Taiwan 2011 – Taipei (Day 4)

Date: Mon 28 Mar 2011
Stay: Keymans Hotel, Taipei

Finally, the sun is out! A good day to head out to Yangmingshan 阳明山 and admire the callylilies 海芋 in bloom!

Due to the flower season, there are several transportation options as the park has arranged for additional buses up the mountain during this season. However, these additional services operate only during peak weekends. Going up on a Monday works out better since we need not battle the crowd.

Got off at Beitou MRT station 北投站and took bus 9 that goes all the way up to Zhuzi Lake 竹子湖, the main attraction for the callylilies blooms. The bus is small, takes about 20pax, a deliberate choice for the winding mountain roads.

After about an hour’s ride, we finally reached Zhuzi Lake. There were some confusion as to which stop to get off as the park is huge. We took the driver’s advice and got off at a stop surrounded by callylilies farms. There were a few locals who were out to pick callylilies at the various farms. It was cold – the mountain air was fresh but icy. It started drizzling as well, adding to the chill. Mum was all wrapped up and reluctantly followed the trail.

Scenic street at Zhuzi Lake, Yamgmingshan

All wrapped up

Yangmingshan, Zhuzi Lake

Callylilies

We walked around the farms, admiring the flowers and scenery. Found a street lined up with shops – the first being ‘Auntie Guava’ (a literal translation). Delectable freshly pickled morsels of guava, mango slices, cherry tomatoes, peaches etc! I wanted to buy everything! NT100 for a bag. As these preserved fruits do not keep well, we had to make the decision and only bought two bags of mango slices and peaches. Am still drooling thinking about them now…

Auntie Guava stall

Freshly pickled fruits

There were a few flower shops and restaurants. We bought a bag of handmade buns and decided to have a light meal as we planned to go to a hotspring right after. The bus (there is only 1 bus service up here) could take us to Xin Beitou MRT station which is perfect as we could walk along the hotspring hotels.

There are several hotels offering the sulphurous hotspring that Beitou is known for. Opposite Xin Beitou station is a public hotspring (after a very nicely designed library). Cheap but very publicly crowded. We enquired at a few hotels and settled for a public bath at Broadway Hotel. The bath was quite private and quiet. There were not much facilities compared to the one we tried at Wulai. The water was hot at about 45deg C! We didn’t stay long. But the short soak was enough to keep us warm.

Next stop, to hunt down Taipei’s Number 1 Pig’s Blood soup – my favourite and one that can no longer be found in Singapore. I had done my research online before arriving Taiwan and was determined to find the famous Changji Street stall 昌吉街猪血汤. We got off at MinQuan West MRT station 民权西路站, crossed a major junction, asked a few shopkeepers and finally, after about 15 minutes’ walk, found the stall! At 3pm, it was teeming with people. The walls and tables are decorated with accolades. The generous pieces of red tofu – that’s what they call it here as the pieces are so finely made, they taste like tofu! – were just as I had expected, delicious! And only for about SGD1.80 a bowl! I know I will miss this very much when I’m back…

Taipeis No. 1!

The famous Red Tofu

Since we still had time, we decided to re-visit 101, this time to go up the Observatory since the weather was fine. It was not very crowded with the occasional tour groups. The view was great but we couldn’t quite get our directions. Aunt was keen to look at the damper – a huge ball in the centre of the tower which is set to keep the tower balanced. It’s a Japanese invention and weighs a hefty tonne.

View from 89th Floor of Taipei 101

The ball behind weighs a few tonnes!

The evening ended on an easy note as we visited the Eslite tower 城品 and had some light meals. Headed back early to the hotel to pack up and all ready for the start of our Minsu tour the next day.