Jiufen Morning and Datong Afternoon

My plan was to head to the picturesque mountain town of Jiufen, a former gold mining village. I'd read about it online, and I'd looked at various day tours initially.

But day tours do what they say on the tin, so to speak, which is to take up your whole day. I don't have the patience for that, so I'd gone to the tourist information desk in Ximen station and asked about how to take public transport to Jiufen.

They'd marked the #965 bus stop on a map and sent me on my way. When I'd asked at the hotel front desk, the clerk confirmed the info and gave me even more explicit instructions to go to the bus stop in front of the Armed Forces Cultural Center. The buses came by frequently, but I'd downloaded the bus app ahead of time so I could see how long I'd have to wait.


The journey took about an hour and a half, and since everyone was going to the same place, there was little danger of me getting lost. I found my way to Jiufen, wandered the covered bazaar section, snapped a few photos of the nearby bay and winding roads, then used my bus app to find the right time to wait for the return bus to Taipei.

I disembarked at the Taipei main railway station, once again. I sat there and enjoyed a soy latte for a bit, contemplating my inner conflicts between typical employment and my comfort with the challenges of being on the road, then caught the metro to a bus to the National Palace Museum.

The great historic antiquities of China are stored at the museum. I was exhausted already by the time I arrived, but I powered through. The most iconic piece at the museum is a jadeite cabbage. Lots of souvenirs of the jadeite cabbage! I didn't buy any, but I was amused.

From the museum, I caught a bus back to the metro (all this is made easy by a smart phone and navigation apps) to Dalongdong Baoan Temple, a marvelously restored, UNESCO-lauded shrine with intricate detail. When I'd finished looking around the temple grounds, I was still an hour too early for the nearby night market, so I caught a bus to a place with a lantern store.

The lantern store was a bit disappointing, but the surrounding area, Dihua Street in the Datong District, was not. It was full of craftsy shops, tea shops, and the Taipei fabric store district. I even picked up two handmade shirts at a store called in Blooom. 

My metro card was out of money, so I had to walk to a subway stop rather than get on a bus. I looked at my phone's map—the nearest metro was close to a night market, which would be open by the time I arrived. I headed on over to the Ningxia Night Market to check out all the snacks.

By the time I got back to my hotel, my Fitbit registered I'd walked 9.5 miles today. My feet hurt.

I promised myself to take it a bit easier in the morning.