The Sights
Jioufen is hardly an off the beaten path destination while touring Taiwan, but with its proximity to Taipei, ample hiking opportunities, its promise of old world charm and the coincidental placement of it during a significant Taiwanese event made it an obvious choice for us. The seductively ramshackled village dotted with crimson lanterns, meandering alleyways and loads of sights and scents is a small mining town mostly built by the Japanese during the gold rush period which began when it was “discovered” in 1890. (It had actually been turning up since the 15th Century.) Unlike mining towns in the Americas, it didn’t seem to offer cheesy gold paning programs, mine tours, or really good comfort food, at least not by our definition. But we’ll get to that later…
We arrived at 10 am on the Saturday morning of the Lantern Festival and couldn’t believe the light crowds and empty streets of the old town.
Because soon enough it would turn into this, but the atmosphere was unlike any we’d experienced before.
This is the impressive temple we were greeted by when we got off bus 965 from Taipei. What a sight! We were also greeted with grey and rainy skies that would hang around for the rest of our time in Taiwan.
So, we dropped our things at our hotel and set out for the alleys before the crowds emerged.
They alleys were bursting with unique shops, more unique foods (see below), and posters of adorable children holding extraordinarily creepy Freddy Krueger meets Shrunken Head boy dolls. Evidently they were advertising the “Ghost Lore Exhibition,” which promised “a Panic Interaction Humor be Full of Wit and Humour.” Hmmm…perhaps something is a bit lost in translation here? 🤣
In other creepy Jioufen findings, we found this giant chipmunk-looking creature serving as a cross guard for the elementary school, a school that also had slides that send children directly from its classrooms to the playground below. Whoa!!!! It’s like a real life Chutes and Ladders game!
A vibrant temple near the school ground gave us the opportunity to get up close and personal to the rooftop which looked like an intricate paint by numbers display.
Wow! Especially striking was the ways the colors bled from one into another.
The soupy bowl of fog from the top of the town. We wish we could say it got better, but the second morning, we woke up to this.
So sadly, our plans for some peak and sea view hikes were abandoned, and we simply decided to walk 45 minutes to the neighboring village of Jinguang, which could all be done on stone paths so we didn’t have to worry about mud…
…but like Ms. Grumpus’s face reads, it was cold and the sideways-rain kind of miserable. However, we were at least quite grateful for the giant umbrellas our hotel loaned us because they didn’t perpetually turn inside out in the wind like ours. Also, the scenery, like this old train trestle, was actually pretty interesting.
Arriving to Jinguang for a nice hot set lunch at the “Gold Mine Cafe.” They had a chicken curry option so we went with that, which was alright until you discover what your chicken looks like under that lake of curry sauce. At this point, Mandy vowed she was done with “chicken”….again.
Because of the weather, we stayed in the rest of the day and looked at pictures of all the amazing hikes we were missing. We went back out at night to search for food and discovered that the weekend crowds had continued despite the rain, and now a quarter of the people were walking through the 95% covered area bashing into each other were their umbrella spikes.
To get this photo, we had to go up on a platform and wait in a ten minute line of selfie sticks. The rain, and now the crowds just made us wanna go back to the room. Needless to say, we’re really glad we had a few moment of lesser crowds to experience it on early Saturday.
Still a soupy mess…
#reality
The only thing that could have made it worse is being corralled in this tour group. Eek.
Fortunately we found blessed refuge in our cozy inn at Kao Mama B&B, which belonged to a super sweet family. It was $23/night for two nights thanks to Hopper credits which we had no problem at all using in Taiwan. If we had paid full price it would have been $60/night. So, despite our one bad experience in Japan, we’re back to recommending them because of a dozen more good experiences! https://sharing.hopper.com/invite/gregc3c2
The innkeeper’s daughter, fluent in English “bye byes,” provided regular entertainment for us.
To get to Jioufen: we took the bus 965 from the “Ximen Station” bus stop near our hostel in Taipei. It only took an hour and cost about $3/each. A sign when we left reminding us to STOP…and probably lower expectations. 🤣
The Bites
Walking through Jioufen is an olfactory journey. You are inundated with irresistible scents from aromatic chewy pineapple, to sweet wafts of churning taro balls, and then…BAM! It’s like someone canceled out everything beautiful in the world and stuffed a malodorous gym sock up your sniffer. Thanks “stinky tofu.” You’re an overachiever in the stank department and a disgrace to vegetarianism.
Ah yes, it wouldn’t be travel without some new food exposure and Jioufen certainly excels in this category….
We decided to ease into the taste journey with something sweet, (usually a safe bet,) which came in form of a “Peanut ice cream roll.” ($1.59) It’s basically a wrap, or crepe, stuffed with peanuts, and strawberry and peanut flavored ice cream.” Pretty swallowable and not too sweet. We loved it.
We also picked up a piece of chewy “pineapple cake with salted egg yolks” which tasted a lot like a saltier version of a pineapple fig newton. Also, satisfying. Taiwan is known for its pineapple production and more than 90 varieties of pineapple are grown on the island.
