11 January 2016
Our original plan was to do a day trip to Juifen and Keelung but we changed our mind and decided to make a day trip to Jiaoxi and LuoDong instead. This was because of an interesting documentary on Jiaoxi we saw on TV, and that we had been to Juifen and Keeling before. Located in Yilan County along the east coast of Taiwan, Jiaoxi is a small town with lots of hot springs and a 3-tier waterfall.
We took the Kamalan Bus to Jiaoxi in the Yilan County from the Taipei Bus Station. 50 minutes journey on the express bus that goes via a tunnel through the mountains to the Yilan County. Ticket costs 104 NT/person.
The bus dropped us at a bus terminus stop near the Jiaoxi Hot Springs Park. We visited the tourist information center located at the park and obtained directions for the shuttle bus to Wufengchi Scenic Area. Shuttle bus fare was 20 NT/pax but the bus was not frequent. The bus stop was just across from the Jiaoxi Hot Springs Park. There was some time before the next bus, so we went to the footbath at Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park for a quick soak.
The natural hot spring water that flows through the free public footbath is about 41 degree C near to the source of the spring. Yes, there was a electronic thermometer showing the termperature. It was slightly cooler (about 39 deg C) in the pools at bit further downstream from the source. The footbath was practically deserted this early morning. We started in a pool with the lower temperature and worked our way to the hotter pool after some time.
After about 20 minutes of soaking, we put on our socks and shoes, got to the bus stop to take the shuttle bus to the Wufengchi Scenic Area where we planned to walk a hiking trail that leads to the Wufenchi waterfall.
The bus was a little late but the journey to Wufengchi was short. The weather in this part of Taiwan is rainy but the rain is light and brief. It started to rain a little as we started our walk, but we were prepared with our rain jackets and an umbrella we borrowed from the City Inn 3 Hotel. The trailhead was just where we got off from the bus and we followed a paved road next to a small stream that led us to a dam.
Continuing on, there were signs that showed the trail to the waterfall. The trail followed a stream uphill and we soon crossed a small bridge.
We soon reached a waterfall, just behind a small pavilion. A stone sign told us this is the second tier waterfall. We did not see any first tier waterfall. The dam must have been considered the first tier.
We wanted to continue on to the third tier of the waterfall further upstream but the trail was closed due to damage from a recent typhoon. We took a leisurely walk back to the starting point as there was plenty of time before the next scheduled bus.
Our next destination was the Wen Yao Chicken (甕窯雞) restaurant and we decided to take a taxi there as it would be an hour before the next bus back to Jiaoxi town. Even after taking the bus, we still need to change to a taxi to get to the restaurant. Hence, a taxi would be more convenient and faster. We went to the tourist information center at the Wufenchi bus stop and got the help of the staff to call a taxi for us.
The Wen Yao restaurant is located on the outskirt of Jiaoxi town, next to highway leading into the town. This restaurant is a must try for visitors to Jiaoxi. We knew about it from the documentary we saw on TV
Quite an interesting way to cook and eat a chicken. The chicken were roasted in huge clay oven jars and served whole and hot to diners.
The restaurant sells the whole chicken (they don’t sell halves) for 670 NT and also local vegetables that we ordered from a counter. Best way was to eat the roast chicken with fresh mountain vegetables and no rice.
We put on thick cotton gloves (for insulation) and thin plastic gloves (for cleanliness) before tearing apart the piping hot chicken with our hands.
Soup was free of charge and self serviced from a large pot. There were plenty of fresh bamboo shoots in it and it was quite tasty.
After lunch, we took a taxi back to Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park to soak our feet again in the free hot spring footbath. There is a cafe selling very nice coffee and the young man who served us was so friendly and nice. He told us to let the coffee cool down a little (85 degree C was what he said) before drinking and it would taste best. He was right. We are free to bring the coffee to drink by the footbath. Sipping hot coffee, with our feet in the hot water on a cool rainy day…what a feeling.
This time, in the afternoon, there were more people (locals and tourists) but the area is big enough for all. We soaked till our feet turned pink and then it was time to move on to the next park.
Jiaoxi is a small town and everything is within walking distance. We walked to Tangweigou Hotspring Park where there were more hotspring footbath but not as nice as the one at Jiaoxi Hotspring Park. Here, as the name implies in Chinese, people sit along a small narrow drain or canal (gou) where the hot spring water gushes by. Not as spacious as Jiaoxi Park. But there are more food stalls and activities here, including fish spa where you could let the small fishes nibble away dead skin cells from your feet. For a fee.
We visited the Chilli Hunters chilli pepper shop just next to the Tangweigou park. The shop sells products made from chili peppers grown around the world.
A must try is the Chilli Ice Cream.
Chart showing the different level of hotness.
We saw a person trying the hottest Chilli Ice Cream. Her face turned red after a mouthful. We tried the mild hot Chilli Ice Cream which had no kick and also bought some chilli-based snacks to bring home.
We lazed around Tangweigou Park for a while before walking back to the Jiaoxi Train Station. Lo and behold. There is even a small hot spring footbath just outside the station.
We took the local train (25 NT/person) to Luodong from the Jiaoxi Train Station. It was a short and scenic ride, passing rice fields and the rural landscape. Unfortunately, it was cloudy. Else the views with the setting sun would be even better.
The plan was to visit the Night Market in Luodong for dinner. Luodong Night Market (羅東夜市) is a short walk from the Luodong train station and located next to a park. We came here for the food. We did some research using google before hand and went to look for the famous Mutton Soup Stall. Ah Du Po Mutton Soup (阿灶伯當歸羊肉) Stall 1094.
We were lucky to be able to get a table in front of the stall as it was still early. Normally, there would be a queue.
The stall also serves good fried stinky tofu to go with the soup.
Light rain came and went again and we tried several other street food and fresh fruit juice. We had also very nice red bean soup dessert as recommended by a friendly shop owner.
From Luodong, we could either take a train or bus back to Taipei. The bus would be faster, thanks to the highway that tunnels though the mountain whilst the train would need to make a detour round the mountain. The bus station is next to the train station and using google map, we found our way to the bus station quite easily. We took the Kamalan Bus (135 NT/person) back to Taipei Bus Station. Journey was about an hour on this express bus.
Where we stayed at Taipei?
We chose to stay at the CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch III, within walking distance to the Taipei Main Station for convenience. The Taipei Main Station is a transportation hub for regional and local trains, High Speed Rail (HSR), all the subway lines, airport limousine bus and buses to nearby towns. There are also many malls and eateries nearby.
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