Geo Parks, Waterfalls and Sky Lanterns
Yehliu Geo Park
It’s cooler (mid twenties), overcast with the odd patch of drizzle today. We walk to the nearby Ximen subway station to meet our 8:15am tour.
Our first stop is Yehliu Geo Park. This is on a narrow promontory on the rocky coastline. The coastline in this area is big for the crab industry.
The park is very cool. Erosion from the waves and weather have created some very cool rock formations. The most famous formation is the Queen’s Head rock. This rock reminds both John and I of the Nefertiti head. Unfortunately the Queen’s Head is more like another queen; Marie Antoinette. The neck of 
this formation is eroding so quickly that they expect it to break within five years.
There are a number of other really neat formations including Maling Bird Rock, Cute Princess rock, mushroom rocks and more.
Shifen Waterfall
Our next stop is a beautiful waterfall in Shifen. It is raining at this point. There is a small Buddhist shrine near the waterfall with the four faced Buddha. There are ponds of goldfish near the shrine.
Sky Lanterns in Shifen
A short bus ride from the waterfall is the old coal mining town of Shifen. Now sky lanterns and tourism are their main income.
But first we eat. We take our guide’s recommendation and have deboned chicken wings stuffed with rice and for dessert a crepe wrapped around ice cream and cilantro leaves which are surprisingly good together..who’d have thought?
The sky lanterns are the main attraction here. People buy these big paper lanterns and paint their messages and wishes on the lanterns four sides. Different colours on the lanterns mean different types of wishes.
Then a person from the shop takes the people and lantern to the train tracks that run through the centre of the town. They light oil soaked paper tied to the bottom of the lantern and place it in the people’s hands so that they can release their hopes, dreams and prayers to the sky; to the universe. So many people, so many dreams.
John and I had decided not to do it, but when we get there and see others doing it, it just seemed so positive and beautiful. We just had to release our own lantern. Click here for a short video.
About ten minutes after we did it, a train came through the tracks where everyone was letting their lanterns go. Didn’t see that coming. Somehow everyone knew to move in advance… not good for business to have people run over by a train just after releasing their lantern of wishes.
Jiufen
Our final stop is to the mountain town of Jiufen. Our guide takes us to a covered area of narrow alleyways filled with mom and pop shops, restaurants and tea houses crammed together. Food was the most prominent and everyone seemed to be offering free tea, wine, sweets and food samples. I have no idea what half 
the things I ate were but it was so much fun.
John and I take in a lot of the mountainside views looking down onto the coastline below. We also find the A-Mei Teahouse, which apparently is a big deal due to the Spirited Away movie. The tea house is in an old blacksmith shop.
Motorbikes in Taipei
We are dropped off from our tour at the subway entrance near our apartment. At the stop light, there are tons and tons of scooters and motorcycles waiting to go. James, our guide said there are 23 million people in Taiwan and 15 million motorcycles/scooters. It reminds me of Vietnam.
Red House
On the walk back to our apartment we pass the Red House which is a historic building currently used as a weekend market and for cultural events.