It's Sunday & tomorrow marks the last day of the Chinese New Year Celebration... Yesterday, we had witnessed the snaking Q at the Taipei Zoo Station, where people queued for the bus heading to Pingxi as they held their annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival... As 元宵節 is marked by lanterns display in the city, the train's branch line of Pingxi holds an annual celebration by releasing sky lanterns... a tradition started in the 3 Kingdoms Era (三國時代).
Riko waiting at Ruifang Station
In the morning, we bought some sushi from the neighbourhood bakery & headed to Taipei Main Railway Station... we set off early as we needed to take a train to Ruifang Station (瑞芳) before we could change to Pingxi Line (平溪綫). There are a few stops along the Pingxi line and wif a 1-day rail-pass, you can board & alight at any of the stops. We alighted at the first stop Shifen (十分). As the platform is narrow, we had to wait patiently to make our way up... The place is flooding wif visitors from all over, both domestic & international travellers... We went to the souvenir shop to buy the local postcard, which comes in a variety & materials such as paper, wood or metal! We whipped out our notebooks to collect inked stamps... 
We strolled along the railway line & saw shops selling souvenirs and sky lanterns lining both sides of the railway... I have always wana play wif sky lanterns & finally the opportunity is here! Ruby suggested to purchase the Orange & Blue lantern as it symbolises Love & Career. We had to squat by the railway & pen our wishes using the traditional ink & brush! Haha! It's so challenging to write in that manner! There's even a card that spells all the chinese idioms shld you at lost of words! Hence, Ruby & I wrote our wishes respectively & when the shop's lady flipped over the lantern, then we realised we shld write according to the symbolic colours!
When we had completed our writing, the shop's lady helped us to open up the lantern & lit it... both of us were to pose wif our lantern! Her young boy of around 9 yrs old took photos for us like a Pro! After numerous shots, at the count of 1,2,3, we released the lantern into the skies! It's a great feeling! Marking the CNY, we hope that 2012 will be a better year for us! Thereafter, we strolled to a suspending bridge & it's really sweltering under the noon sun! Pingxi area is prone to rainfall for 200 days each year & we were really lucky to get a sunny day!
From the bridge, we tried to find our way to the Shifen Waterfall... it's really a long walk. Upon arriving, we had to purchase admission tickets. When we caught sight of the waterfall, its powerful force gave us a free shower! Take it as a cooling respite! Ruby was excited when we saw rainbow too! Subsequently, we even saw double rainbow at the waterfall! We spent some time taking photos here...
We cabbed back to the Shifen Station as it's too hot & tiring... At the station, it's a nightmare as we had to jostle wif the horrendous crowd to board the train... I'm afraid of a stampede too as people were pushing! Due to the overwhelming crowd, trains were delayed & schedule changed... I decided we shld train to the final stop of Jing Tong. When we alighted at Jing Tong Station (菁桐), it's a relief to get off & have some fresh air! We immediately went to grab a late lunch... After lunch, we ventured near the station & took photos at the railway. I was delighted to come here as it's the filming site of the taiwanese movie 《那些年，我們一起追的女孩》!
As nearing sunset, we had to squeeze up the train again to get back to city... we were dead-beat!!! However, it's already the last night in Taipei for us... so ruby suggested we proceed to a night market. We opted for Shida Night Market (師大夜市) as I had never go before... Dragging my blistered feets, I persisted on. Upon exiting the MRT, I saw a shoes shop & went in to check out the Converse shoes. I had always wanted to buy a pair and the price here is 30% cheaper! Since I didn't shop much previous days, I bought a pair of black basic Converse. Happy wif my purchase, we shopped around the night market which is popular among students & tourists... To round off our night, we kept searching for Arnold's Crepe (阿諾可麗餅) stall! We bought a Strawberry Crepe wif drink & enjoyed the big & yummy crepe on the streets! On our way to the MRT, ruby said gotta try the hand-make buns from this popular Yong Feng Sheng (永豐盛). Since the Q was shorter now, we bought a pork bun & a milk mantou. Thou the buns were cold when we reached hotel, I still like the pork bun ^_^
Taipei's Food Collage
Oh dear, it's packing night as I gotta squeeze all the stuff into my lugguage for tomorrow's check-out! I really dislike packing :(
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