The sights along the way there was once again, breathtaking as our railway train was moving just above the riverside. Not before long, we reached yet another beautiful town which was unique in that it was situated along the railway track. As long as you are familiar with the timings of the railway trains, you could virtually lay on the tracks and take lotsa daring shots along the way. Although our map shows that the previous Dahua train station was much nearer to the main attraction of Shifen, the waterfall, we were directed to alight at Shifen station instead. Thinking it must be a ploy to give business along the street stalls, I later came to realise that even though Dahua station was much nearer, there wasn't a direct route to Shifen station... so to get there, you'll have no choice but to alight at Shifen station and walk a good 45 mins to get there. Which of course, you won't regret it.
As we were captivated by the uniqueness of Shifen town and its proximity to the railway track, we came across a group of tourists setting off sky lanterns which was quite a sight. One could write well wishes on the lanterns but every one of them was set off by the shop owner (you're don't have to get your hands dirty for it) all at a small price of $250NT. However, thinking that we should try it too but only at Pingsi town since its famous for that, we carried on with our journey towards Shifen waterfall. Ate this delicious stick of black boar kebabs on the way there.
We also came across a suspension bridge called "peaceful bridge" along the way which was decorated with countless sky lanterns, stretching all the way from one end to the next. We didn't walk across to the other side because it looked like it was just the other side of the town which had nothing much going on. Along the way, we also came across an abandoned coal mine, which we climbed a godzillion flights of stairs just to get there.
Don't be deceived when you see the signages encouraging you to hang on as they count down the distance for you... because even though it was 150m, 100m , 50 left ahead, they were all 
ardous terrain... uphill, uphill and more uphill. Even though the coal mine was "closed", as the main store wasn't open, we decided to explore it by climbing up... and when we did finally reach the top... what a... disappointment. There was nothing interesting there. Just scrap metal and not a single soul. Through the path up there, we only met this 2 other guys who gave up halfway. In the end, only both of us ended up there... the coal dumping station.
Even though the road up wasn't that of a breeze, or fun in any matter, it was a great moment for the both of us because it felt like we tried something, explored somewhere no others would even bother to. And ultimately, what really made the entire trip wasn't the attractions, but each other's companionship... Alright, nuff said about us, so we resumed our journey to the waterfall... along the way, we chanced upon the visitor's centre which further lended us directions to the main attraction.
Crossed bridges once more, this time what laid beneath caught our eye... potholes. Potholes of intriguing shapes and formation. After which, not too far after the bridge, we came face to face with yet another attraction.. the eyeglass waterfall, yan jing dong. Apparently it was called as such because it had two holes underneath a mini waterfall which looked like a pair of glasses. It didn't quite caught the eyes of many, as most simply walked past it since it was along the way up to yet another bridge.
There was a wedding photo shoot going on there, as well as at the mini garden which we would soon explore on our way back. But first (since the "garden" route veered off from the main path), we made our way to the famous Shifen waterfall... finally. We had to pay entrance fees to get in, but the lady at the visitors centre told us we would get cheaper rates if we informed them that we were students (which she assumed we were), which we did of course and each of us saved $20NT. The admission fee was $50-70NT and the guy at the counter didn't check for verifications.
Entering the main gate, one could already hear the thundering splashes of the highly acclaimed waterfall. Shifen waterfall was famous for its rock strata which was similar to that of Nigara falls, hence it is also known as Taiwan's Niagra falls. Indeed, its reputation preceeds it, for the experience I had was one to remember. Grand, gorgeous, and rejeuvenating (there's occasional water droplets on your face because of the blowing wind). There was a mini pool which was filled by the icy cold natural waters from the waterfall and you can dip your feet in there if you want, though nobody did that. They even sold food there, and there was this overhung where you can sit around there while you have your meal to enjoy the scenie view (there was even a rainbow at the base of the waterfall!).
However, the food they served was close to yucky, and expensive. Tried the curry rice, was sweet Japanese curry but not only did it take ages to come, it tasted like pre-cooked oven food. There was a route further down and we explored the entire enclosure. Wasn't much though, because it only led us to this slope where it was lined with 18 hao hans, leading to one buddha statue. The rest of the area was crap, had a couple of barbeque pits, hammocks, and some construction going on. We turned back, came across a mini shrine with a 4-faced buddha, enjoyed the waterfall a little more checking out the "garden" which we skipped the previous time around. 
The area was surreal and serene, and the waters were close to crystal clear, wee bit green at the start of the source. We climbed over the barricades of the eyeglass waterfall because I saw the wedding photoshoot being taken as such and wanted to steal those shots as well... As long as we were careful with our footing, it wasn't that dangerous to begin with. Took several great scenic shots there before returning. Heading advice from the stall owner who sold me the pork kebab at the start, and the lady at the visitor's centre, we decided it was time to quickly head back to the train station... because... they told us it would rain at around 3pm... which by then, was around there. Both of them asked if we had an umbrella, which we 4got to bring that day and expressed concern about us getting drenched...
