The Town in the Mountains
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2012
1
2
Trip End
Jan 13, 2012
Wulai, Taiwan
Monday, January 9, 2012
We caught the MRT to Xindian Station where we would transfer to another bus which would take us to the town of Wulai about 30 minutes out of Taipei. We were quite amazed at how close serenity was close to the metropolitan style of Taipei. Nonetheless, we hopped on the bus and it took us on a winding road to the south of Taipei. On the way, we passed dams, really nice gorges and a beautiful river.
We were at Wulai. As it was still about 9 in the morning, it looked more like a ghost town; eeriely quiet. We took a few moments to savour the scenery at the bus stop and a while later we walked deeper into town to look for the famous mini-train, which they called a log cart.
Tickets were about NTD70 to take us to Wulai falls and it was worth every single cent. It felt more like a mini-roller coaster and in no time we were deeper in the mountains viewing the stunning Wulai falls. The peaks that surrounded us were shrouded in morning mist, as it was a chilling 14 degrees that morning. It made for an even better view.
We had to climb some stairs to reach the Gondola station and we bought tickets for NTD200 to get to the Wulai falls side. There was a resort on the side but upon reaching, the view became even better; we were in the clouds.
We admired the view and soon went on a trek around the resort. We came across a little pond where we started feeding the koi in the pond. Also, there was a small altar where we could wish for a good year ahead. There wasn;t anything much in the resort but I felt that it was a great place to go if you wanted some nature and peace.
We made our way back down the mountain and waited for the gondola. On the way down to the bus stop, we walked on the Lovers' Road, which I thought was an even better way to get up or down the mountain than the log cart.
Once we reached the base, the town became a more lively and by then it was teeming with people. We took a chance and went into one of the hot spring hotels for a dip. It was heavenly especially in that weather.
With that, the day trip to Wulai ended and we went back to Taipei, stopping at a noodle shop for some beef noodles. Honestly, the beef tendon noodles at the K underground mall in Taipei Main Station was the best I have ever tasted. The soup was rich, the tendons were perfectly cooked and the noodles were great.
After that, we went to the hotel to take a rest because in the evening, we would be exploring the Taipei 101 area.
We set off at 5pm, rush hour, and the trains were packed. We alighted at Taipei City Hall station and took a short walk to Taipei 101. The building was majestic and there were clouds shroudding the top floors. We did not want to go up to the observation deck as there was a massive queue at the ticket counter so we went to the nearly shopping malls in the area. After a night of hardcore window shopping, we took a taxi to Linjiang Night market.
Upon reaching the night market, the pungent smell (or stench) of smelly tofu could be noticed. I made a beeline for it and boy was it good. I offered some to my buddies and they absolutely hated it. I thought it was delicious. Further up the street, we bought Black Pork sausages, grilled skewered chicken's backsides and something called a fried milk ball. The milk balls were delicious as were the chicken's bottoms.
Bloated, we took a taxi back to the hotel and settled with Taiwan Beer bought from the 7-eleven nearby the hotel.
It was a great second day in Taiwan.
