Train Crazed Day Four

Day Four - Tuesday, March 23


With a foreboding weather report slated for the end of the week, we decided to take another adventurous day out early on in their trip. This was a special trip with a train crazy boy in mind... we took the MRT to the train station then hopped on a train headed east to Ruifang where we transferred to another train along a quaint line called the Pingxi Branch Line. So that was already 3 trains... we spent the rest of the afternoon getting on and off trains to look at different sites (well, we actually cut it down to just two stops) - it was a beautiful trip!

We started our trip like everyone else with our lunch boxes on the train! I don't think Dad nor Lynne have ever really done that before... what a kick to eat with chopsticks on a train with no table... they caught on pretty quickly.

We had a few minutes between stops so Helena got a bit of tumbling action in and Tony got in a bit of weight-lifting (though I'm not sure if this exercise is in any of the books).

Little Miss Independent got a bit of time to roam before being strapped back into her stroller... here's a rare moment she actually sat still. She's finally starting to get into books - though she still hasn't really worked out which way is up.

Our first stop was Shifen

It was a quaint township which has been beefed up a bit for tourists lately, but you still knew there was authentic life going on here... it was a cool place and we could've just stayed here all afternoon (if we wanted to just sit back, relax and chat over a coffee - but heck, that's totally over-rated, right?).

We had some fun on the suspension bridge - we actually got to go across two of them and Hunter was fascinated each time...

though from her stroller, little Helena wasn't all that impressed.

Our destination - the Shifen Waterfall!!! It was a beautiful scene before us and a totally man-made tourist park behind, but it was still worth the 30 minute walk along the river to get there. Plus the park was fun for the kids to run around in for a bit after all that train-sitting and path-walking.

We could be anywhere in the world, eh?!? Good thing we were here together in Taiwan! We love sharing 'our' island with the rest of our family.

Tony and I were giving this horse a run for it's money... when was the last time it had to hold xxxkg?? Oh wait, maybe it weighs more than us anyway!

Hunter has become very thoughtful and good at sharing.

Our second/last stop was at the end of the line in Jingtong where we were planning to have dinner at a 'famous' restaurant listed in the Lonely Planet (and although our book is over 5 years old, my friends assured me the info was still accurate), unfortunately, it wasn't listed that the restaurant is closed Monday & Tuesday... so we ended up eating noodles and some other fried food while waiting for the last train. Oops!!!

We didn't mind waiting for the last train because we had planned to send off some sky lanterns - so it was better that it was dark. However, as we were setting up our lanterns, other groups of people were already sending theirs up - with firecrackers attached!!! Well, this sent Helena into a frenzy and she spent the rest of the evening glued to either Tony or myself with her head buried into our necks screaming at high decibels into our ears... she's really become afraid of loud noises in the dark.

But we did manage to send off four lanterns - which was a unique experience for Dad and Lynne and the kids... the sky lanterns really are pretty cool looking.

By the time we got home (after 9pm) we had been on at least 7 trains!!! Not bad for a day out... not bad at all!

And morning and long evening were the fourth day.