Well, how bad could it be? I thought... we passed the visitor's centre, no rain.. so we proceeded to get back to town... which was about 20 mins walk away. When we were neither here nor there, where the nearest shelter was either the town, or the visitor's centre (which required us to head back), that was when... it started to rain. A pretty darn heavy downpour if you ask me... for once again, we were all soaked like drenched chickens. It started out small, but predicting it to get bigger, we started running... but no matter how fast we ran, the rain beat us to it... which resulted in us running in the heavy rain for a food 10 mins minimal.
We finally sought shelter at the stalls near the station, but the shelters there were "leaky" and minimal... they only sheltered part of the walkway and one shelter was not linked to another. Waiting for the rain to subside, we dashed through it yet again to another more sheltered area. That was when we saw a group of Hongkongers setting off a sky lantern. I'm not sure why they were setting it off in the middle of the rain, but can only assume so because when they paid for it, it was still dry... but took forever to think up and write the well wishes on the lanterns before setting them off... They tried setting off 2 lanterns, but 1 didn't quite make it up because they wanted to take photos with it which they kinda delayed, ending up with lesser fuel for the lift off and by then the rain got heavier... so it was too wet, too heavy for take off.
We didn't see the aftermath of it, whether they would have to just make do with it (because letting off the sky lanterns would only be good if they do actually make fly off) or did the shopowner allow them to do up another one. Retracing our steps back to the train station, we waited for the next train down to Pingsi town. Calculating the train timings, I thought it was feasible to head down to another quick stop, the Jingtong station which was unique because of its architecture. Was said it was a level 3 protected heritage site, I think... because it preserved a Japanese-like wooden architecture.
It was the last stop, and Jingtong was supposedly another coal mining attraction which we weren't too interested in. We alighted the train, took a quick good snaps of the station and hurried back to the train which would then head to Pingsi town (2nd last stop). After finally alighting at Pingsi station, we were... utterly disappointed. We were stranded at the station because there were no shelters along the streets of Pingsi, which looked like a dead town... we could only move around a short stretch of stalls which was along the railway track. That was where we bought our sky lanterns souvenir (much cheaper than if you were to buy it in Taipei, standard price in Shifen and Pingsi).
Also bought this stitch figurine in a stitch-designed bubble (the same one we saw in Kaohsiung). It was the same price!!! Of all places to get that, you must think, but there were only 2 places which we saw the toy, one at Kaohsiung main station, the other at Pingsi... So like my previous advice, if you really like something, just get it. Chances are, you might not come across it again, contrary to what you believe. We asked the shop owner about the deadness of the town, and she said it was because it was a weekday, weekends would see more stalls being opened. Stranded, cold and nothing much to do, we waited for the next train back and hopped onto it, bound for Rueifang station. But before that, since we didn't get the chance to set off sky lanterns, we pretended to do so (cheap thrills) at the train station which hung sky lantern lamps.... (o.O")
That night, instead of checking Rueifang night market, we headed back to Taipei where we checked out Shilin night market instead. It was a good choice because of all the night markets we've been to, I must say, Shilin is the best. In terms of "bustlingness", food, shops, size, and it was the only night market which didn't have irritating motorcyclists passing through all the time. Tried a "rojak" potato dish which had a concortion of peeled corns, ham, cheese, mayo, potatoes, onion flakes etc. That snack won its way to yq's choice awards, and mine and also tried MSG coated small fishballs which tasted like the other ones I've tried. The next snack which really won our hearts was the Chou Tofu (smell tofu) we ate at one of the stalls around there.
Seeing how packed it was, we decided to give it a try. The chou tofu took quite a while to come, and we also ordered this peanut-sauced cold noodles which tasted ok. But when the chou tofu finally came, with its salted lettuce, faint pungency of stinkiness and the crispiness of the skin, together with the nicely salted sauce, we were blew away. That was our first, and best chou tofu we tried there which I can confidently say will remain as such even if we were to try the other stalls around. The smell wasn't as strong as the rest, and instead of spoiling your appetite, it increases it. Even now as I view my photos, my saliva won't stop flowing... That's how good it was!! Luckily, we remembered to take a photo of the shop this time so good luck finding it in Shilin night market!! =)
Was getting late, and by then we were all dried up. Checked out a couple more streets along the night market, ate a bowl of Mee Sua, which tasted horrible compared to Ah Zong's Mian Xian, before heading back to our cosy Ta Shun Hotel to turn in for the night...
To sum it up:
Shifen Ratings: 5/5 (a unique and elegant street along the railway track)
- though the waterfall's quite a walk, there are many other sites to check out along the way, and the entrance fee isn't that ex, just remember to pretend to be students for that additional $20NT discount per pax
- coal mine not worth climbing up for, the eyeglass waterfall is on the way so you don't have to walk out of the way to see it, and the potholes along the way were satisfying enough (heard there was also the Dahua potholes which we assumed you would have to alight at Dahua station instead)
- not much food to eat there, even if there was, its expensive and doesnt taste good... several vending machines at the entrance of Shifen waterfall, so get some spare change for a cheap and refreshing relief
- remember to bring umbrellas and sunblock because hardly any shelter there
- the walk to and fro the waterfall was beautiful and romantic, so its a full 5/5 must-see, must-go place for me
- last bit of advice, schedule your visit there to be on a weekend so Pingsi will be more lively and you might be able to get a better feel of the countryside life over there
No comments:
Post a Comment