Day trip to Jiufen

On Saturday I met up with Sophia for breakfast. On the way over to her house I walked through the weekend flower and jade markets. I was surprised at how well set up the flower market was. Sophia said that they started from Friday and worked the night through. When I arrived at Sophia's house she asked if Ed and Tini were up. We had planned a day trip to Jiufen, an old mining town and location of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's City of Sadness. I said they weren't. Sophia texted them the train times. They were up and we decided to meet in an hour at the train station. There wasn't time for breakfast.

Sophia and I arrived and bought the tickets. Ed and Tini joined us with minutes to spare and soon we were riding the rails north. We arrived at our station in an hour and disembarked. We walked through a small village looking for the hiking path that would take us through the hills from this mining town to the other. We passed by an old mill and through another small village and then up into the mountains.

The path became a well-marked stone walkway. In parts it had been washed out by landslides, and markers cautioned us to move quickly. Sophia had said that she thought it would be a simple walk. Under the hot sun, the constant climbing became a little less so, and I was ill-equipped for the hike having overdressed. I had perfect light hiking clothes in my possession, but I had left them in New York thinking that the weather would be much cooler.

We kept climbing through the verdant hills until we reached a set of stairs leading straight up to a road. Sophia's map seemed not to scale. We then walked up another path cresting the ridge, and we were awarded with a sweeping view of the sea and the small towns dotting the landscape. In the distance, we could see the city of Keelung. Nearby hills were dotted with temples, and below we could see Jiufen.

We descended quickly towards the town, which was teeming with Chinese tourists. The narrow roads were packed with cars and buses inching their way down. We passed through cemeteries and then made our way to Jishan Street where we were swept along by the river of people. The street was lined with stalls selling all sorts of snacks, and we quickly made our way to an ice stand for tsua bing.

Our mouths and bodies cooled, we backtracked to find a recommended fish ball place and sat and ate them with deliciously well-cooked noodles. Our bodies sated, we pushed back into the crowds. Tini saw a boy holding a sliced fried potato wound on a stick and stopped to ask what it was. His father told her to try it, but the boy was reluctant to share. A few stores down we saw the stand and Tini bought her own. We stuffed our stomachs to overflowing.

At the end of the street we passed a beautiful tea house and then started down the mountain. Turning off the main path we walked down some back streets, through a tunnel that once marked the entrance to the city. We continued walking down the paths as the sun set. At a bus lot, we came upon a local bus that took us to the train station.

At the station, a stage had been set up and a group of violinists were warming up for a performance. Their teacher busied herself about the stage arranging them for the camera. Parents were lined up in front taking photos. They played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and Chinese songs. Sophia recognized some of them. We watched while we waited for our train.

Back in Taipei, we went home and showered then met up again with Sophia and her friend Patricia at Din Tai Fung for soup dumplings. The dumplings had incredibly thin skins and I was surprised they didn't break. For dessert, Sophia ordered red bean xiao long bau.

Patricia invited us back to her house and after a quick stop at a Russian restaurant for some deliciously smooth ice cream, we found ourselves at her place. She had been giving Sophia cello lessons and we entreated her to play for us. She sight-read "My Heart Will Go On," and then made Sophia play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for us. Ed remarked that it was the second time we had heard the song performed that day. It wouldn't be the last.

Patricia asked Ed and Tini if they would like to try; they politely refused. When she discovered I had learned to play the violin she asked me to try. She taught me "Twinkle Twinkle" and we played it as a duet. She then taught me "Frere Jacques," which we played in a round. Playing the cello was surprisingly satisfying; it had been so long since I had bowed an instrument.

Nearing midnight, Ed, Tini, and I were getting tired. We thanked Patricia and took our leave. Sophia went to meet up with friends at a bar. I went to bed.
Posted by eku at November 19, 2007 7:22 PM