They also had soft serve ice cream in unique flavors like mint chocolate, and caramel pudding. And scores of nougat-y treats in western and Asian flavors (like matcha and black sesame.)
But the most in demand sweet treat in Jioufen is Grandma’s sweet taro ball soup, which doesn’t sound too appetizing, but was a real delight for the senses. Piping hot sweet broth, loaded with chewy (yes…running theme) balls of taro.
The restaurant is actually so popular there weren’t any tables left, but this sweet mother/daughter duo from Japan invited us to sit down with them. They seemed excited to hear our few Japanese words, that we’d just been in Japan, and to practice their English on us by sharing taro ball tasting notes. Despite our different palates, we all agreed they were a winner!
We’d procrastinated enough with sweet treats so it was time to dive into the nitty gritty. We consider ourselves adventurous eaters…to a point, although Mandy doesn’t eat red meat, but we both certainly draw the line at what Mandy’s grandma called “scrapple”…(and most westerners just call hot dogs. ) You know… chicken tails, chicken heart, duck tongue, pig scalp, duck wings, pig poop shoot (large intenstine), etc. However, we do respect the fact that if you’re gonna kill an animal an animal, the Taiwanese certainly don’t let it go to waste.
Of course…anything, absolutely anything…can be choke-downable if fried and the squid at top certainly makes a fun photo prop. We did have a squid sample at this stand which tasted like calamari, naturally.
Back to sweet things. Our brains needed a break. This cat toast also looked like a safe bet. Also, friendly to Japanese tourists. 😹
Loved and hated by many is the pungent ginkgo tree, which grows throughout Asia. We’ve encountered them a couple times in Portland and when their nut berries drop, they smell a bit like vomit. So…needless to say, we were surprised (and not the least bit surprised) to discover that the Taiwanese eat them. They are poisonous to eat when raw, but you can eat them cooked or roasted in limited quantities. However, no more than 10 in a sitting because over-eating can bring a reaction to methyl pyridoxine, a chemical found in the nuts. For the record, we tried both the cooked and roasted varieties and the roasted were far superior, even good.
Something else you see everywhere in Asia is cuttlefish balls, a cross between an octopus and a squid but somehow far cuter. Or is it just the name?! 🤣
And here it is. The legendary “stinky tofu.” If you can overcome the reek, supposedly it tastes far better than it smells. Internet accounts say, “it’s a little sweet, a little sour, with a salty, savory flavor. Despite its pungent aroma, stinky tofu has a fairly mild flavor that some people liken to aged soft cheese.”
Also, our new Taiwanese friend Christine swore up and down it was delicious. But we just couldn’t do it.
We met Christine and her mom at a vegetarian/vegan place we had lunch at. Using Google translate, her mom sweetly complimented Mandy’s chopstick skills which she warmly took to heart considering she couldn’t even grasp a piece of sushi 15 years ago. 🤣
The vegan options, at least at this particular restaurant were severely lacking. Mandy’s pile clearly represented the likes of Green Giant frozen veggies (with margarine!) and the veggie burger on top was more similar to a hockey puck. Gregs noodles were fortunately a bit more flavorful. Also, both meals were about $12 making it a bit pricey.
But the company was good. In addition to Christine, we met new friends from Barcelona and Switzerland.
We then had a sampling of some salmon floss, which is dried salmon shaved into strings. Although it wasn’t the best for general snacking, it could be amazing atop a nice salad.
Another vegetarian option we explored was the “Red Vinasse Taiwanese Meatballs,” which looked like a tray of science experiments for a 10th grade biology class.
Using (very practical) chopsticks, you first cut through a translucent gelatinous sweet jelly mold made of rice and sweet potato flour. Then, peeling back the skin-like layers, you extract a minced counterfeit pork meatball. It’s straight out of a scene from “Alien” and thanks to the red, makes you feel like you’re pulling a bullet out of a gunshot victim.
The jelly was ok, a bit sweet, but the ball itself a bit bland and far too…chewy. We learned there’s good chewy and not-so-good chewy in Taiwan. We also tried the “meatball” soup which was also not amazing.
In other experiments, we also tried the tea eggs, which are simply hard-boiled eggs, steeped in a marinade made with tea, soy sauce, and a variety of spices. The shells are intentionally cracked all over, allowing the marinade to seep in slowly and leaving an unattractive network of dark lines on the egg white. They tasted exactly like they sound…overcooked eggs dropped in soy sauce.
Going to the convenience store, we always had to check the labels to make sure we were getting plain yogurt. Uh, this one must be for all the man children out there….
