Jiuofan and The cat village

  Hey guys! Today we got up much earlier than usual so we could take a trip to Jioufan, whose market place was used as the model in the film Spirited Away.  We traveled by train and then were transported through green mountainsides to the entrance to this intriguing place. The pathway leading into the markets truly looked like a tunnel leading into another world. The market itself was full of a plethora of food and souvenir shops but most of the nick-nacks were priced higher since it's a huge tourist area. The streets were pretty small and cramped full of people and the occasional motorbike that plowed through. The mountains peeked through at us between the shops and some of the restaurant's balconies even reached off the edge facing the ocean. It was a magnificent view once we emerged from all the shops. The sky was so clear today and it wasn't unbearably hot, in fact it's cooled down quite a bit compared to the last few weeks. We enjoyed the scenery then walked back through and grabbed a bite to eat before working our way back to the train station. We visited this place during the day but I believe that it's true colors don't show until the sun sets. It would be great to come back and see the market place again at night.

                                     

                           

                           

                           

                               ^^this place is known for it's mochi as well!

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   Our day wasn't over yet, we hopped on another train and one stop later arrived in Houtong. We were there not because of the coal factory that I think they wish people would come to see, but for the cat village! That's right there is a whole town full of cats! I wouldn't have believed it but sure enough as soon as we walked into the train station there was cat images everywhere. The real cats began appearing as soon as we turned the corner and continued on from there. These cats just roam free getting pet and fed from tourist. They seem to be living the life, although you can tell some of them have been in fights with the other cats. We actually heard a cat showdown at one point but missed out on the action. There were many dogs wandering around as well but sadly no one payed them much attention, There was a whole dog family actually which was adorable. The littlest one was so cute but very skittish. The town was rather quite and not completely overrun with tourist, so it felt very peaceful walking through and petting a cat along the way. Something about cats and their happy faces makes me happy(=ↀωↀ=). I was finally amongst my feline friends and was so sad to leave, but I made sure to pet as many as I could and say hi to all the rest! 

                                               
                                               

^Yes, that cat is inside the display lol!

 

                                   
                                      

~Savi*:･ﾟ✧