A couple of things I did research in advance and look forward to seeing in Taiwan are Shiufen and Jiufen, and, perhaps most of all, the Queen’s Head at Yehliu Geopark. I’m so excited for my day trip today! Another one with Klook. And this one includes pastry-making! Of all the tours I booked, this one was the one that I was most excited for. Sadly, Vincent is not my tour guide today. It’s ok, the new guide, Sunny, seems very nice and she escorts us to our bus for the day.

Yehliu Geopark

We arrive at the Geopark, and the first thing I notice is, there are a ton of tourists. I’m not thrilled about it. Sunny takes us to the entrance, explains where the Queen’s Head is, and not to miss the turnoff on the path or we’ll go to far. I feel like I’m in a race because we only have 45 minutes, and we can’t be late for the bus. I take off feeling like I’m running for my life past hordes of people, to see the Queen’s Head.

Unfortunately I’m so focused on getting ahead of the crowds and not missing my bus, that I completely miss the turnoff for the Queen’s Head and end up all the way at the end of the geopark, exactly what Sunny said not to do. It’s hot, I’m frustrated. I take a few photos, and then speed back the way I came from and through trial and error, find the Queen’s Head.

By now, I have about 20 minutes to get back to the bus, and there’s a huge line to take photos of the Queen’s Head. So long that there’s no way I’m going to make my bus if I wait. So, I go around the line, and give up getting selfies, and instead walk around to see her for myself. She is an impressive site, even with all the people around! This is another example of how the earth’s natural movements and evolution create some beautiful artwork, in my opinion. And, on the way out, I see that time and evolution mean that, sadly, the Queen’s Head is heading towards collapsing in the future.

I take a few photos, then race back to the entrance to do a quick browse of the information panels, and then run to the bus. I’m hot, and I sure hope I don’t have to run this quickly through the sites the rest of the day.

Jiufen

After feeling beaten down by the heat and humidity at the geopark, I’m somewhat shocked to emerge at Jiufen among cloudy, rainy weather, and to feel cold! I have to put my sweater on, and buy one of those plastic folded rain jackets for a few bucks.

Sunny leads us to the entrance of the key attraction at Jiufen – the windy shop-laden streets. She recommends a few shops, and says she’ll be waiting for us in a tea shop, giving us the number of that store. To say this place is crowded is an understatement. (Pro Tip: get here on your own via public transport in the morning, or early evening, and you can skip the crowds!) And, once again, we have to get back to our bus on time, so I feel more rushed than I’d like.

For me, the main interest is to find the tea house which was apparently the inspiration for one of the scenes in the movie “Spirited Away.” I saw it years ago and loved it. I follow signs into the depths of the winding streets, then turn right, down some stairwells, and…there it is. Of course, everyone wants a photo of it, and the ledge which offers the best views is full. So, I pick a different angle and get some of my own photos without having to compete with everyone else. I head into the tea shop thinking I might get a small bite and some tea, but the prices are clearly based on the fame of the location, so I give that a pass.

I end up trying some food back in the main shop area. First, a strange hot dog type sandwich with two types of sausage, one of which is made from rice. It was actually quite tasty! Then I have a lovely pineapple cake and a cup of coffee at a small shop, and I sneak in a try of the peanut ice cream recommended by Sunny. Not my favorite.

I have a little time to peruse the shops, and, guess what I find??!  A new hat! Not only is it exactly the same as the one I lost, but it’s also the same price – $3. Yay! I also want to try the Alishan tea that Sunny told us about, so I head to the tea shop where she is, and give it a try. It truly is delectable. The thing is, it’s also really expensive. Only because I complained about the price, did they suddenly find a smaller bag of it at a much more reasonable price. I got the feeling that there are some commissions being scored there, but hey, I got my tea!

We head back the way we came. The streets are windy and narrow, so that means waiting for a public bus (included in the tour price), speeding down the road to the car park, and re-boarding our bus. (You might have to keep your eyes closed for part of the ride, and you definitely need to hold on tight to the poles while driving downhill!) We’re off to the next stop – Shifen!

Shifen – Lantern Launch!

I’m pretty excited about this. Sunny explains that we’ll be getting lanterns. At this point, I don’t understand their size, and presume they are, well, lantern-sized. Sunny tells us that we can share a lantern, as a group of four, and write wishes on one side each, or, we can buy a full lantern, for like $10, and write on all the sides. Yes, please!

When we arrive in Shifen, Sunny guides us to the shop where we’ll get our lantern. The town of Shifen, at least that I saw on this tour, is literally a street of shops and lantern launching. So, not as alluring as I had thought. We walk into the shop and are assigned a lantern. This is when I learn that each lantern is about as tall as I am! Next to the lantern is a brush and black ink, and I try and match each color to a wish in its category (love, health, career….).

When I’m done, a man comes over and guides me onto the main street. He takes my camera and gets photos of me with my lantern, and then launching it after he lights the small candle on the inside. I watch it disappear into the sky above, and then it’s time to head back to the bus for our final stop, pastry making!

Pastry Class

We drive over to New Taipei to a factory that makes all kinds of sweets. Our group is led upstairs where we each make our own small pineapple cake from scratch. And by scratch, I mean the dough is already made, and we get to insert our filling, and place everything into an awaiting mold. We receive a number, and leave our unbaked sweets behind, while the shop puts them into the oven for us.

In the meantime, we go back downstairs and get to try “one of everything,” and there are a lot of sweets to try! This seems to be another place that probably earns our guide some commission, but I still found it fun to make the cake, and when I tried mine later that night, it was delicious!

Once back in downtown Taipei, I top off the day with a quick trip to one of the nearby night markets, Ningxia. It’s quite small, just a few blocks, but I’m tired. I see some squid that looks delicious but the line is too long so I get some sweet potato balls instead. I have to admit, they’re fairly oily and I feel like I’m tripling up on carbs, so I also get some chicken before calling it a night.

My Honest Opinion Of Today’s Tour

I’m really glad I left all the planning and transportation to someone else, that made it much easier to visit all the places on this tour.

That being said, I was disappointed at the speed with which we had to blast through each location. I prefer to take my time, and experience everything at my own pace. When I return to Taiwan, I’d definitely go back to Jiufen on my own, perhaps even stay overnight, so I can avoid the crowds and see more of it. I’m really glad I got my photos at the geopark, but it’s just too touristy for my liking.

I also felt more of a sense on this tour that our guide was hoping to make commissions. I have no proof she did, but she was very vocal about convincing us to buy tea and sweets. And, our guide was very kind, informative, and had a great sense of humor, so that made up for some of that feeling.

All-in-all, I’d say if you have the time, make your own way to each of these places and spend more time, it’s definitely a worthwhile way to spend it.