Go Joyfulli

Jiufen (Jioufen; 九份) - the town which may or may not have been an inspiration for Spirited Away. The streets are full of stands/stores and are decorated with red lanterns. I guess it has a "classic Asian" look, for lack of a better descriptor.  To be honest, Jiufen was a little too crowded with tourists for me, though I guess it was worth going once. My friends went to the teahouse and learned how to properly make tea - they enjoyed it a lot! I probably should have made myself join them in the teahouse too, since I'm unlikely to visit again... but I needed a break from being around so many people. Instead, I went to a little crane game place more on the outskirts of the town (I was even able to win a bunch of souvenirs to take back for friends/family/coworkers :). October 2019. This might be a little confusing, but Jiufen is technically in New Taipei City. We didn't go there directly from Taipei, but if you do, it sounds like it's pretty straightforward to get the...

Hi everybody! I decided to start my Instagram and this blog with a post on the first hike I remember going on the last time I was in Taiwan. As an introverted homebody, I often have to fight against my desire to stay inside when traveling. I hadn't planned on hiking during this trip, but one morning I decided to look up some options. I figured it would be interesting, good exercise, and get me out of the Airbnb without (hopefully) having to deal with too many crowds. Jinmianshan (金面山) came up as an option. The article I found said that it would be an easy hike and that it was close to an MRT station. The hike did end up being relatively easy. At one point, it looked like I'd have to traverse rocks by holding a rope, so I stopped there. I didn't want to risk a fall, especially because I was alone, and I wasn't sure it was even part of the trail. I still got a nice view of the city - it was definitely worth going! 值得 😄. I'll probably go again the next time I visit (m...