It has been two weeks since we came to Taiwan! In these two weeks, we met different people from across the globe and also explored relatively many places. This week’s highlight should be our trip to Tamsui, Jiufen and Keelung. Tamsui was done on one day and Jiufen and Keelung on another.
Tamsui
Tamsui is famous for its sunset, and many people also visit the Lover’s Bridge when they are there.
Located at the end of the red line, it took about 50 minutes to get there by the metro from Gongguan station, the station closest to Prince House dorm.
Since we wanted to catch the sunset, we set off in the late afternoon and reached about 4+. It was really sunny! It’s important to wear sunblock when going out on a sunny day because Taiwan’s sun seems even more unforgiving than Singapore’s. A few of us felt our skins tingling in the heat, it gets almost painful staying in the sun here.
Besides the sun, there was also strong wind since Tamsui is by the sea. This caused quite a bit of chaos with our umbrellas when we tried to take a group photo with them open.
There’s a long stretch of road with shops lining it and we certainly took our time looking around. There is a variety of food, drink, game and souvenir shops along there, though similar shops are almost guaranteed.
After walking for a long while, we decided to take a ferry to Fisherman’s Wharf, where the Lover’s Bridge is located at. The ferry ride costs 60 NTD per person. This is not a must however, some people walked to the bridge and others cycled there.
Though the photos don’t do the actual scenery justice, here are some of the bridge, of the sunset and of the night.
I thought the view after sunset was even more mesmerising.
The moon is especially big and round because we went on Mid-Autumn Festival! Also, did you know that mid-autumn is a public holiday in Taiwan?
After enjoying the wind on the Lover’s Bridge, we went back down and took a bus to somewhere near Tamsui Old Street again. We then had dinner, some shopping and pastries before heading back by the metro.
It was a long day, but a fun one indeed!
