Enjoy my daydreams

    I would like to go to some places to take a walk for a while.  After Chinese New Year, I decided to visit Pingxi(平溪) with my cousin on March 1^st to 2^nd. The easy travel was for clean our bad emotions.

    I got up about seven in the Saturday morning and went to buy a rice ball for the breakfast.  Then, walked to take the train to Ruifang(瑞芳).  It should be a sunny day, but the sun was hided in the clouds.  It was not a good day for us.  The cable of the trans got a trouble so the trains were delay for a while.  My cousin and I arrived Ruifang about eleven thirty (it should be arrived before eleven).  However, we arrived Ruifang with many visitors finally.  A few clouds was on the sky, and it was a little warn.

    The time was almost noon, so we went to hunt some food to feed ourselves.  Jeez! My period has just come to me.  It was so inconvenient for travel.     Whatever, food first.  We saw a café sold strawberries with sugar-coating on the stick(草莓糖葫蘆) and other kinds.  I told my cousin I would like to have a stick of pickled-plums(醃梅) with sugar-coating(糖衣), and she ordered a stick of strawberries with sugar-coating for herself.  Then, we walked around the market but hunted nothing else because we did not want to have any normal meal. (ha ha~)

    I sensed I did not drink any water till that moment because of finding out a toilet in the crowed train was much inconvenient.  Then, we went to drink something.  We ordered two cold drinks without ice from 85^oC shop then went toward to the train station.  As we have checked from the webpage, I went to buy the one-day tour train’s tickets for us.  Unfortunately, they stopped to sell this tour package tickets due to too many people on that day.  Oh~ My goodness!!

    Immediately, we changed the schedule toward to the guesthouse which we booked before this trip first.  We went to take the train to Pingxi where the guesthouse we booked.  How many people were!!  We were pushed into the carriages by crowed people.  Fortunately, my cousin had a seat because she is pregnant.  I stood next to her.  There was almost no space between persons who stood in the carriages, but all of people were not angry or yelled.  Because we were on the train, we felt luck than the people who could not take this train.  The train was stopped at every station.  I heard some persons out and in.  Suddenly, I heard a loud knocked voice.  I saw toward to there.  A father hugged his daughter in front of his chest due to there were too many people.  Nevertheless, the father is very tall.  When he hugged his daughter up to his chest, her daughter’s head was knocked against the shaft with hanged ring-pulls.  The tears were out of the daughter’s eyes.  It should be much painful.  Her father said sorry to her and asked her to not cry.  The daughter did not cry, even the tears were next to her eyes.  Too many people went to there on that day!

    The train was stopped at Pingxi station, and we got off the train.  Oops, I forgot to bring my note which was remarked the address, phone call of the guesthouse on it.   Fortunately, the gusthouse's owner had sent a short message to my cell phone for T/T account information.  I got the phone call. (YA~ )  I called the owner and asked the direction for toward to there.  We decided to leave our big bags in the guesthouse first.  The guesthouse is not far from the train station, and the room is very clean and comfortable.  There are 6 rooms in the 2^nd floor, except living room & bathroom, and the shower with toilet is out of our room. The owner is a nice and friend lady.  We paid the rest of the one-night room fee to her, and she asked us if we would join the released sky lanterns with them at nine.  We were not sure when we would come back the guesthouse, so we did not join the actives with them.  After management our bags, we went to the streets to find out some snacks.

    First, we went to a shop to eat a bowl of sweet potato rice balls, yam rice balls, peanuts, red beans and green beans with hot sweet soup.  We heard a loud yell from people who were on the streets.  Some persons fell down from the train rail.  There are 5m height from the train rail to the floor.  Someone called an ambulance.  The injured persons were children. We did not hear any alarm from the ambulance, but the injured persons were rescued to the hospital. (We watched the news from TV news on Sunday.)

