Day 9 was spent visiting 3 different places at the same region - Jinguashi (金瓜石), Jiufen (九份) and Shifen (十份). We took the Metro to Taipei Main station where we need to find the exit to South Gate 2 and took the TRA train to Ruifang Station 瑞芳. Sis said that we can pay using our Easy Card but well, we made the wrong decision. While with Easy Card, we were able to board the train but we did not have a seat. I reckon that we need to buy a ticket with allocated seats. That would be better given the point that the journey was not that short.
After existing from Ruifang Station, we had to cross the street to the bus stop next to the Wellcome Supermarket and boarded the Keelung Transit bus towards Jiufen. I forgot if we had to tap the Easy Card when we boarded the bus or when we alighted - so just asked the driver when in doubt. The bus dropped us off right at the start of the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi. As easy as that.
At Jinguashi, we joined a tour that brought us through the park, enlightening us on some important history. Scenic views with history of the mining industry. Further to that, the area was fairly influenced by the Japanese Culture. Interesting. There, I visited the Gold mining tunnel which cost NT50. Nothing much exciting within the tunnel though it was an experience to experience what the miners did back in the past. A very nice place to spend the morning at.
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| Jinguashi, 金瓜石 |
After that, we returned to Gold Ecological Park entrance to take the bust to Jiufen Old street - that would mean eating and shopping again. Get off at the bus stop by the 7-Eleven and the old street begins just across the street.
Jiufen Old street is really a maze. If you have the whole afternoon to it, just walk and walk. Stop and eat, stop to take photos and stop to shop. Never a moment of boredom. Or find a place to drink and relax. Just go with the flow, it is a nice place to simply walk around. Here, we managed to buy the Jiang Mu Cha (Ginger tea) back home as souvenirs - seems that it has many health benefits attached to it. GOOD!
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| Jiufen, 九份 |
Well, if you were to visit Shifen (十份), please remember to take note of the train timing. They really have very strict timing where the train from Ruifang (瑞芳) will depart every hour. If you missed it, you got to wait for an hour. Well, we missed the 4pm train and as a result, we were not able to visit the Shifen Waterfall as it was closed by 5pm. What a waste but I guess this makes it a very good reason for me to revisit Taipei again.
With the hour to spend at Ruifang, we simply walked around the area near the station - I have to say, nothing much to walk. Finally, we managed to reach Shifen at around 5pm. Shifen is the place where we went to release the Sky Lantern - Pen down your wishes and may your wishes come true as it flies up the sky. There are many shops offering the Sky lantern services. Just pop in to any shop - the shop that we went to, the lady boss was very helpful and even offered to help us take photos. Good service. At Shifen, when there is no train arriving or departing, we were free to walk along the railway tracks to take photos. A very good experience to be walking along an active track!
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| Shifen十份 |
Well, since there is no waterfall to visit, we spent an hour there and managed to catch the next train back to Taipei. As per the trip over to Ruifang, we headed back to Taipei Main station with no seats. Had a cafe dinner at that area as well as to shop around. Final stop for the day was still Ximending since it was so near to our hotel - a plus point to stay near XMD.
Not much days left in Taipei...
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