Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen

On our second last day in Taipei, we went to Shifen Waterfall, Shifen Old Street, Jiufen Old Street and Keelung Miaokow Night Market. Did quite a fair bit of research on where and how to go to somewhere in and around Taipei, not really keen to take a taxi because there were 5 of us. Decided to save all the troubles of arranging and we did not have the luxury of time to get lost too. So we purchased Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen from Klook.

Here’s the itinerary:
9:50am meet up at GaKuDen Bakery (near exit 4 of Ximen Station)
10:00am depart for Shifen Waterfall
It happened that we stayed in Ximending and it’s only 5 minutes walk to Ximen Station Exit 4 from our hotel. It is not a guided tour, you are free to roam around the attractions. Just be sure to get back to the bus on the said time.

11:00am Shifen Waterfall (60 minutes)

It was such a hot day, hotter than in Kuching. By the way, be sure to have insect repellent with you, you don’t want to be mozzie’s feast.

Walked across the bridge to the other side…

You’ll be greeted with food and souvenirs.

Be sure to have comfortable shoes with you. It’s a bit of a walk if you want to go further up for a different kind of view. Don’t worry, the road is paved, average slope, and some staircase. Don’t worry about tracking any rugged paths. This is the view that you will see. We had only 60 minutes, so can’t stay too long there. However, it’s enough for us, it is just too hot. The main thing to see is this waterfall.

12:10pm Shifen Old Street (80 minutes)

Our next stop is to hunt for lunch. This is where you can decorate and set off a sky lantern along the historic railway tracks in Shifen. The street made up of two rows of shops and the railway track dividing them. The track is still used, you will have to clear the track when the train is coming.

We did not set off any sky lantern nor written anything on the bamboo. Just strolled the old street. Many shops selling sky lanterns, souvenirs(edible and inedible), and street food.

We had our lunch at Shi Fen Qie Zai Mian at the far end of the row of shops at the railway track area. All the pork dish you can get. Seating is limited, so be sure to act fast. Don’t bother about queuing, just sit when you see one.

Can’t quote remember what was ordered, there’s some parts of pork, dumpling, and noodle. Food price range from NT$30 to NT$300. By the way, no English in the menu.

Next stop, we hop on the bus to Jiufen Old Street.

2:10pm Jiufen Old Street (120 minutes)

It’s an uphill walk when we reached Jiufen. On weekdays, you do not need to worry about needing to fork out extra for get another shuttle to get in, the bus will be parked nearby and you can just walk. It will be tricky on weekend as certain road will be closed and you need to get on a shuttle to get into the old street which is not included in the package.

It was such a hot day. We had to climb up so many staircase… Oh man… Torturing. There’s crowd but not as bad. Weekend would be sardine packed!

We had not much mood at all, we just walked around and went to the meeting point half hour before the departure time. Ate nothing there too even though our bus driver told us that there’s more food here than Shifen.

Hearing so many people said Jiufen is a must-go and so on. Well… This one time is good enough for me. Not really my kind of place. Too touristy, things aren’t really cheap. Same goes to Shifen. Oh well… What do you expect? These are tourist attractions hahaha…

4:40pm Keelung Miaokow Night Market (90 minutes)

Time to hunt for dinner! So much to eat and didn’t know where to start.

All you need to do is walk around, buy and eat or takeaway. We had combination of both.

Be sure to head back to the pick-up and drop-off area to get back to XiMenDing.