Juifen

On Sunday, Rooney I and ventured to the "close away" town of Juifen. Geographically it isn't that far from Taoyuan - only a train ride to Taipei and a forty minute train ride from there. But it felt worlds away.

The town itself was established as a Japanese mining town during their occupation. Because of this there is an old market street that is everything you think Asia would be. It is about five people wide but hundreds of people are crammed into the alley. The shops lining the alley are brimming with both "one of a kind" and "one million of a kind" items. There are food shops serving all sorts of things, the most alarming being something that Rooney titled 'radioactive sludge' - that should paint a vivid picture of the thing people were ingesting. Another favorite is the stinky tofu. We agreed that some sort of "camera" for capturing smells should be invented in the near future. Only then will you all understand the smells that are Asia.

Neither of us really knew what to expect or where were were going but that served us very well. We stepped off the bus to an amazing view of the coastline. It was a little hazy but I think that added to the overall beauty rather than detracted from it. From there we wandered into the market area and perused the different shops and took in the smells. We got a little lost but I think I speak for both of us when I say that was a win. The area is just great.

We ducked into a little tea house looking for a little tea time. We were very pleasantly surprised by the outside area that overlooked the town and coast. The tea lady recommended the Oriental Beauty tea and we obliged. It is delicious and we got to take a bag of it home. The hour or so that we spent there enjoying the view and basking in the perfect weather was wonderful. It is an afternoon that doesn't really lend itself to words very well - perfect.

After purchasing our own tea set to use at home, we headed out to try and find the path up the mountain. We went the long way, accidentally, but in doing so came face to face with a huge temple. On our bus ride up we saw a number of temples nestled into the mountain side. I know I've remarked on the temples before but they are amazing. The colors and the dynamic roofs and architecture make them so awesome.

We finally made it to the mountain at late afternoon and so reached the top as the sun was setting. It was beautiful. There was a nice breeze (which we both needed because we were dripping sweat) and the sunset was a spectacular one. Another moment that doesn't quite lend itself to words. As we descended the town lights started coming on and it was beautiful. It doesn't really look like San Francisco but the way the town is stacked up into the hill reminds me of that. Throughout the day, Rooney and picked out a number of houses we decided we could be very happy living in. Maybe we'll commute to Taoyuan every day. :)

All in all, a fantastic day!