After dropping off our bags at our home stay, we wandered around Jiufen for awhile (check in wasn’t until 3:00pm). We explored all of the beautiful lantern lined stalls, and tried the infamous stinky tofu (it was so good)! Stinky tofu is fermented tofu with cabbage, sauce and lots of chilies. The tofu is fermented in different things, depending on the establishment, but it is often fermented in greens and herbs and somtimes fish sauces. A lot of people seem to hate stinky tofu because….it’s stinky. It’s a bit difficult to eat something that you can smell from 12 city blocks away! Some people say it smells like old gym socks or rotten feet, I prefer to describe the smell as “roadkill rotting in the street for 48 hours, with a side of hockey changeroom”.

We also tried a tea egg, which was surprisingly salty and not tea flavoured at all!

We also explored a gorgeous temple off the beaten path, that offered an amazing view of the city! It really is important to get off the beaten path in Jiufen, that’s where our best memories of the city were made!

After trying so many foods, we started in search of a place to have a beer to wash it all down! Along the roadway that led to our hotel, we found a place with a gorgeous balcony that overlooked the entire city. Here we had a well deserved beer and a delicious steamed veggie plate to share, while looking out at the views over Jiufen (the sun was setting too!).

We then checked into our hotel. Our room was a 3 minute hike up hill from the reception building. The room was very nice, with a balcony overlooking the city (sadly it was raining so hard, and the balcony was not covered).

We then set out, umbrellas in hand, for a night time explore of Jiufen, after the day tourists had left the city.