    After eating the sweet soup, we took a look for the shops on the streets.  The time was almost 16:50, so we moved toward to the station in order to go to Ching-Tung(菁桐) station. Due to it is a small area, there are just three carriages of that train.  We saw the crowed people in the carriages, and there was no any space for us.  My cousin got angry due to we awaited over an hour.  Too few carriages of a train to transfer the people for the holiday trip.  We calmed down and thought what if we went by walk.  The slow train is just taken 5 minutes from Pingxi to Ching-Tung station.  We checked the map, and it is just about 1km. I asked my cousin if she was able to walk about 1km.  She said yes she could walk to there.  Therefore, we planed to walk to next station.  Before we went, we should eat some food to get energy.  I lined to buy the roasted pork, and my cousin lined to buy the sausages. They looked very delicious. It took as us about 20 minutes for buying the food.  The roasted pork was tasted so rubbery, not juice. The sausage was tasted so so.

    We took a walk for a while (about taking 40 minutes, I forgot to check my watch.).  The sky became dark, but there were still a few people went toward there.  Finally, we arrived Ching-Tung, and there were many shops and cafes.  Also, a man played piano and sang the songs.  Due to the sky was dark, we planned to release the sky lantern later and here.  We needed to find out the shop which the blogs recommended to eat the ice with black sugar water.  We took a window shopping on the streets, and the packages of the goods are still same or similar as 40 years ago Taiwanese time.  I took some pictures.  The ice shop is almost end of the street, and we found it.  The dark night was a little bit cold, but who cared.  I still ordered a bowl of the ice with black sugar water and peanuts, red beans, pudding and sweet potato rice balls, yam rice balls.  So did my cousin.  It spent NTD50/bowl, so it was big for me.  It was real cold, and I wore my coat, then ate the bowl of ice.  Ha ha, it is really yummy.   Black sugar water was good, and peanuts, red beans, pudding and sweet potato rice balls, yam rice balls were also delicious.

    After eating the a bowl of ice, my cousin and I went to buy a sky lantern and wrote down our wishes on it.  We chose blue color, and the color means health.  My cousin wishes her childbirth will be smooth, her son grows up smoothly and falls in love with her husband for ever.  I wish my work is smooth and earn more and more money, lose my fat successfully, and happy in my life.  Then, the seller of the café helped us to fire oiled paper which was inside of the sky lantern and took the lantern photos for us.  The seller asked us to step on the end edge of lantern and held the four corners by ourselves.  Once the hot air inside the sky lantern was more and more, the shape of the sky lantern was more beautiful.  Right after that, the seller asked us to take our hands off, but still step the end of lantern edge on.  After the hot air was full of the lantern, the seller asked us to remove our feet away.  Afterwards, the sky lantern was gone toward the dark sky stably.  The sky lantern flied higher and higher, and that meant our wishes were going to become true. (They have to become true!!)

    We moved our feet from the rail due to the train was coming.  Next, we went for window shopping.  The time was very late, so we decided to take the train back to the guesthouse. Before that, we bought two eggs which boiled by tea leaves, then found out a seat to eat the eggs and waited the train.  We should warm our stomach because we just ate a bowl of ice only.  It was drizzling.   The tree is covered above us when we sit the seat.  We were eating the eggs and saw the other people to release their sky lanterns.  Some of their sky lantern flied not very stably because the hot air was not full enough, but the lanterns were still flied toward the dark sky. I told my cousin we would be dirty due to the drizzle would flush the ink which was written down on the sky lanterns.  The ink water would be on our faces, hair, clothes and “eggs”.     Ha ha ha ha ha ha ~   My cousin was laughing.

