HK Independent Traveller Blog

I had been to Taipei a few times but was not aware of Lin On Tai Homestead .  The Homestead is one of the oldest house in Taiwan . It was built by Lin Hui-Kung between 1783 and 1785 (48th to 50th year of Qianlong Period in Qing Dynasty ).  It was named On Tai to memorise their homeland in Anxi County and Rong Tai Company which was established by his father and turned the family rich.  In 1978, the homestead faced the challenge of being taking apart due to expansion of the Dunhua S. Road. After hard lobbying, it can stay and has been opened to the public since 2000. We took the red metro line to arrive at Yuanshan. After we have crossed the main streets, we saw a lot of temporary stalls on the two sides of the street which is like a big event or carnival. Passing through a big park, we first spent a little time at the Fine Arts Museum on a free exhibition of innovative design and products. It was nice to see art and facilities for the public, even a solar bridg...

Shifen is famous for the old streets, lantern and the 20-metre high waterfall . It is located in the Pingxi area  ( 平溪 ) .   Shifen Old Street refers to a collection of lanes and alleys around the railway station area.  The town was originally built for transporting coal during the Japanese era .   Shifen railway station is an opened one.   People can cross the rails freely.  I have the feeling of going back to the very old time.  I remember, even in the eighties, it was forbidden to cross the railways in Hong Kong.  But Shifen still freezes in the past. it brings folks of tourists and they filled up the tiny station. A lot of people from Asia travelled there with one sole aim: flying Chinese lantern marked full with good wishes. From time to time, friends upload photos of flying the lanterns.  We went there for the waterfall.   Once we stepped out the area of the railway stations, crowds of people were fl...

We went back from Shifen to Ruifang and to go further to Jiufen . Get out of the station, cross the big street and turn left to walk perhaps 200 metres, you will reach a bus station with buses running to Jiufen. When we arrived at Jiufen , it was cloudy and began to rain. Darkness covered the surrounding mountains and sea. It's like a spell over the earth. We went to the main street. Crowds were a characteristic of this small hill town. It was like that many years ago and remains so, even not on public holiday. To get shelter against the rain and refill energy, we had snacks and drinks on the main streets, just like all tourists. We first passed by 魚丸伯仔 which has been standing for over 60 years.  Two out of the three renowned dishes (豆干包, 魚丸湯，乾冬粉) were on our table.  Yummy! Weather remained bad. We sat down again for a drink and sweet. Then the wandering began and the sun came out. When we reached almost the edge of the main street, more modern tea hou...