It feels refreshing to be able to get out of the big city. Even if Taipei itself doesn’t feel as stifling as a Hong Kong or a Manila, I think I really prefer to be out of the city whenever possible. Cities are still great whenever I need something like good food and shopping but otherwise I’d rather not be in it. I was taking the train from Taipei station to get to the village called Shifen 十分. However, there is no direct train to Shifen. I managed to decipher the timetable in Taipei station and figured out that I needed to transfer at Ruifang 瑞芳 station.
I didn’t take long before the scenery from the train turn into the countryside. It seemed that Taipei wasn’t that large after all. The train was heading to Ruifang directly and it seemed to be a direct train so there was no missing any stops here since it would be the last stop. Ruifang station itself was surprisingly old and small considering how important it is as a transfer point to Shifen and ther nearby villages. The train to Shifen is also not that large anymore. Obviously, most of the people taking the train are tourists and I think I still got there early enough to get a seat on the train. The weather wasn’t that good like the previous day, I hope it eventually clears up.
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