4ever Discovering

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*Side note:  As many of you may know, back in Canada I tend to have a little reputation with karaoke.  Mostly bad, of course, involving getting booed off the stage at Laurentian Pub or trying to rap impossible songs once I get some ‘liquid courage ’in my body,  we could say.  Seeing karaoke on the bus in Taiwan did not only make my day 10 times better, but it also reinforced my newfound love for this country.

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Once we arrived (sorry I meant survived) the windy, narrow roads to Jiufen, we were greeted with an incredible view of the North coast of Taiwan.  There is no word of a lie when I tell you that this country is absolutely breathtaking.  Everywhere you look, you see mountains.  It is like you are on your own private island, surrounded by the natural beauty of the world.  Then you wake up from your dream and realize that you are actually surrounded by a million other people trying to use their selfie sticks to capture the same view you are.  I will continue to keep dreaming.

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Now a little history on Jiufen (according to our tour guide of course):

1. This town’s literal translation means ‘Nine Portions’ .  Back when it was just a village, Jiufen only had nine families living in the area, so every time there was a shipment from the city, they would only request nine portions. 

2. In the 1800s, gold was discovered while constructing a railway, which sparked the development of the town during the Japanese era.  Jiufen’s architecture is heavily influenced by the Japanese culture; most of its hidden gems in the town are reflections of the Japanese colonization and the years to follow.

3. The Japanese anime movie Spirited Away was inspired by the beautiful scenery and architecture of Jiufen.  Since the production of this movie, many tourists travel from over the continent to see the inspiration first-hand and try the infamous oolong tea in the Mountain View tea houses.

 

Our time in Jiufen was probably very similar to any other tourist.  We had to try the traditional foods offered along the old street and manoeuvre our way through the crowd to reach different vendors.  When we were told to try the food here, Emily and I were both pretty excited.  We are always down to try cultural dishes; however, this doesn’t mean we always necessarily enjoy the food.  We had some pretty amazing food, like an ice cream and peanut spring roll, mango smoothies, sausage on a stick (later confirmed it was ‘wild boar’) and deep fried tofu.  We both tried the famous Taro Ball Bowl, which consisted of taro, sweet potato, green beans and kidneys served over ice.  It was definitely interesting to try, but let’s just say I won’t be running back to get it again anytime soon.  Now the real winner had to be these questionable green balls.  They tasted exactly as they sound; unappetizing.  There were three different flavours: red bean, green bean and “salty vegetable” which we are pretty sure was radish.  Not only were the balls themselves the colour of dirty green, but they were so sticky you couldn’t get them off of your fingers and so chewy they almost didn’t make it down my throat.  I’m all about trying new foods, but this particular dish reminded me how much I miss my East Side Mario’s and Topper’s Pizza back in Canada.  It was the first real dish we couldn’t finish here in Taiwan, but I’m sure it won’t be the last one. We will keep you updated on our Stinky Tofu experience.

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Overall, our trip to Jiufen was a much needed escape that let us see a sneak peak of this beautiful country we can now call home for the year.  If this is just a mere glimpse into our year, I can’t wait to see what else Taiwan has to offer!