Seafood at the Four Sisters

On my last trip to Taiwan I visited many interesting places on the outskirts of Taipei.  You can get to those places using public transportation but with a big group like ours, and 3 kids, it would be a challenge.  Besides, the hot weather would make it even more challenging.

I found a guide through a friend in Singapore.  His name is Yong, who is a cousin of my friend's wife.  He is from Singapore but moved to Taiwan a few years ago because his wife is from Hualien, a town on the east coast.  Yong and I went back and forth several times to put together an itinerary.  Eventually, we decided to use him for 1 day to go to places outside of Taipei.  He'd have a van that can sit up to 20 passengers.  We will start in the morning at 9 and finished around 6pm.  We decided on 5 places to go.

Group Photo with the van

Our first stop is Shifen Old Street (十分老街), a small town east of Taipei.   It's well known for its Sky Lantern.  This is how it works:  vendors sell paper lanterns.  You write your wish or anything you want on the paper lantern.  When you are ready, the vendor will light a small candle inside the lantern.  The hot air from the fire propels the lantern upwards.  When the fire goes out it falls back into the nearby forest.  The area is quite wet so there is a very small possibility of forest fire.  

A group photo in Shifen

Doris and Meng ready to launch their lantern

Taylor is helping mom to write on the lantern

Sign to Shifen Old Street

What the colors of the lantern mean

Kids are taking part too

Besides the lanterns, there are many shops selling food and souvenirs.  What is interesting here is there is a railroad track that runs right through the middle of the street.  When the train comes, everyone has to move back from the track.

Eddy and Mai-lon enjoying the local snacks

Steven in front of one of many food stands

Nearby is a suspension bridge.

The Wongs on the suspension bridge.

Also nearby is a popular waterfall but we did not go there because it'd take us too long with the kids.

We had so much fun at Shifen that we spent more time there than we should.  Our next stop was Yehliu Geopark, about an hour away.  We drove to Yehliu, a fishing town, for lunch at the Four Sisters Seafood restaurant.  There were 12 of us so we ordered the priciest combination on the menu.  It was an amazing menu of fresh and the most beautifully decorated seafood dishes we ever had.  Everyone was so impressed with the freshness and the display.  Best of all, the price was only NT$8,000, about US$250.

Four Sisters Seafood Restaurant

Our young waiter,  grandson of the family

A Squid Dish

Sashimi

One of the dishes

Another Dish

More beautiful dishes

It was already 3pm by the time we got to Yehliu Geopark.  As we entered the park it started to rain.  We didn't get very far.  Some of us tried to go see the "Queen's Head" but it was too crowded.  This is a natural formation that resembles a woman's head.  It was very disappointing because we came this far and were not able to see more of the park.  We were a little wet because we were unprepared for the rain.  Below are some pictures that I took of the park when I visited Taiwan in 2018.

Rock formations at Yehliu Geopark

More Rock Formations

"Queen's Head"

Instead of going to 5 places we managed only 2.  But, the important thing is everyone had fun.  Sightseeing is not the most important reason for the trip.  Being together and enjoying new places is what is important.

Going to Night Markets is a "must" in Taiwan.  This is part of the culture, just like Christmas Markets are part of the culture in Europe.  There are night markets all over Taiwan.  In Taipei the two most popular night markets are Shilin and Ningxia.  We were planning to go to one of the two or both.  However, most days, by end of the day, we were quite tired.  Luckily, there is a night market not far from our hotel.  It is a 10-minute walk to the Banqiao Night Market. 

During the day, this is a regular street for cars and pedestrians.  In the late afternoon vendors start setting up their stands or booths.  Most vendors sell food but others also have games, souvenirs, toys, etc.  Each try to be different to attract customers.  After a couple of hours we were tired and walked slowly back to the hotel.  Below are pictures from the Banqiao Night Market

They called it Chinese pizza but it's scallion pancake

There are games too

Esme eyeing some toys

Mai-lon found some food she likes

They found an actual indoor restaurant