Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Day 3: Danshui Joyful Life Tour

  

     This is the first tour lined up for the day.  I was supposed to meet my guide, Ms. Alice, at the Danshui MRT station at 8:00 a.m. and I just made it in time though I thought I was going to be late.  When I got there, Ms. Alice introduced me to another guide, Ms. Annick.  I was surprised to have two guides for the day.  I guess I was just lucky!

     We spared no time and then we headed off to the bus station to catch bus R26 going to Fort San Domingo.  I bought a Taipei one-day tourist pass, and what do you know?  The bus we rode doesn't accept payment from the pass so I had to pay coins.  I offered to pay the fare for my guides by they politely declined and told me they're supposed to pay for their own.

     Once we got to the Fort, we learned it was still closed and will not open until mid-morning.  A kind lady who works for the Fort told us so, and we asked her where to get some breakfast because we're all hungry.  We were told that there are a lot of eateries at the other side of the Aletheia University and so, we went to find those eateries.

     Well, we entered Aletheia University and it seems as if school's out because there were no students milling around.  It was a school holiday, I think.  The school grounds are well-maintained and it's quite a walk from end to end.  It was tiring to walk under the sun but the tree-lined campus grounds made up for it; the school's definitely pretty.

     When we reached the other side of the university, we tried to find an open eatery, and we were lucky!  My guides told me that there are always cheap but delicious food near campuses.  Yup, they're right and it is true in Taiwan as it is true in the Philippines, too!  But little did I know that my venture into finding something to eat will continue until dinner time.  Yes, my tour became a culinary tour of Taipei. Lol!

     So, for breakfast, since I could not understand the menu at all, Ms. Annick and Ms. Alice translated it for me.  We were given a piece of paper and we had to tick the items we want.  They ordered for me and it was egg-based, like an omelet, but more of a spring roll with egg and ham.  It was sort of heavy. I saw people eating it, so I wanted to eat those, too.

     After having some light snacks, we went back to the Fort and passed through the University again.  Outside, we saw a red, foreign looking bus with a of caucasian models shooting a beer commercial.  Lucky!  We pretended that we were not interested at all with the shooting but I managed to snap a couple of shots.

     Finally, we arrived at the Fort San Domingo.  It's on a steep hill, mind you, but an easy climb nonetheless. It's harder to walk going towards the University because it is steeper.  The Fort is one of the best places to view Danshui and the sunset.  There's even a marker telling visitors where to stand for picture taking to get the best panorama.  Cool, right?

     When we got into the Fort, we followed a Chinese-speaking guide and my tour guides translated the history of the Fort for me.  Apparently, it was called Hongmao Castle because the Dutch had red hair.  We toured the Fort and went to see the prison where we saw a rather large group of caucasian tourists with an English-speaking Taiwanese guide and  followed them around.  The guide had an American accent and for the rest of the tour, we stuck around with their group.  It appears that if you're in a large group, you can arrange for an English tour of Fort San Domingo with their administration office.

The guide from the Fort San Domingo office (in red),

has an American accent.  He's explaining about the prisons at the Fort

(the red walls on the middle of the room).

 This is where the prisoners used to stretch their legs.

Their own little corner of sunshine.

View of the mountain and river.

The Fort became an office for the British Consul.  And from the Fort,

you can see the house of the consul.

The Consul's residence. 

Canadian Exhibit at the  Consul's residence.

     While on the tour, we saw some stamps and stamp pads.  Apparently, we can collect stamp marks from the stamp stations not only at the Fort but also from other tourist attractions.  It's a great idea.  I had so much fun collecting stamp marks.  And they're all different!  So cute!

     Later on, we went to another museum, the Customs Officer's Residence, also known as Little White House, which was nearby.  There wasn't much to see, at least for me, but you can collect stamps and it's great for picture taking.  Besides, the garden is well maintained and the view's great.  Just look at this century-old tree.  What a beauty.

     As we headed to the Tamsui Old Street,, we passed by a lovely church and the attendants encouraged us to take a look inside

     We arrived at the Tamsui Old Street around 11 a.m. and it was teeming with people.  My guides led me to some food stalls and I ate a Taiwanese sausage for lunch, which I downed with milk tea and plum juice.  The plum juice was surprisingly great!  Apparently, you shouldn't leave the old street without drinking one.

     Since we were running late for the next tour, we rushed to the MRT station to meet another tourist for the Yangmingshan tour.