YeinJee's Asian Journal » Taiwan Tour 2008

De An Eatery, Fonglin, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:59:45 +0000

Had lunch at this De An Eatery (德安小吃) during my Taiwan trip in May 2008 at the small town of Fonglin in Hualian County, en route to Taichung City. The food was quite nice, and I loved their pork knuckles…

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De An Eatery, Fonglin, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Taiwan visit 2008 – random photos (1)

Yein Jee — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:15:59 +0000

Some random photos from my Taiwan visit in April/May 2008…

The plane I was boarding from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei

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Taiwan visit 2008 – random photos (1) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Local delicacies in Jiufen, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:31:07 +0000

Some local foods in Jiufen, a small town in Taiwan which I visited in late April 2008…

Caramel haw (冰糖葫芦; bingtang hulu) is a traditional Chinese candy made by dipping haw-on-a-stick in hot caramel… it can be done with other fruits as well, obviously

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Local delicacies in Jiufen, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Jade museum in Hualian, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 07:33:47 +0000

Visited a jade museum in Hualian, Taiwan, on May 1. Museum is an overstatement actually, it’s basically a big shop (really big) selling jades and other precious stones of different sizes and prices. A pretty interesting visit regardless…

Variety of jade vases and containers

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Jade museum in Hualian, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

7-Eleven in Hualian, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:33:15 +0000

It has become a habit of mine to visit franchises like 7-Eleven or McDonald’s when I visit to different countries. Although they are similar in every countries, normally each places would have their own unique stuff that are not available elsewhere.

It has also become a habit of mine to taste different (local) beer and instant noodles when I visit different countries…

Taiwan beer, at a 7-Eleven store in Hualian… very mild

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7-Eleven in Hualian, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Taiwanese aboriginal dance

Yein Jee — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:44:35 +0000

An aboriginal dance performance (video) in Hualian, during my Taiwan visit in late April. The video quality is rather poor because I was recording using a digital camera and not a viewcam, but it should be pretty cool if you have not witnessed similar stuff before…

There are about a dozen aboriginal tribes recognised in Taiwan, not sure which particular tribal dance it was.

The Taiwanese aborigines’ culture actually shares similarities with the aborigines in South East Asia, including my homeland Malaysia. They are all considered as Austronesian people who shared the same ancestors some thousands of years ago.

In fact, the bamboo-stick-dance in the video can be seen in Philippines and Malaysia-Borneo as well. It’s a small world after all :)

Taiwanese aboriginal dance from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Cixingtan, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:22 +0000

Cisingtan (literally ‘Seven Star Lake’ in Chinese) is a beautiful coastline near the city of Hualian in eastern Taiwan. It got its name from the seven swamps that were scattered like fallen stars throughout the wetland that once covered the area.

What remained these days is just a nice beach with a lovely sea view.

Qisingtan, Hualian, Taiwan

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Cixingtan, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Taroko National Park, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:47:14 +0000

Taroko National Park was supposed to be one of the highlights during my Taiwan tour, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.

Most of the scenic spots could only be fully viewed via foot trekking… and we didn’t have the luxury to do so due to time constraint. Well, that’s the downside for travelling via an organised tour.

The Eternal Spring Shrine

The Eternal Spring Shrine was one of the very few highlight scenic spots we visited, and this too was under renovation during our visit… it’s not our day obviously

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Taroko National Park, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Nan Tian Temple, Suao, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:12:12 +0000

Nan Tian Temple (Nantiangong) in Suao is one of the most famous temples in Taiwan with its 200kg pure gold Mazu figurine as well as another Mazu figurine carved from a piece of huge jade.

The rooftop of Nan Tian Temple and the small port opposite the temple

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Nan Tian Temple, Suao, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Vintage town of Jiufen, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:24:55 +0000

Jiufen (or Jioufen) is a small town in northern Taiwan famous for its nostalgic old street, food and ocean view. Jiufen was a prosperous gold mining town since 1890s but its popularity faded as the gold resource was depleting since 1950s.

Jiufen was given a new life in 1989 when award winning movie “A City of Sadness” (directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien and starred Tony Leung etc.) was filmed there. Jiufen has become a popular tourist spot since then and a favourite weekend getaway location for Taipei folks.

The most iconic spot in Jiufen, made famous by A City of Sadness

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Vintage town of Jiufen, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan

Yein Jee — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:57:20 +0000

Yehliu (野柳) is located at the north coast of Taiwan, and is famous for the peculiar shaped stones carved by the sea erosion.

The most famous scenic spot is called the Queen’s Head… easy to spot right?

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Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal