#decemberescapade

Continuation..

Day 2: Day Tour Packaged booked from KKDay app.

We board a tourist bus going to three tourist destinations within New Taipei City: Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Old Street and Waterfall, and Jiufen Old Street.

It is also my first time joining a tourist bus so now I know how it feels lining up behind a tour guide waving a flag. Well, Amy, our tour guide didn’t have a flag, she have a star wand! Cute! Lol.

The reason I booked this packaged trip is I got sold from someone’s blog and vlog. I just forgot the name of the blogger -my bad. Her trip was sponsored by KKDay.

The price is reasonable for Php 1,169. No other inclusions aside from the bus and tour guide. But at least, I don’t have to worry about how I will go to each of the places. Because mind you, each places are far from each other. You don’t want to spend so much money on Taxi rides and get lost on which bus number to ride as I’ve seen from some vlogs on Youtube.

First stop: Yehliu Geopark - natural rock formations along the coastline. Each rock is instagramable you just have to spot the best rock to pose and avoid tourists in the background.

Second Stop: Shifen Old Street and Waterfall - this is where you can fly a lantern. At the bus on the way to Shifen, you will be given a chart, rather a menu of the lantern colors you can choose from with corresponding prices. I chose one color and that is RED for Health and Peace. Once you’re off the bus, the tour guide will direct you to the shop where you can get the colored lantern of your choice, pay, then you will have to write on each side of the lantern. Something you wish that’s related to the meaning of the color you chose. I only wrote on two sides of my lantern as I don’t know what else to write. Once done, two people will help you: one will help you light and fly the lantern, the second one will be taking photos and videos of you while lighting and flying the lantern. It was so much fun! And the shots were great! When all good, you can take a quick lunch then head back to the bus going to the waterfall. I did not go further to the waterfall as my knees are still in so much pain and can’t get down the stairs leading to the waterfall site.

Third and Final Stop: Jiufen Old Street - this is my most anticipated stop. That is because I’m a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s films and his greatest anime film of all time, Spirited Away is my favourite anime film. This place is said to have inspired the director/creator for the setting of that movie. The Grand Tea house or Amei Tea House was rumored to have inspired the Bath House in the film. The place is too crowded with its steep alley. Amy told us that this place is more frequented by tourists rather than locals. It’s also located on the mountains so there are plenty of climbing up and down which my knees got too painful and almost unbearable. I still didn’t mind the pain because I want to enjoy the place. I get to taste some of the street foods like the popular Peanut Ice Cream which is wrapped in a spring roll wrapper. Twa’s a delight! I fell in love with the Taiwanese Sausage which tastes so familiar. It tastes like our local Longganisa but the Taiwanese version is meatier and tastier. I didn’t skip the chance to drink at the famous Amei Tea House. The set menu includes an Oolong tea and some assorted snacks for NTD$300. It’s quite expensive considering the quantity. But hey, the quality, ambience and overall experience is priceless for me!

After the tour, I had dinner at one of the local restaurants near our Hostel. I don’t know the name coz it’s in Mandarin and I don’t have the energy to even get Google to translate it for me but what attracted me to this particular restaurant is they sell Xiao Long Bao! Finally! Got to taste this popular soup dumpling. It was so good! I was able to gobble up the whole basket! Well, not including the basket itself of course. Lol.

Also, I didn’t get the chance to go to any of the Night Markets in Taipei because at the end of each day, my legs and knees are in so much pain, I can’t go any further through the night. However, I got to taste one of the talked-about star of the Night Markets: Pork Buns! I got lucky to chance upon a vendor along the way to the Hostel. The bun is stuffed with pork filling and tastes so good that you would actually crave for more. A long queue easily builds up on this little store space in the corner because apparently, it is too popular with the locals.

Also, I was able to taste my second Milk Tea in Taiwan. The famous CoCo Milk Tea! They have a new branch opened in my hometown, at SM City Clark. It tastes just like the Pearl Milk Tea of Chun Sui Tang and I love it!