juifen. Since my first day in Taiwan, I’d been thinking about Juifen a lot and questioning myself over and over.. How would I get there? Shall I go for it? What if I got lost? Did I have the courage to travel by bus alone? Was it too far from main Taipei? Those were the questions that came to my mind.. But I told myself, as the saying goes, you'll only live once! ‘It's not that far and I can manage!’ She believed she could, so she did..

 

Travelling to Juifen is not as complicated as I thought.. As I mentioned from my previous blog going to Pingxi District, from Taipei Main Station take the train to Ruifang Station and from there take the Exit 2 and turn to your left. You will take the exit from the main Ruifang Station. Walk straight to the main road and turn left then keep walking straight until you pass a police station. The bus stop heading to Jiufen and Jinguashi is located a little past the police station. Not all the buses are showing bilingual signs so it’s better to ask someone before hopping in.

 

Jiufen is a mountain town in northeastern Taiwan, east of Taipei. It is popular for the narrow alleys and its old-town structure, packed with teahouses, street food and souvenir shops. Some of the tourists are saying it is the Santorini of Taipei because of the old design of houses which is built closely to each other.

 

The place is always packed with tourists and locals, it is actually frustrating to roam around with a bunch of people in a small alley, specially when its raining. Every time you want to check out on something you have to be aware about the others who are passing by. The place is filled with shops selling food and souvenirs. There are also coffee shops and nice restaurants where you can have your own space to get away from the busy and crowded alleys, and also enjoy the nice view.

 

Most of the travelers say that during the night the place transforms and shows its real beauty. As much as I wanted to stay long, I decided to take the bus before sunset because it was hard for me to communicate with the locals, since most of them were not speaking English. Even the sign boards and bus schedule are not translated in English. Lucky was I, as I met a Singaporean family who guided me through out my trip going back to Ruifang Station. So, don't hesitate to ask someone when you are in doubt.

 

What an amazing experience it may have been if I myself witnessed the lights from the houses, and the Chinese lanterns during the night in Juifen; but, I am very happy with the experience even if I wasn't able to visit all the places I could see. It is still a good experience for me.