A continuation of my Taiwan trip last year. Initially, I was half hearted when it came to visiting Jiu Fen because this place cannot be reached by the city MRT. So if I wanted to go visit Jiu Fen then I would have to take a train out of town and then take a bus to that place.
Considering that my spoken Chinese is rather bad, I was worried if I would get lost etc. But anyhow, I muster my courage and decided to give it a shot. From Taipei Main Station, I boarded the train to Rui Fang. There are a few types of train to be taken there so you ought to board the correct ones.
Best if you do your research beforehand. Either that, or just ask around. The customer service counter is rather efficient and he speaks English too. Oh ya, and the train has certain timing for departure. So it doesn't leave every 5-10 minutes unlike the MRT.
A picture of my train ticket. Hopefully the Chinese characters there states the name of the train.
Train ticket to Rui Fang, TWD76 (approx. RM8)
"Car 4, Seat 37" means you will have to go to platform 4 to board the #4 cabin and your seat number is 37. Gotta be careful with this because if you wouldn't want to be panicked once the train moves. But I think the cabins are interconnected so even if you board wrongly you can still walk to your cabin. Not too sure though.
Journey took about 45 minutes from Taipei Main Station to Rui Fang station.
Since I took the 9am train, I got packed some breakfast to munch in the train! Yes, eating is allowed in the cabin. Since I purchased my ticket about 30 minutes before departure, I had time to drop by 7-11 convenient store to get a hot dog and my hot chocolate.
Breakfast during train ride
Happy about the assigned seat so I don't have to rush with people for seats
Arrived at Rui Fang Station. Once reached, you will have to walk out from the train station. Right in front of the station is a bus stop (The ones that has shelter and benches to seat). But to catch the bus to Jiu Fen you will need to cross the road to a bus stand (No shelter or benches, just a stand). This stand is right opposite the bus stop.
Best that you confirm with the locals there before boarding the bus. I was lucky enough to meet a Philippine lady who married a Taiwanese. So she could speak both English and Hokkien fluently. She was on the way to Jiu Fen as well (her mother- in- law stayed there) so I got proper directions.
Btw, she was amazed of my bravery to travel alone all the way from Taipei city centre hehe
Outside Rui Fang Station
Jiu Fen is situated on top of the hill so the bus will take you uphill, spiral spiral route. The journey up was so beautiful, it looked like those ancient China movies scene with hills and water. But this was nothing compared to the view I saw on top of Jiu Fen.
Bus ride took about 20 minutes.
Entrance of Jiu Fen
The bus will drop you off a bus stop (Sheltered and with benches) at Jiu Fen, but you will need to walk up a little to reach the entrance of Jiu Fen.
I think it was about 10am when I arrived so only a few shops were opened. The rest were still in the process of opening for business. The first shop that I went to sold ice- cream popiah! They used the popiah basah skin and wrap it over two scoops of ice- cream and peanuts.
The lady boss was so kind and asked me if I wanted a picture with the popiah. Obviously I said yes! This was one of the few pictures that weren't selfies. Oh ya, there was this Japanese man who offered to help take a picture of me at the entrance but I look so darn fat there I'm not uploading it here, haha.
Ice- cream spring roll!
Close shot. I think it was about RM3.
The ice- cream popiah was average. I would suggest you to buy one and share it with two other friends LOL I mean it is a must to try their popular dish but then I really couldn't finish it myself. The ice- cream wasn't milky, so it tasted like frozen flavoured water. The peanuts were yummy.
It was so cold in the morning up at Jiu Fen and I started my noms with ice- cream popiah =.="
Another popular food up in Jiu Fen are the Taro balls. I think they sell it with sweet potato. You can choose the ingrediants that you want and they will served it in sweet soup. It looks very much like our Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) that we eat during winter solstice.
Oh! The taro balls are exactly like the ones that you can get from Snowflakes shop in KL.
Famous Taro ball shop
Also, they have Fish balls/ Meat balls for sale. Also served in soup. I didn't try it because I tried fish balls at Tamsui already. Will write about it later. Here is a shot of the fish ball shop, I hope.
Fish ball shop, goes by weight.
At Jiu Fen there are a lot of souvenirs that you could buy home. They have this shop that sells wooden clogs for about RM60. Then there are many shops that sell typical souvenirs like key chains, chopsticks, bags etc. They are a lot of shops that sells candies too.
Then there is a stall that sells a popular Taiwanese lemon drink which is good for the throat. Decided to buy it because they sold it in cute cartoon bottles HAHA. I bought one and it cost about RM8 I think. Can't seem to find the picture though. You can have it cold or hot.
They seller is really persuasive! First, they will offer you a sample of their drink and say encourage you to try because its free. Then they will lure you to their shop and explain about the drinks that the sell and the benefits of their drinks. Then they will make you buy their drink:S
Shops in Jiu Fen
A shop selling hand painted masks
Make sure you have your walking shoes on before you venture to Jiu Fen because this place is like Greece where there are so many small alleys and many steep steps. It was a bit messy, you would just have to walk the routes and find your way around but generally just walk along the main route if you are tired and not not interested to explore ever nook and cranny.
Steps
More steps to climb
Gotta do a lot of walking and climbing. I was so tired just walking up Jiu Fen but the sight on top was worth it! Have a look:
See what I told you?
The mountains and the sea especially at the back looks so much like ancient China right? Looks like those in Chinese paintings right! Didn't expect to see these kind of scenery existing nowadays. I thought it was extinct already, only could be found in ancient Chinese paintings.
I was awestruck!
This is the bus stand that the bus will drop you off at
So from Jiu Fen you will have to take the bus back to Rui Fang station. From Rui Fang station, take the train back to Taipei Main Station.
When taking the bus back from Jiu Fen you would have to wait at the bus stop situated at the upper side. From Jiu Fen entrance turn right and you will see another bus stop. It is not the same bus stop as the one that you were dropped off earlier. If unsure ask the locals.
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