Our original plan for day 2 was to go to the National Palace Museum but for some reason we ended up going to Yangmingshan instead. I honestly can't remember the reason why but we ended up outside Jiantan station waiting for the bus to bring us to Yangmingshan. The bus took forever to come but I wasn't really in the mood to walk up all the way.
In any case, we finally made it to Yangmingshan BUT we had to take another bus to get to Lengshuikeng (a scenic spot in Yangmingshan where you can do light trekking). Obviously we could have walked up but I remembered walking with my mum and aunt and it was really tiring and we didn't get very far. There are actually quite a few buses which go to the various scenic spots in Yangmingshan but depending on where you are going, you either take the normal bus or the minibus. For Lengshuikeng, only the minibus goes there and after we finally boarded the bus, we understood why. The road to Lengshuikeng was really narrow and windy and it didn't help that the driver drove like he was in Initial D. Since we were standing and the roads was full of sharp turns and bends to move up the mountain, I felt like dying after a while. Thankfully we managed to get to our destination before I threw up. I had also forgotten that temperatures up in the mountain is a lot colder, by the time we reach there I was shivering. However, as one uncle on the bus pointed out 走快一点就不冷 (the faster you walk, the less you would feel the cold), so we got walking. There was a free hot spring bath up at the Lengshuikeng station which was entirely packed with locals.
Hot spring baths for men
We chanced upon a temple, and I was wondering who are the devotees who would come all the way up to worship at the temple. It was rather quiet and we were the only ones. Granted it was a weekday so perhaps they get more devotees on the weekends. After a while we managed to locate the starting point of the trail from Lengshuikeng to Qingtiangang. The trail was well marked-out and quite easy to walk. It was also really scenic, we even caught a couple doing their wedding photoshoot there. I was amazed at how they managed to walk to the location with the pouffy wedding dress, yes it was an easy walk but even then it must not have been easy if you are wearing a pouffy gown. There were also quite a few people hiking even though it was a weekday, I imagine it must be really crowded during weekends.
Start of the trail and can you spot the couple in their wedding best?
I felt like we were in a Chinese painting, lol
Finally we made it to Qingtiangang, which was really quite lovely. However as it was rather cold, there was a mist and a slight drizzle. The walk took longer than expected since we aren't exactly the fittest people around. We were quite hungry by the time we completed the trail, luckily there was a convenience store so we bought some snacks and a hot drink to keep ourselves warm.
There was a direct bus down to the MRT so we decided to take that rather than go back to the main station at Yangmingshan. It was another harrowing ride and once again the driver drove like he was a character in Initial D. There was a very nice Taiwanese girl who offered to hold onto our cup of hot tea. An old grandfather and grandmother boarded the bus and luckily they were offered seats cos otherwise I really cannot imagine how they can survive being thrown around the bus while standing. Quite a few passengers actually didn't make it all the way down, some of them alighted midway and you can tell that they were either going to faint or throw up. As for me, by the time we finally reached the MRT station, I was about to do the same.
After a satisfying lunch, we headed to Danshui. It was another misty scene there. There was filming going on for a drama (?) but I didn't spot anyone that I recognised. We walked around the 老街 but it felt overly touristy so we didn't stay too long. We did buy some tidbits but otherwise I didn't enjoy Danshui as much as I did 10 years ago.
A sponge cake stall which had long queues, which I naturally joined
We then headed off to Shilin Night Market since hubby wanted to see the biggest night market in Taipei. It seemed to have expanded in size since I last went, from the MRT station you can already see the stalls. We ate steak and wandered around to explore the market. The popular Raohe pepper biscuit had a stall there, as the queue wasn't that long we queued for it which was really smart of us cos when we went to Raohe the day after, the queue was just ridiculous. We also had the fried chicken which was near the beginning of the market but it wasn't that great. Personally I didn't like Shilin Night Market even when I went 10 years ago and my opinion did not change with this visit. It's just too big and felt overly touristy. If you want to experience having many many stalls to look at, you can go to Shilin Night Market but personally I would give it a miss if I do end up going Taipei again.
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