Jiu Fen
Hey guys,
Glorya, Josh (a friend we met from TLI) and I all took a day to travel to the North East of Taipei to reach a place called Jiu Fen. It is an old mining town that was built on the side of one of Taiwan’s many mountains. Since mining is not as big of an industry as it once was, it is now often visited by tourists and locals who find the scenery and shops to be top-notch. We decided to take a bus for an hour to reach our destination. Fortunately, through luck and clever management, we all got a seat for the ride.
Once we arrived I was, once again, taken back by the beauty of the scenery. Being built on the side of a mountain affords the area with a terrific view of the mountain side and what I presume to be a body of water that funnels into the ocean. After taking in the natural sights, we turned out gaze to the man-made ones, quickly darting between allies and stores to see what was being sold, and even on a rare occasion, buying a gift or two.
Great fun was had all around as we walked for the afternoon. Quickly, it became apparent that even if we did wish to stay in Jiu Fen past night fall, we would not be able to experience any of the views we saw when we had first arrived. A thick fog was creeping up the mountain. It was truly entertaining as, due to the winding structure of the town, we would be out of view of the water for a while and once we returned to an adequate vantage point, we saw that the fog had creeped closer.
I found the food to be pretty decent and the view to be worth the time in the bus. I may have to make a second trip there yet this year.
