As usual, while the kids were still in lala land, Daddy Lim and I made our way to buy bfast. We went to a different shop and surprisingly the owner said that she recognized us bcos we walked past her shop yday. Wow, this must be a really small town or we look familiar bcos we had been wearing the same jacket (for days, maybe it was the smell, haha!).
The kids were lazing on the bed.
Other than the bfast that we bought, we also cooked one of the bee hoon bowls that the kids “made” yday.
I had thought that it was like instant noodle but the instructions stated that it was meant to be fried. Fortunately the bee hoon softened quickly when soaked in hot water and the bowl came with a big packet of soya sauce. I didn't think that it tasted good but the kids were happy to have a change of taste in the morning.
Despite being free and easy, we were disciplined to leave the house at 9am to start our journey. Zaky was eager to drive his “Eerrari” abit more before we left the place.
We managed to get a cab; we had to make international calls for that. Goodbye to the very cold 民宿. It would have been fantastic if we could figure out how to heat up the place.
By the way, this is the cafe with very warm and helpful owner, who fed us with the essential information the night before.
The taxi tide to the Luodong Bus Transfer Station took about 15 mins and we paid about NT$200 for it.
It was easy to spot the Kamalan bus service counter. There were other services too but we chose to stick to what we know.
It was NT$141 for adult and NT$70 for child and a 80 mins’ ride without traffic jams. If we had taken a taxi to Taipei, it would set us back by NT$2 to2.5k and not much faster.
The views along the way must be fantastic but nobody really bothered. I was busy with my Harry Potter, the kids were on their gadgets and I was sure Daddy Lim dozed off along the way. Thank God for wifi egg again. I told Daddy Lim to take at least 1 picture of the scenery so that I can blog. Nah, 1 picture.
We arrived at the Taipei Main Station on time. Our hotel was in Ximending for the next 2 nights and we didn't want to spend extra time traveling to our hotel just to deposit our luggage bcos we had a long journey ahead to Shifen. Moreover, we had to catch a train from Taipei Main Station. We checked the night before and knew that there are lockers that can fit our luggage in Taipei Main Station. We had lunch in the Taipei underground "maze" and started our journey.
The station was different from how I remembered it. We struggled with purchasing the tickets and the uncle manning the gate wasn't very helpful. In the end, we got help from other Taiwaneses, who even turned back to suggest other ways that we can get to Shifen.
There was quite some wait for the train. I read from some blogs that we could take any trains except for the ones that go to Keelung. From the chart, it was obvious that Keelung is in the other direction.
Finally, the train arrived.
On our way!
It was about 50 mins before we reached the Ruifang station.
I remembered that we had to change train to go to Shifen. The train wasn't scheduled to come until 30 mins later and we exited the station to have some snacks at the convenient stall and more pictures of course.
The next train took another 30 mins.
Along the way, the scenery was gorgeous. I know I kept saying that but I couldn't help it.
Finally, we had arrived at Shifen and crossed the famous railway tracks to get to Shifen.
Of course we had to do the sky lantern. As we headed to the shops, we heard whistle and saw the railway cleared for the approaching train.
Once the train left, people started pouring back onto the tracks.
We went to one of the many shops and the kids chose a colourful lantern. We started showing off our artistic flair.. or the lack of it. Zaky even spelled jiejie’s name wrongly. Lol.
Up, up and away!
The last trip, we headed to Jiufen after the sky lantern. This time, I wanted to explore more, especially the Shifen waterfall. We headed towards the direction that the lantern shop staff pointed us to. Along the way, there were clear signboards.
We self-entertained with pictures taking.
We also found this lalang-alike plant. Wind blow wind. As you can tell from the kids' dressing, it was a warm day.
There was a fair bit of climbing and we crossed 2 huge hanging bridges.
Zaky did get grumpy along the way. I think he had enough of walking; my fitbit had been clocking amazing number of steps everyday. We finally came very near to the waterfall. More things to entertain the kids.
The waterfall was magnificent but I think teh kids didnt see much difference between this one and the one in Wufengqi. Lol.
We could go further to see the waterfall but there was much protest and we made our way back. This little cute snowman caught my eye on the way back. Christmasy mood!
We knew we were approaching when we saw the lanterns littered the sky.
There was again some wait for the train to Ruifang and we saw fireworks going off while waiting. The kids also asked to walk on the tracks.
Finally, we boarded the crowded train and had to stand for the 30 mins’ ride. The kids grumbled but the gadgets saved our lives. The following and longer train was much better and we found seats! It was like finding gold when your legs were about to give way. The kids had to rest bcos we had more traveling to do upon reaching Taipei Main Station. Moreover, Daddy Lim and I wanted to walk Ximending.
The kids were exhausted and soon Zaky was asleep. Lil Shauna was much stronger and pleaded for her phone instead.
The boy weighs a ton now. He is aware too and seldom asked to be carried. For this trip, he would take his own seat too than attempt to sit on me most of the time. After like 40 mins, his weight was unbearable and I had to lug and pass him on to Daddy Lim. I rather stand.
It wasn't long before we reached Taipei Main Station and found the lockers to our luggage. Then the MRT to Ximending. We didn't buy the MRT card this time bcos we reckoned not much travel via MRT. We did find one while in Yilan with over NT$100 in value. Lucky us.
Fortunately the kids rested bcos they were full of energy for Ximending. So busy!
Mummy Lim
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