Cycle Taiwan Day 3 Taipei to Hsinchu - The ride begins

Good morning Ximending! The moment I woke I took a peep at the window and was happy to see the sky so bright and clear. After 2 days of wet weather we could now see the sun, we were all ready to leave Taipei and eager to see more of Taiwan.

At the beginning we were kind of having a cold start, probably we were not used to the heavy traffic of Taipei. The amount of scooters on the roads were like honey bees and coupled with a chain drop from Jo's bike. 

After much eyeing for an eatery place we stopped by at this shop 良心 合記豆漿 at the junction of Nanjing West Road GPS : 25.053728, 121.507573 for our breakfast.

We made friend with the shop operator and they were delighted to know that we are from Malaysia.

After the breakfast we dropped by Dadaocheng Park 大稻埕公園, a small community park.

Taking the small lanes and back alley and seeing the backdoor landscape of the surrounding as we slowly travelled down south.

We found the opening to Dadaosheng Wharf and went across the busy road of Huanhe North Road into the wharf.

We had our immediate call the moment we entered the bicycle path.

Taipei City government has done a marvellous work converting the old wharf into a city park with dedicated bicycle paths and generating revenues from tourism industry for the country. 

Visitors having chances to take a stroll or ride a bike along the river and digesting a bit of historical facts planted on the park.

The bicycle path is friendly some with good shade and truly an ideal state for cycling.

After 10km of cycling we realised we were heading north instead of south, thanks to Anne for the direction. With a little bit of help from the locals we were able to maneuver out and got ourselves re-orientated.

The extra kilometres took us to new sights wasn't wasted, it took places that we might not have been able to see them.

I love this stretch of wall mural, it's so oriental.

Jotaro did what some of the locals were doing, going topless.

Our main destination was to visit Sanxia old street 三峽老街, the weather was prefect though it was slowly getting hotter.

We passed by many bridges and all were brightly painted with attractive colours.

Suddenly we were out of the comfort zone from the bicycle lane and joining our brothers and sisters on the road.

After 39km we managed to reach Sanxia and were attracted by this old temple. It has an elaborated roof top and at the opposite side of the road is the famous Sanxia Zushi Temple 三峽祖師廟. 

At the corridor of the ancient shophouses as viewed from another temple called Xinglong Gong Matsu Temple GPS : 24.933532, 121.369719.

Historically, Sanxia (meaning three gorges) was an important goods distribution centre in Northern Taiwan due to its location. It quickly became a base for production and the streets of the town were lined with shops that sold dyes, manufacturing materials, and tea, however, after modernisation the town lost its economic advantages to other locations, and the riverfront area around Sanxia Old Street serves to educate visitors about Sanxia's past.

Although the town no longer is a economic powerhouse, it has still retained its cultural value, especially in and around the Sanxia Old Street area. The architecture consists of red brick buildings with hallways connected by small lanes. 

We were here at Sanxia Old Street.

Dating back to the early 1900s during the Japanese occupation, the unique traditional architecture is quite different from the rest of the island, which went through a massive development push in the 1970s at the expense of many traditional buildings.

Sanxia Zushi Temple 三峽祖師. Also known as Qingshui Zushi (Qingshui Master) Temple it was built in 1769. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake in 1833 and was rebuilt in 1867. However, during 1895, it was burned down by the Japanese army. After World War II, the restoration was led by the renowned artist Li Mei Shu. The restored temple presents refined carvings and sculptures and it is the work of Taiwanese artists. 

Our Brompton parking right in front of the Pork Leg Rice Shop at Minquan Street GPS : 24.934295, 121.370086

Our porky affair at this Pork Leg Rice 猪 脚 饭 shop, simply sinful but delicious. 

It only took 4km from Sanxia Old Street to a train station.

Approaching Yingge Station on our left on Wenhua Road GPS : 24.953435, 121.354256

At Yingge Station after 43km of cycling and we have to be Hsinchu before it get dark, by the way it gets dark around 5 plus in the evening.

In the front of Hsinchu Station. Photo Credit : Jotaro Zen.

We managed to find a hotel at No. 5, Lane 23, Datong Road by the name of Persimmon Hotel. An interesting hotel with different themes for different rooms.

We arrived just it was about to get dark and a good shower before we venture into Hsinchu City for our dinner.

Hsinchu is popular for the dry vermicelli (Beehoon) and one must try when you are in Hsinchu.

We had different versions of Hsinchu beehoon (新竹米粉) with some side dishes and they were all delicious. The beehoon is different from Malaysia the texture is firmer and rubbery. I like it very much.

Hsinchu City God's Temple or known as Du Cheng Huang Temple (都城隍廟) with a food court next to it.

The street food of Hsinchu as we slowly walked back to Persimmon Hotel. We tried an ice kacang at 阿忠冰店 at Dongmen Street but the taste was below expectation. So much of eating and it's time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow.

CT Day 3 - Out of 101km we only cycled 43km until Yingge Station where we took a train to Hsinchu.