ok after an hour's ride, we reached Jiu Fen. the minsu was right up on the peak of the mountains. It was kind of awe inspiring to look out of the window and see the cerulean sky and azure sea as the backdrop for the lush green forested areas dotted with quaint houses and temples...
the roads were really winding so it was kind of harrowing too...ha...what an experience
the minsu had two locations, one at the lower part where the bus could drop us off.
this was where the check in counter was. San yi could not get rooms in this part of the hotel.
we had to scale a most arduous slope with our luggage, but heh, the reward was sweet. we had the whole level of 3 rooms to ourselves, plus a really pretty al fresco dining area which overlooked the breathtaking Jiufen hills.
the place was recently renovated so it was very tastefully done
checking out the sights. mama loved quaint houses.
then the awesome view of nature's handiwork.
tong lazed in the lounging chair
sigh...this was life
the staff was very friendly, he was a hongkonger and liked the slower pace of life here
wow, i loved this panoramic shot, did you know that san yi and san yi zhang liked to wear matching coloured shirts? sometimes they even matched the colours of their bottoms? ha
well, san yi wore pink to match xun xun too. heh
the old street
loved tinkering with the trinkets, like a treasure trove of old and forgotten things
ha, papa loved to wearing matching tops with his darling xun xun
well, tong was often asleep while we explored the streets. he would be chirping and prattling on the bus journeys while most of us wanted to catch forty winks and he would sleep when we reached our destinations and wanted to jalan jalan. Darn.
xun and tong loved the crispy sotong balls in taiwan. We had one stick and the ravenous children pleaded for more, so papa went back to the stall to buy more while mama rested her weary legs and the children checked out the toy store.
map of jiu fen
walked over to the bus stop, which was like a viewing pavilion and the view was gorgeous
there you had it, the evidence of the munchkin munching on the sotong balls
we headed back to the old street and spotted the rest in the dessert stall.
had their famous black ball dessert, I especially relished the tapioca balls, so chewy...
ah ha, finally it was time to check in, and we brought the kids back to rest as xun complained of her tired legs and tong was still snoozing and it was too tiresome for papa to carry him up and down the rocky pavement
heh, er yi was back resting in the room as you you was napping too, so we conveniently dropped the kids off and scooted off for a romantic date at this tea house.
yeah, the media whore papa must take photos so he could post on facebook.
his samsung s6 edge handphone boasted of this complexion enhancing feature which automatically smoothed the complexion. eh...so papa had been accused of doctoring the photos he posted on facebook, as evidently he did not have doufu skin in real life. ha
he put this picture on facebook and garnered over 100 likes and he was rather pleased about his popularity. ha
had tea and crispy waffle. yum
we gathered back at the hotel and discussed how we would go to Shi fen. the staff was skeptical of our ability to catch the public transport there but taking the cabs would definitely burn a hole in our pockets. so we did, valiantly tackled the public transport route, asking our way to the bus stop and hopped on the bus to the train station
the old-fashioned train station was lovely to me
ha the sleeping koala bears. ha everything was so charming on this old-world train
not a very long ride at all, took lots of photos in the meantime
ha san yi had the samsung phone too, er yi liked the complexion enhancing effect.
yay we reached and crossed the railway to the market place
stalls of trinkets again
we could actually take photos on the railway track!
these shots were taken before tong woke up
then we heard a whistle and everyone started scrambling off the tracks as the train was coming! rather exhilarating, like a rush of adrenaline to quickly get out of the way. heh...
eh then back to photo taking again. I liked these two photos, of san yi taking a shot of san yi zhang...the ever comical san yi zhang
then they came up with the idea of taking a shot after the train had left, so it would look as if the train was heading towards san yi zhang. san yi zhang commented he should have looked terrified instead of being so gleeful. ha
papa could not resist buying a stick of mini sausages
some visitors wrote their wishes on the bamboo tablets and hung them on the string, reminded me of the japanese temples which had alot of such things too
ok to the rickety bridge
we reached the other end and took a little break. the ever sacrificial daddies with their sacks of potatoes
just taking a breather, the good thing about being on a free and easy trip was that we could take our time and just savor doing nothing...ha
ok back to the bridge...and we took a Lu sisters' photo and deliberately excluded xun who was very hurt by the gesture
so we had to take a mama xun xun shot
then tong woke up, like FINALLY
you you loved wai gong so much...wai po kept declaring that you you would love her more eventually when he grew older, he would realise her goodness when he was more mature. we thought she was plain jealous and not willing to admit defeat. ha
now back to the tracks to take a family photo with all the members wide awake
papa came up with this zany idea of putting tong on the tracks. ha
we ate noodles at one of the shops, eh...it was supposed to be 鸡丝面 but there was no trace of any chicken meat at all.
then went to eat shaved ice again. YAY.
ah ha, we bought our sky lanterns and started writing our wishes on them. the sky lanterns here were so pretty, multicoloured instead of just monotonous single tones. and different colours represented different things, heh the things choose the sky lanterns, xun wanted something with pink and purple, tong wanted blue and red...
san yi liked this photo mama took of her
i was amused by xun (the sun, flowers and star) and tong's (eh..that patch of black thing just beside the flower) drawings.
We asked xiaoyi to write her wish to be to get married to a duper rich guy. hahaha eh nope, she wrote about her and alston being blissful always.
the staff there were really helpful and friendly, we asked for a photo, and I thought he was going to take just one shot, but he actually asked us to rotate the lanterns so he could capture what we wrote on all 4 sides!
they used joss paper as the fuel, it was easily to burn and extremely strong,
the sky lanterns soared effortlessly, unlike the times when we released them in Malaysia, those smaller lanterns with the solid fuel needed more effort.
fly up to the sky...told xun the lanterns would bring our wishes to Jesus
oh the bridge lit up as dusk descended
bought sparklers and played with them while waiting for the next train
ah...taking the charming train back to town again. It was jam packed with visitors heading back the same way. Shi Fen closed really early, by the time we left, it was 8 plus and the shops were mostly closed.
after a refreshing shower, it was party time for the sisters and brother-in-laws. While wai po sayanged waigong to sleep by swinging the lounge chair, we were playing cards, eating instant noodles and chips. and the nocturnal night owls, little xun and tong, was relaxing in the air conditioned room, watching their shows.
so yeh...played for quite some time and turned in to have a good rest for tomorrow's long ride to Sun moon lake.
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