Jiufen = beautiful place spoiled by tourists

This morning David, my cousin whom I had just met today, picked me up at Ahgou's place to take me, mom, Jojo, and da A-yi (mom's older sister) to Jiufen. Jiufen used to be a gold-mining town, and therefore pretty wealthy back in the day. Then, I guess the gold-mining business declined and so it gradually became kind of dead until Hou Hsiao-hsien (famous Taiwanese director) filmed his hugely popular film, A City of Sadness, in Jiufen. Jiufen's downtown also inspired director of Oscar-winning Spirited Away--that city in the film was modeled after Jiufen, so because of these two films Jiufen is now a destination spot in north Taiwan. According to a folklore, or maybe reality I'm not entirely sure, Jiufen used to be occupied by 9 households. The dad or mom would go out to buy groceries for nine people in each family, so the name Jiufen is originated from this story [jiu = nine; fen = fraction].

We were stuck in traffic in Taipei for awhile. The roads here are so narrow, like in San Antonio. I'd never have the guts to drive in Taiwan, even mom said that Taipei is the only place where she'd never rent a car. The people here are crazy drivers--worse than the drivers on Bellaire/Chinatown in Houston! Basically no one follows the laws (except for traffic lights)...

Finally after winding and winding around the sharp curves of the mountain we get the Jiufen, which is already so renao (crowded). David drops us off in front of a 7-11 while he goes further up the hill to park the car. Jiufen is a quaint, little town with vendors on every street selling all sorts of desserts and snacks--most popular are pineapple cakes and fried stuff. Jiufen is also known for its yuyuan (chewy flour with taro) and teahouses with balconies that overlook the Pacific Ocean (Keelung as well).

This place is filled with tourists and tour buses. that I feel the beauty of this place is spoiled. It kind of makes this place less enjoyable, especially when you're trying to move through the crowds within such a narrow space that is probably about 5 feet wide. While waiting for David and Jojo to meet us at 7-11, mom, A-yi, and I go inside 7-11 because it's air-conditioned. The 7-11's here are different from those in the states. They sell fine wine, hard liquor, and $1 beers. You can buy pre-heated ready-to-eat meals here that contain steak... I'm so hungry because all I ate for breakfast was a slice of bread so mom crosses the street (runs for dear life actually because a tour bus wouldn't stop for her) and brings me back a sweet bun with taro inside. Everything tastes much better in Taiwan, even this simple bun that we usually buy at 99 Ranch Market. So, after David and Jojo meets us, we head towards the narrow road. There are lanterns lined up overhead and a plastic cover for shade. On our left and right sides are vendors, each offering samples. We stop at a famous yuyuan eatery. We get shaved ice with yuyuan, grass jelly, and green bean then head upstairs to see the gorgeous view of the mountain and ocean. After finishing we sit there for awhile, catching up with each other. David, my cousin, talks about his job and China. He's like a Wall Street type of guy and works for a global finance firm. His company sends him to Beijing and Shanghai frequently--and now his Mandarin has a Chinese twang.

We walk and walk, up the pebblestone narrow roads, all the way to the end of downtown. I realized that I haven't seen the famous Jiufen scene--the picture that shows up most on Google images when you type Jiufen. I guess I must have missed it because everyone else remembers seeing it. It's sandwiched between two buildings--the stairs/scene. We head back and climb the steep stairs. At top there is a Taiwanese restaurant where we stop by to eat lunch. The restaurant is five floors, the fifth floor being the best to see the view because we sat on the 2nd floor, and there were electrical wires in our view. We were too tired to climb more steep stairs, but the view is spectactular nonetheless. I shared a plate of mushroom+bamboo and sauce with rice and a side of a Taiwanese green vegetable with mom. And I have to say this again...everything just tastes better here. The ingredients are fresher, and there is rarely ever MSG used or tons of grease. We sit there for an hour after finishing our lunch, and then we make our way through the even more crowded street back to the car.

I pass out in the car and wake up to see Taipei again. David drives us to Beitou, where Jeffrey is staying at a 5-star hotel for hospital volunteer training. We make a surprise visit, and luckily he was on a 5-minute break from his intensive class. Afterwards David drops mom and I off at Shilin Night Market, which is the busiest night market in all of Taipei. At merely 5pm it's already crowded, and the sun hasn't even gone down yet. We don't buy anything, even though I see cute cheap stacked heels [the shoes that I've been wanting to buy for summer] and tasty snacks. And, I don't trust night market foods anyway after getting sick from eating crepes at Shida Market. I should save my money too since Judy, my cousin-in-law, is taking me shopping tomorrow and I'm eating out on Monday night with my new friends from the museum (fellow interns). Anyhow, we walk up and down the street looking for a restaurant that doesn't sell fried cod fish or beef noodle soup. Finally we spot a seafood restaurant. We had mango shrimp, pho Taiwanese style, and clams. The food was pretty good.

I will post the pictures from today tomorrow since there are a lot, and posting pictures between paragraphs on blogger is a pain.