When I decided to visit Taiwan at the end of 2023, I only had a few goals 🎯 in mind:
- ⛰️Visit Jiu Fen Old Street
- 🚶♀️Visit Bitoujiao Trail
- 🎆Watch the Taipei 101 New Year’s Eve fireworks
That was my entire itinerary 😂
No transport planning, no research on accommodation, no list of shops or cafés to visit. Nothing elaborated.
I even booked my hotel in Taipei one day before my flight ✈️ while sitting on the floor at KLIA, trying to find a power socket to use my laptop as I waited to board.
As for my hotel 🏨 in Jiu Fen, guess what?
I booked that one the day before I went there too 😬
I barely did any research (or none at all), and “going with the flow” 🍃 was my motto at the time. I mean, what could go wrong?
The only thing I knew about Taiwan was that it was considered one of the safest destinations for solo female travellers.
Well…
Things did not turn out as planned 🥲
😲The Jiu Fen Surprise
First of all, I had no idea that Jiu Fen Old Street was located up in the mountain, with narrow and steep roads 🛣️
In fact, most of the roads around Jiu Fen Old Street are only accessible by motorcycle 🛵 because they are too narrow for larger vehicles. So, being dropped off directly near my hotel was almost impossible.
But of course, I didn’t know that before arriving.
I booked a taxi 🚖 at Keelung, expecting to be dropped off somewhere close to my accommodation. Instead, the driver decided it was a good idea to drop me at the bottom entrance.
To be fair, his explanation made sense: it was close to New Year’s, so Jiu Fen was extremely busy with tourists and tour buses. On top of that, it was drizzling 🌧️ that day, which made the traffic even worse.
So, I thought 🤔
“Okay, it probably won’t be too far to walk up to the hotel.” 🤷♀️
I was wrong.
As I dragged my 15 kg suitcase🧳uphill along the steep roads, I kept telling myself:
“Trust the process.” 🧘♀️
🪜The Staircase Situation
When I finally (almost) reached the hotel, I discovered a narrow flight of stairs leading up to the entrance🚪
With a 15 kg suitcase, there was absolutely no way I could carry it up myself.
I called🤳 the hotel and asked if they had a porter service.
They didn’t 🥲 The staff mentioned that this information was stated on their website. I checked again but couldn’t find anything relevant. However, they were kind enough to cancel my booking without any charge 😮💨
🔍Finding Another Place
Now needing accommodation for the night 🌃 I quickly found another hotel.
This time, I made sure to check whether it was accessible.
Well… it was almost accessible.
The hotel had two entrances, and of course, I arrived at the back entrance, which required me to climb several flights of stairs because my room was on the fourth floor.
Thankfully, the hotel staff were incredibly kind and helped carry my luggage upstairs 🥰 I was genuinely grateful for their help 🙏
🥰The Unexpected Favourite
What made the whole experience even more unexpected was that Jiu Fen became one of my favourite places in Taiwan despite the rough start 🫠
The misty weather, glowing lanterns 🏮 and maze-like alleyways created an atmosphere that felt completely different from Taipei. After all the stress of finding accommodation and dragging my suitcase up the mountain, I eventually found myself sitting with a warm drink, taking in the surroundings, and thinking:
“Maybe getting lost in the process is part of the adventure.”
I like the place, so much, I decided to stay another night in Jiu Fen.
By then, I thought:
“I guess I’ve learned my lesson. I should really research before travelling.”
But this wasn’t actually my first travel mishap 🙈
When I visited Cairns, QLD for the first time, something similar happened too.
Apparently, learning from my mistakes is not my strongest skill 😂
But that’s a story 📖 for another time.