Taiwan Trip Day 2 - Keelung & Danshui

The bridal shop arranged for us to stay at K Hotel which is just a 5 minutes walk from the bridal shop. We did not have too much expectations since it is just a 3-4 star hotel, and we are glad that the hotel is clean and the bed is firm.

Since we do not have much things to do before our gown fitting at 5pm, I wanted to go to Danshui to top up my supply of ginger tea. After our breakfast at the hotel, we walked to Keelung Railway station.

According to the Guide to Taipei website, there is a North Coast Shuttle Bus that set off from Keelung Railway station every half and hour to Danshui on weekends. However, after checking with the staffs from the Visitor Information Center, we were told that the bus will only go to Yehliu, and we've to take a public bus from Yehliu to Danshui. On top of that, the next bus will set off only 1.5 hours later. The staff recommended us to either take the train to Taipei Main Station, then take MRT to Danshui, or take public bus 862 directly to Danshui, but this will take us at least 2.5 hours. We decided to take bus 862 since we have some time to kill and to see the scenic Northern Coast Line along the way. After a 3.5 hours bus ride, we finally reach Danshui. Unless you really have a lot of time to kill, this route is not recommended.

We had our lunch at Dark Palace Taiwanese Gourmet (黑殿饭店) which is famous among locals for its pork ribs rice (猪排饭).

After lunch, we roam around Danshui Old Street to look around, and more importantly, to buy ginger tea (黑金传奇姜母茶). I'll always make it a point to visit Danshui whenever I travel to Taiwan to buy this brand of ginger tea, which was recommended by a colleague years ago. You just need to pour hot water to dissolve the solid and drink the mixture. Drinking ginger tea has various health benefits, and I drink it to prevent cold and relieve menstruation cramps.

Danshui is also famous for its A-Gei (阿給 - fried toufu stuffed with glass noodles and mushrooms), Ah Po iron egg (阿婆铁蛋 - small egg which has been repeatedly stewed), Xu Yi Yu Shu (许義鱼酥 - fish cracker), and not forgetting the famous Lover's Bridge at Fisherman Wharf (渔人码头情人桥). 

This time, we did not go to Fisherman Wharf since my aim is to buy the ginger tea, so I attached an old photo I took to show you this famous bridge. 

We took a cab back to Keelung, and went for our gown fitting. After the gown fitting, we wanted to have our dinner at Miaokou Night Market, but there was an over-whelming crowd at the night market. In the end, we took away the glutinous oil rice (油饭) from Store 10, corn from a random store, Yan Su Ji  (盐酥鸡 - Fried Chicken seasoned in salt and pepper) from Store 35 and MacDonald's pork burger and had our dinner in our hotel room to stay away from the crowds.

Up Next: Taiwan Trip Day 3 - PWS with Cannes Wedding Studio
Previously: Taiwan Trip Day 1 - Keelung

Taiwan Trip Day 1 - Keelung

We reach Taipei at about 5.45pm. This is the 4th time I'm visiting Taiwan, and I never got tired of coming to this country that offers different experiences in its different season and cities. The first thing that we did after picking up our luggage is to buy the 10 days Chunghwa Telecom prepaid card in order to have Internet connection throughout our holiday. There are counters selling such pre-paid cards before you pass through the immigration counters, but we bought ours at the counters after we came out from the arrival halls.

Our driver arranged by Cannes Wedding Studio (台灣坎城婚紗攝影) picked us up promptly at the airport, and drop us off at the bridal shop which is situated in Keelung. The ride took about 45 minutes, and throughout the journey, we were chatting with the driver regarding the weather, Keelung and anything under the sun. Taiwanese are well known to be warm and friendly, and this was also well evident from the way we were welcomed by the staffs of the bridal shop. After some introductions, Nydia, our coordinator, gave us a map to show us the way to Miaokou Night Market from our hotel, and recommended some must try food from the market.

We made our way to this famous night market in Keelung after depositing our luggage at K Hotel (柯达大饭店) which is a 5 minutes walk from the bridal shop.

The first food that we tried was the Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice) from Tian Yi Xiang (天一香卤肉饭 - store 31), situated right in the middle of the night market.

Not sure if it was because we were very hungry, but we gobbled down this heavenly Lu Rou Fan in less than 2 minutes. Next, we move on to fill our stomach with Yan Su Ji  (盐酥鸡 - Fried Chicken seasoned in salt and pepper) from Store 35, pork sausage (一口吃香肠) from store 43, oyster omelette (蚵仔煎) from store 36, and drowning all these with the Taiwan milk tea.

With a satisfied stomach, we went back to our hotel and call it a day.

Up Next: Taiwan Trip Day 2 - Keelung & Danshui