    The time missed the time table, and the train was not on time.  Fortunately, there were a few people for that train when the train arrived this station.  We all had a seat and went back to our destinations.  After we took off the train, we walked toward to the guesthouse.  Most of the shapes were still livened up on the streets.  I bought a cup of lemon tea with Yakult, because I drank less water today.  Both of us could not eat anymore.  Too full. XD 

    There were some guests who lived at the same guesthouse with us BBQ in front of the house.  My cousin and I went up stairs to take a shower first before they finished BBQ.  After shower, we chatted in our room.  It was one of our purposes to have a free talking at night.  We did not have any idea what time was suitable to get up.  So, we just chatted till both of us were tired and fell into sleep.

    Sunday morning (March 2^nd), I woke up about seven something but fell into sleep right away.  I heard people who slept at the same floor with us woke up and used the toilet.  They were nice to not make loud noise, so we slept still.  When I real wanted to get up, the time was about eight something.  I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and used toilet first.  My cousin also woke up and waited to use the bathroom.  After we arranged our bags and wore the clothes, we went to have a breakfast.  We returned the key to the owner and thanked her for an one-night stay.

    It was raining when we went out the guesthouse.  I thought the baby would like to eat something, so my cousin chose the shop which is just next to the guesthouse for the breakfast.  My cousin chose a hamburger with a milk-tea, and I ordered a set of fried noodles with black pepper sauce.  The meals were tasted so so.

    After the breakfast, we went toward to take the train to Shifen (十分).  The carriages of the train were not as crowed as last day.  We thought it was because raining day.  We had a seat to Shifen. When we arrived Shifen, it was still raining.  The café nearest the station was sold roasted chicken wings, and the sellers put something inside the wings.  It looked very delicious.  Of course, I ordered one for me, because I like chicken wings very much. (My cousin did not want to have it.  I thought her baby did not want to eat things at that moment.)   I ordered a chicken wing with pickled cabbage(泡菜) and stinky DoFu.  There were so many people would like to try it, too.  Regarding to the accent, I think some of the people are Korean or Japanese.  We awaited for a while, and then I got it.   It looked really yummy.  I took a photo before I bit it, then, I enjoyed it. The roasted chicken wing is so juicy and fantastic.   The meat was very tenderness, and the sauce was not very salty.  But, there were just one piece of pickled cabbage and one small piece of stinky DoFu inside the chicken wing.  The pickled cabbage and stinky DoFu were nothing for the taste.  The chicken wing won all of it.  I felt so content.    Actually, it is expensive.  But, it was okay, I just bought one for taste.

    My cousin bought several small pieces of cake for her and her baby.XD   Then, we took a look for each shop.  I bought a souvenir for myself.  We went to the tour center of Shifen.  I took some photos for the scene before we arrived there.

    After visiting the tour center of Shifen, we ate two bowls of flavored flour drink (麵茶).  It was just as the drink which we drank in our childhood.  It was still tasty. 

    Next, we went toward to Houtong(猴硐).  Jeez!!  It was still rain.  We went to find out some special snacks, but nothing special.   We visited information center and CoalTransportationBridge and took some photos.  It was not good weather to visit anywhere.  Nevertheless, I had tried to enjoy the scene.  It was one of my purposes. 

    We did not visit cat village due to we do not like cats very much and afraid of the fleas from the cats.  Before we went back home, we should eat something.  I ordered a boiled grass jelly(燒仙草), my cousin ordered a cup of ginger tea, and we tasted it in the shop.  The boiled grass jelly was not quite good.  At the end, we took a train to back our homes.  Fortunately, we had a seat from Houtong to hometown.  Look forward to next trip!!

the information is refereed from the other webside

Rubbery – 咬起來像橡皮，比 chewy 稍微硬一點

Leathery – 咬起來跟皮革一樣，比 rubbery 更硬！

Rich – 風味濃厚，或者在某些情況是太過油膩或是太甜

Strong – 味道強烈或是非常香純， i.e strong coffee

Poor – 風味不佳

Weak – 形容咖啡味道不夠，跟水一樣

Bland – 淡而無味

Stringy – 指肉質有很多筋，或是這食品纖維很多

Crispy – 鬆脆的