And when you’re done eating all this food…we’re back to these. What happened to our fanny sprinkler and butt blow dryer of Japan toilet fun?! Ah, well, at least it’s always an adventure! 🤪
The Lights (Pingxi Lantern Festival)
Unbeknownst to us when we initially booked our place in Jioufen, we were heading east on the same day as the nearby annual Pingxi Lantern Festival, along with at least 100,000 of our closest friends. This festival, during Lunar New Year, is considered the most prominent festival in the country where tens of thousands of sky lanterns ascend into the dark sky, carrying the blessings and prayers of people to the heavens (until they drift back to the earth 10 minutes later.)
Being there was a happy, yet slightly anxiety-producing coincidence due to the sardine-stuffed trains and challenges getting there. But we’re undoubtedly glad we got to witness this mesmerizing and ethereal light show which dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).
Seeing the lift-off is absolutely breathtaking, partially thanks to the breath-taking fumes. Fortunately this centuries old tradition is seeking an eco-conscious update. Beginning in the mid-2010s a group of students and other environmental groups began developing biodegradable, environmentally friendly sky lanterns to upgrade this Taiwanese cultural tradition and make it sustainable. The new lanterns replace the bamboo frame and brown burning paper with recycled pulp that burns out completely in the air rather than allow smouldering skeletons to return to the earth. The project is still unfortunately seeking funding for mass production but seems to be an answer.
The tradition began because Pingxi was a remote but affluent district that had to deal with bandits. Villagers often took to the mountains to escape these dangers in winter. When the worst of the winter had passed, sky lanterns were flown to signal that it was safe for them to return. (Cathay Pacific)
But we get ahead of ourselves. Even before that, on the way to Shifen (the sky lantern village), we stopped by Houtong Cat Village for a visit with some friendly felines. The 200+ cats rule this village and far outnumber the human residents. Houtong interestingly means “monkey cave” so in fact the first residents here were monkeys. In the 1920s, under Japanese colonial rule the monkeys got kicked out and coal was found which eventually dried up, naturally leading to an overzealous cat lady and her likely abhorrence toward castration.
Since then, everything in this village has been solely dedicated to a saturation of cats in all forms. And tourists come from far and wide to get some strokage in. Naturally, many of the visitors come bearing gifts as well.
Considering the sheer number of cats, you’d think there might be a food challenge, but judging by the chubbiness of most cats, this didn’t seem to be an issue.
Other than that, they mostly seem to just be tuning the people out, as they go about their days.
The village is in a tranquil valley setting where we could immediately see the lush forests of Taiwan beginning to unfold.
However, that peace quickly dissolved when we got back on the train. Traveling from the cat village of Houtang to the lantern village of Shifen on this particular day brought back some lovely “your-knee-is-in-my-back” memories of travel in India, Georgia or Nepal.
We arrived to see everyone decorating their gigantic four-sided lanterns, which symbolize peace, hope and new beginnings, so any wishes or prayers can be written on them. Here, somebody loves somebody. Wow, we’re getting good at reading Chinese.
Often a family or group of friends will share a lantern and each person will receive a panel of their own. It was fun to read the ones in English. This one demands their credentials in a partner. It was also interesting to read the sheer number of young people who wished for 1. more travel and 2. luck with specific investments down to the ticker symbols. It was good to see them excited about saving and investing at a young age. We wish we saw this more in the States.
The youthful energy was undoubtedly contagious and also, we were astounded in this group pose of locals of which not one was flashing a peace sign. 🤣
After you’ve decorated your lantern and before the main event begins at 6 pm, people line the train tracks for an official lift-off.
It was a LOT of people!
On our way to search for some fellow nomad friends who were at the same event, we stopped for a snack. Mandy could only find edamame that looked edible, and Greg a fried “chicken cheese” concoction on a timeless stick, which wasn’t so edible.
The crowds were as thick as pea soup near the lantern pavilion that we decided to visit the neighboring waterfall to avoid the sea of people, but in the end, we would only see this baby waterfall leading up to the big guy…
…followed by the announcement that the big guy had just closed. It was 4:45. Grrrr. Here’s the top of it with rails on. Not quite Iguazu. Will waterfalls ever be the same?
Once we returned to the lantern pavilion area, we realized there was no way in hell we could possibly make our way through the porridge of people to locate our friends. So we instead plopped down on the cozy concrete of the nearby bridge and Mandy and Wendy texted updates to each other of their current views. Based on the height and cheesy zip-off travel pants/trousers, we’re guessing this bum belonged to an American, German…or an Aussie. Wendy was playing similar guessing games with her family.
But the crowds and cumulative waiting all became mostly worth it as the climax to the evening began, and the lanterns floated to the skies like little fireflies. Sadly, it was over as quickly as it began and was far from the peaceful meditative vibe, which would be ideal for such an experience. More like a sea of Asians at a tranquil rock concert with lifted phones.
So, although the evening promised several more rounds of lanterns, we were smart enough to bolt immediately to start the two-hour process of getting back to Jioufen.
When we finally arrived at 8:00, our mouths were watering for our deluxe Family Mart dinner package. All this cost about $11, so not exactly a bargain. But at least our pre-school prepped cheese and tuna sandwich was free the next morning courtesy of Kao Mama.
