June 19th

Jiufen Village

Today, Lisa took me to a small village outside of Keelung City. Keelung City is the closest city to the southeast beaches of Taiwan. Jiufen village is famous for its plentiful shops and restaurants overlooking the valley and coastline. 

Jiufen used to be occupied by the Japanese in the late 1800s. Gold was discovered during 1890 while the railroads were being built in the area. Once the gold ran out, it was turned into a Japanese POW camp for the Singaporian during WWll. There are still Japanese inns and restaurants lining the village. 

Once we got to Jiufen, we walked into the crowded area to find the best viewpoint to see the valley and coastline. Along the way, I noticed many cool nicknacks. 

Walking into the crowd of tourists.

An 18th century brick building amongst newer town homes. 

Some cool religious statues.

Puppets hanging in a store front.

A courtyard filled with restaurants and shops in Jiufen village.

After walking through the village, we reached the viewpoint I previously mentioned. Below are a few photos I took to give a better understanding of how great this view was. 

This view was incredible, especially with the temple in the background. My phone camera didn't do this view any justice. I keep forgetting to charge my actual camera... 

Anyways, I was hungry and getting tired of walking. So, Lisa and I went off to search for a delicious meal. We walked by a few interesting choices but ultimately passed for a heaping bowl of seafood stew and udon noodles. YUM!

Mystery meatballs.

My meal, seafood stew with udon noodles. It had shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters and pork in it. $NT100 or $3.25USD.

Almond honey brick. That's the only way I can describe it. 

Jiufen took up most of the day and night. So, we took the train back to Taipei and called it a day.