Jinguashi & Jiufen

I am feeling a little better today.  Hopefully this cold or whatever it is will run its course quickly.  There is nothing worse than being sick while traveling. 

Today Jackie #2 and I spent the day with her host family at Jinguashi, also known as Gold Mountain and Jiufen.  Jinguashi is an old mining town that the Japanese first established.  On the mountain they mined gold, cooper and coal.  One of the best parts of the day was touching the world’s largest block of gold (484 lbs) worth $10 million dollars!  We also toured the Four Joined Japanese Style Residences and the Crown Prince Chalet that was built for a visit from then Prince Hirohito, however he never came. We also walked through the Benshan Fifth Tunnel and got to see what the life of a miner was like. 

We had lunch at a quaint little teahouse overlooking Jinguashi and I had a delicious herbal tea.  I love tea, but it is already so hot here that I end up sweating even more when drinking it!  The Taiwanese must be acclimated to this heat, because I swear they don’t sweat, or at least not like I do!  And to top it all off, most of them are wearing long sleeve shirts or pants in this heat.  I am absolutely amazed.  I just get hot thinking about wearing long sleeves or pants in this weather.  

Next we headed up to Jiufen to see the views and walk through the market.  The market is hidden in several back alleys, but it is packed with people, shops and food vendors.  We spent quite a bit of time strolling through the alleys looking at shops and found some souvenirs to take back home.  We smelled some stinky tofu a couple of times and I have told myself that I have to at least try it.  Our host family introduced us to a traditional Taiwanese dessert that consists of dumplings and beans with ice.  Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name, but it was an interesting dessert.  The place was packed and had beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.  After dessert, we went to a nearby tea house that had amazing views of the Pacific Ocean. It was so nice and peaceful up on the mountain.  We got our picture on the famous Jiufen Street and then headed back to Lin-Kou.  On our way home, we were fortunate to get a few great shots of the sun beginning to set.  This is such a beautiful island.  It reminds me of the Caribbean in so many ways, especially the island of St. Lucia.

Me and Jackie on Jiufen Street

We ended up having pizza for dinner tonight.  Although I am loving all the Chinese and local Taiwanese food, it was nice to enjoy a familiar food. 

Tomorrow we will be spending the day at Lin-Kou High School meeting with teachers and some students.  The last day of school was on Friday for the students, so I am sure our opportunities to meet students will be more limited than last week.