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Tuesday, October 25, 2011 @ 2:45 PM PERMALINK

Mr Chen had helped us to arrange for the taxi driver to pick us up at 830am but we overslept again and the brothers had to wake us up by knocking on our door. After a quick breakfast provided to us by Mr Chen and his wife, we said our goodbyes and reluctantly headed off from Hualian Bay Minsu.



Mrs Chen also gave us a handmade little flip-mirror which also functions as a toothpick holder as a memento.

Our taxi driver for the day was Mr Lee who was very informative and kept feeding us very interesting tidbits about the areas we were visiting. (My camera’s battery died so most of the pictures are from Kah or Minghui)

Our first stop was the Cingshui Cliff Scenic Area of Tarok National Park. The park spans 92,000 hectares and three cities so while you can explore it yourself on foot, we were super glad to have Mr Lee with us. This road is the only coastal road in Taroko National Park and the view you get here is amazing.







After Qingshui, we headed into Taroko National Park and embarked on our first trail (or rather part of the trail). Mr Lee brought us to the Shakadang Trail. The entire trail is 4.5km long so we only walked for about 50 minutes until we reached a rest point where some of the tribes-people set up stores and headed back to meet Mr Lee again.









After Shakadang, we went to take a look at the beginning of this trail, which only lets a fixed amount of people in per day and if my memory serves correctly, its about 50 individuals a day only.

Unfortunately, this is also where my camera died and so the name of the trail escapes me. Pete from our hostel was telling us about how great the trail is and that you had to literally camp outside the Taroko office in order to get a permit to hike it.



Our next stop was the Swallow Grotto where bird nest used to be harvested. The grotto is not in use anymore and there aren't many swallows left either. Along the route to Swallow Grotto we passed signs for the Tunnel of 9 turns, this trail however is still closed due to typhoon damage.





We moved on from the Swallow Grotto to Chime Bridge and Pavilion. The bridge was built by late President Chiang Jing-guo, in memory of his mother while the pavilion was also built in memory of late President Chiang Kai-she's mother.

Cihmu Pavilion also sits on the rock called 'Frog Rock' because it looks a lot like a crouching frog.




Mr Lee also told us a little folk tale about how the idea to dedicate the bridge to Mr Chiang Jing-guo's mother came about.

One day when Mr Chiang was visiting the park, he came across a lady sitting by a bridge with her meal box who appeared to be waiting for something. The locals told him that she was a mother who would come every day to that spot to wait for news of her son who had been called up to fight in the war. Moved by her love for her son, when the new Bridge was built, he called it Cihmu Bridge. (The old bridge in the story no longer exists)



From Cimu Bridge, you can walk up to Xiangde Temple and further up to see a tall statue of Guanyin and the Tianfeng Pagoda.  Minghui and Furen walked all the way up to the pagoda while I decided to give up at the statue of Guanyin. The view from here is amazing and generates this feeling of calm and peacefulness.

After Xiangde Temple, we stopped at the Holiu Suspension Bridge to walk across it and to take some pictures.



After Houli we headed toward the Eternal Spring Shrine. During the construction of the highway that goes past the area the shine is built, 226 men lost their lives and the shrine is built in memory of them.

Mr Lee mentioned that some people call this the "Road to Heaven and Hell" (loosely translated) 

The shrine is a beautiful place and there is a waterfall that runs below it. Behind the shrine there are steps that lead up to various other sights (going to Heaven) and to get to the shrine, you take a route of tunnels that are pretty dark and a little damp (going through Hell). While a little damp, the tunnels didnt bother me ; in fact the cooler temperatre was a welcome respite from the hours of heat we had been walking in.

There are also several areas before you reach the shrine where the history of the shrine is shared and where there are statues to commerate the lives lost.


Picture from Wikipedia

We were pretty tired by the time we were done with the shrine and returned to the taxi but Mr Lee had one more surprise planned for us.

He drove us to another trail and handed us a couple of torch lights. As it turned out, he had stopped us at the beginning of Lushui trail. All of us were tired and our minds were starting to shut down, so we didnt really comprehend what the torches was for, but we would soon find out.

The Luishui trail is less modern as compared to the Shakadang Trail. While a rough path has been paved out with gavel, it is not re-enforced with planks or concrete and that definately lends to its authenticity.

The trail is a simple one and we came across some historical markers before we came to a 30m long tunnel and realised what the torches were for. The tunnel is pretty dark and while you can go through without the torch light, it would be best if you had one just as a precaution. Once again, we did not finish the entire trail as we did not have enough time.

After the trail, we were pretty much down for the count and Mr Lee brought us to the Taroko Visitor's Centre where they were showing some films about the park's ecology and culture.

