Places covered:
Yehliu Geopark (野柳地质公园)
Jiufen (九份)- old streets
Jinguashi (金瓜石)- Gold Ecological Park (黄金博物园区)
Yinyanghai (阴阳海), Nanya (南雅) and Bitou Cape Park (鼻头角),
Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市) in Keelung (基隆).
Saw a stall selling Taiwanese sausages and couldn't resist getting one. Got 3 for NT$100 which we shared. Then we came across a stall selling mini glutinous rice balls in different flavours. We saw many people eating here; must be something popular. We got 2 bowls- one hot, one cold in mixed flavours and shared as well.
Proceeded on to the Jinguashi (金瓜石) area where we visited the Gold Ecological Park (黄金博物园区). Do take note that it is closed on Mondays if you are planning a trip there. The admission is NT$100 but it can be waived with receipts. The government's way to promote tourist spending. We did not have any receipts with us but Meeky was kind enough to get us all the receipts for entrance; $400 saved. =) Temperature-taking for all visitors before entering the park.
While waiting for the session to start, we visited the Museum Of Gold (黄金博物馆).
Haha, my Mr. 黄 wanted to take a photo with the '黄' on the sign and here it is below... Also took photos with the humongous block of gold.
Our guide went through the entire process with us, step by step. My hands quickly became numb with the icy cold water. Was the slowest in the group and got some help from the guide. Ha, ended up with the most gold dust in my souvenir bottle, but still it is less than one gram, I think.
You may be thinking that names of some places like Benshan and even Taroko in Hualien sounds a little Japanese. You are right; Taiwan was under the Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945. There is also the residence of the then Japanese Crown Prince within the park. That's also the reason why many of the ah-gong and ah-ma understand and speak fluent Japanese; they had studied the language when they went to school under the Japanese rule.
He did not lead us into the tunnel. We went in on our own and there were audio recordings in the tunnel itself, operated by motion sensors... Hmm.. it was just a short walk, nothing great but still it was an experience.
Next on the itinerary was Yinyanghai (阴阳海) however the weather did not permit us to capture nicer photos.. The two-tone colour of the waters is caused by the natural minerals of the land in the area. Meeky told us that marine life here is not suitable for consumption, but we still see people fishing...
In a recent documentary I've watched, I was surprised to find out that according to 《本草纲目》, the betel nut has some medicinal properties, but of course too much of it causes cancer as well.
The 八宝冬粉 which we tried last was surprisingly delicious. Like the tasty mushroom meatballs. Got another piece of chicken cutlet here, this time it is cut into bite-size pieces, more convenient to eat and not too oily, better than the one in Shilin. Walked around the area after all the eating and then contacted Meeky who fetched us back to Cityinn.
Our day did not end there. We went to the shopping mall to identify some items which we want to get early next morning. It was too crowded at night and we were not prepared to queue after a long day. Last day tomorrow! Got to pack up tonight!