Jiufen, Taiwan…Stairway to Heaven

Dear Friends and Family,

We flew from steamy, hot Malaysia into rainy, cool Taipei, Taiwan. We stayed near noisy, bustling, Xiemen Station, where “Animae” is very popular. Bruce scouted us a late dinner. After a very long day, we crashed for the night, in spite of the neon lights and commotion right outside our door.

The next morning, we took the train one hour to Riufang station. We sat near an elderly Taiwanese man with nearly white hair and what appeared to be one remaining tooth. He was super excited to learn that we were from the U.S. His English was extremely limited, as is our Chinese, but the good vibes were there… This sweet man insisted on giving us his two boxed meals to enjoy upon our arrival in Jiufen. We tried to say “No, thank-you,” but he was quite insistent. We didn’t want to be rude, so we thanked him profusely and accepted the food. (Hopefully his wife will forgive him!) It’s nice to be in a country where Americans are appreciated. We conversed some more, in our broken way, exchanging the basics, “Where you from? Where you going? Kids? Grandkids? Ages? Your age?” Bruce, 75, Linda 55…He is 63. This new pal mistakenly thought Linda was 65. He accepted it as fact, not a bit surprised, and began referring to her in a very respectful manner as “Older Sister.” Back home, Linda has been mistaken for a much younger woman. In Asia, where women’s faces resemble “mother-of-pearl,” Linda’s face contains the smiles, laughter, worry, and tears of a long life! Bruce gifted this man an American dollar bill, which he reluctantly accepted with obvious delight. At the man’s insistence, we exchanged contact info. Although we cannot decipher his Chinese, it will be one of our favorite momentoes.

Our friendly host, Halu, met us at the Riufang train station and whisked us up to Jiufen, Taiwan. We climbed nearly 2000’ in 10 minutes, along a steep, curvy road, to his mountain top hotel, Long Men Ke Zhan. Our accommodation was really clean and comfy-cozy. The mountain village, which used to be a gold-town, overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Its two “old streets” are famous throughout Asia. One street runs horizontally, the other vertically, and they cross in the middle. We covered every inch of both! The vertical street is really a narrow, steep stairway, packed with mostly Chinese and Japanese tourists, even in rainy weather. It’s difficult, but exciting, to wind your way through the crowds. There are several inviting tea-houses, some literally tucked into nooks and crannies. One is built into a cave. Others hug the mountain side and provide ocean views. We sampled green, jasmine, high mountain oolong, and low mountain oolong teas. All of them were soothing in the damp weather, and calming in the hustle-bustle of Jiufen.

This enchanting “stairway to heaven” village provided the setting for the Japanese animated movie, Spirited Away. The views were magnificent in the mist and rain. We saw ornate, colorful Buddhist temples everywhere, peeking above tropical jungle forest. When we were enveloped by clouds it was mystical. When we weren’t, the ocean views were magical.

The street-stall food was delicious. Many vendors press samples upon you, hoping to entice you to purchase. Bruce was in Heaven, sampling squid, tea, wine, chicken, fish, dried fruit and nuts. The fare was uniquely Asian. We enjoyed yummy sausages, cartons of fried squid and shrimp, steamy bowls of wonton noodle soup. We found the stinky tofu, stinkin’ yummy! There are no burgers or pizza here. You see lots of pearl drinks and racks of dripping boiled chickens with the heads still on. We were tempted to try a century egg, but when the lady peeled and sliced this delicacy for us, we lost our nerve! It was black, and filled with a gooey black yolk. This duck egg took two months to produce, enveloped in a clay, ash, and quicklime plaster. Delicacy or not, we’ll take ours fresh from the hen, scrambled or fried!

In addition to food stalls and tea houses, there were souvenirs galore. We saw artists painting names in Chinese on strips of silk. Vendors played/sold ocarinas (flutes), clothes for people and pets, and shoes. In Asia, a signature stamp is a legal signature, so shops engrave family surnames on stone, leather, and wood. There were loads of “good luck charms” for sale.

Our awesome host, Halu, kindly drove us down to Riufang train station for our train to Hualien, near Taroko Gorge. We hope to host Halu one day at our mountain home in Northern California.

This is our second visit to Taiwan and we really love it! It is a beautiful island, crowded, but filled with lovely people, and lots of tropical greenery.

We’ll post again soon. Hugs n Love, BnL

Author: bnlmos

We are a retired couple, together nearly 35 years, who love International travel. Having a "blog" is brand new to us, so have patience as we do our best to keep in touch with our friends and family. Please feel free to comment on this blog or contact us via personal email. brucemos@hotmail.com View all posts by bnlmos