Keelung

I took the train to Keelung this morning. Keelung is a small port town in the north. The town is filled with many reminders of the past when the Japanese occupied the island. Bus to the Fairy Caves. I didn't spot any fairies in the cave, but I did visit a temple within a sea-eroded cave. There are two rooms where the general public is permitted, and at one point I was close to being on my hands and knees to get into the second room.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?



After the Fairy Caves, we walked uphill for what seemed like a very long time. It was hot out, and we hadn't much protection from the sun's rays, so that didn't help. We finally made it to the top, and the view was well worth the trek. We had reached Baimiwang Fort; an excellent location for defending the island against approaching intruders.
You can see Keelung Island from here, and a whole lot of Pacific Ocean. The breeze up here was refreshing, especially after the climb.

A locked bunker:
Blue Chinese character spray paint graffiti decorates the walls inside. Where the roof and ground meet, there's an opening for people or firearms to peek out. Nearby there's also a machine gun station.

Bus back to the bustling streets of Keelung's city. I was told that Keelung is sometimes called "Little Hong Kong."

We visited a temple, even though it was under construction. I accidentally walked into the lion's mouth.
From there we took the bus again. We arrived in another area where we hiked on a road uphill to our destination. A lot of the houses there look like the ones in the following picture. I also saw several remains of large concrete buildings. Everything is built into the mountain.


We walked along a river rich in iron.

All the walking took us to Golden Waterfall. The story is that nine families used to live here, and since the grocery store was far away, they'd take turns going in for supplies, and they'd buy nine times the amount as usual. The mountain is also known for having had a lot of gold in it.
Our continued walk took us to Gold Ecological Park. There are many Japanese-style houses in the area, and we also saw the Prince's house. Apparently a lot of Japanese people visit the area so that they can learn more about their peoples' history.
Watching over his mountain:
The road took us to an ocean lookout point, as well as this wooden walkway. More stairs.
The sun was starting to set, so we caught another bus and left. In summer, the area is prone to afternoon thunderstorms. Next stop: Jiufen. We went to the night market, whose stalls and attendees are squished into the narrow streets. It's a popular location, and it was quite busy. It's a good spot for viewing the night lights spread across the landscape.
We took the bus again, and it was a crazy ride. It was dark, the road winding, and the bus crammed full of mostly standing people.

When we got back into the city, we walked to a lit up temple. A Martyr Temple, I think. It was almost like an amusement park. There was music, vendors, families, and animatronic Chinese opera performers. BTW, there were a lot of stairs.
A several minute walk led us to a massive statue of Kwan Yin.
We walked a lot today. I hope my legs don't fall off. It was definitely a full day, and after this last stop, we walked to the train station. I then rode for over an hour and a half to get back to Zhongli.