On our way out of Taroko, Mr Lee brought us to one of the beaches nearby. The beaches in this area are unlike the beaches many of us are used to. Due to the geography of Taiwan, the shores are covered in pebbles rather than sand and sand (where it can be seen) is often of a darker colour. Still very beautiful though.

We hung out at the beach for awhile and grabbed a snack (coconut water and taiwanese sausages) to eat while enjoying the breeze.





After the beach, Mr Lee dropped us off in Hualian town to kill some time and to get some dinner before we caught our train back to Taipei. Armed with an arsenal of recommendations about the local delicacies from Mr Lee, we walked around for abit, tracked down a popular stall, grabbed a few Xiaolongbaos and relaxed at a local dessert store until it was time to meet Mr Lee again.




The Xiao Long Baos here were a little different from what we are used too. These ones looks like really steamed baos but still had soup filling. Pretty awesome.

We were dropped off at the train station with plenty of time to spare (unlike our previous debacle with the train). We parted ways with the boys (who were headed elsewhere to complete their 16 day trip) and went back to Taipei.

Mr Lee was a great taxi driver and guide to have. He filled us in on both official and historial facts about  the scenic attractions of the park while also injecting folklore, culture and modern day issues facing the people of Hualian. He also paid careful attention to detail and made sure that we were kept safe by ensuring we had helmets, lights and good safety advice.

Until now, I really cant believe that I didnt charge up my camera for this one day. I could kick myself. The scenery at Taroko is breathtaking and unlike anything I've ever seen. The stark grey and blue colours that make up most of the landscape is very different from the usual greens that people think about when the words 'nature park' is mentioned. Even though we started at 9am we barely scratched the surface of Taroko and our tour was mainly limited to mostly the main tourist attractions.

If you are into really hiking, Taroko has some excellent trails to do. Taroko even has a trail up to some hot springs.

Apart from the beautiful landscape, Taroko is also rich in history as some of the fierest battles between the Taroko tribes-people and the Japanese took place here. The construction of many of the roads and tunnels in the National Park also cost many Taiwanese their lives and while it was hard for me (with my limited language skills) to understand everything, the National Park stands as a testment to how tenacious the residents of Hualian.

Needless to say, it doesnt matter if you are just in it to see the sights or for some real hiking, Taroko is a must see in Hualian.

Hualian was really really spectacular and I encourage everyone who wants to take a trip out of Taipei to go there. there is lots of do and apart from what we did. There is even white water rafting and river tracing activities that can be arranged. It was definately one of the best parts of the trip for me.

Next up: Back to Taipei --Yangmingshan and Beitou Hot Springs 

Labels: Hualian, Taiwan, Taroko National Park, travel

0 comments | Leave a comment Tuesday, October 18, 2011 @ 1:12 PM PERMALINK


As per earlier arrangement, we were bound for a 720am express train to Hualian. In my alcohol enhanced state, I had forgotten to slide my alarm on and Kah was soundly asleep when I heard my phone ringing. It was the brothers (who had managed to get up and catch the 6am train, IDK HOW) checking on us.

Needless to say, I jumped out of bed, tried repeatedly to shake Kah up, threw everything into an overnight bag and forced her to rush to the train station. We missed our train in the end because it didn’t stop at Songshan train station but the next train we got on was really empty and we managed to get seats all the way to Hualian.

We were supposed to pack our bags up for Thomas and Dave to move into storage so we hastily did that, left our room door open and ran to the train station. I had to text like 3 people to get the hostel’s number to inform Thomas that we had left in a hurry. (Bong was the one who got the number to me first while worrying if Kah and I were in serious trouble) 

When I managed to get him, Thomas very nonchalantly informed me that he had already noticed us gone and that he would change our sheets and air our mattress and would miss us. Teehee.  (Major love points to The Meeting Room)

Mr Andy Chen who runs Hualian Bay Minsu was great too. Missing our earlier train meant that we were not able to reach at the time we had originally told him and when I texted him to apologise, he quickly called me back to tell me not to worry and that he would still pick us up from the train station.

Hualian is beautiful. As Mr Chen drove us to his house, we were captivated by the view of the mountains and the sea.

Hualian Bay Minsu is a sight in itself. The two story house that houses 10 rooms is built in the middle of luscious greenery with a fish pond and a ton of space behind it. The views from each room (that we would later find out) are pretty outstanding and while we didn’t get the best view, the brothers had a room that overlooked the ocean.  (Majorly jealous)


The front of Hualian Bay Minsu. Thats one of their dogs, Nuinui



 Apart from the fish pond in front, Mr Chen and his wife also rear goats, chickens, geese and turkeys on their huge home grounds. Don’t worry about there being any kind of farm smell, there isn’t.  Mr Chen and his wife also have two dogs and a rabbit.

Once we got to the Minsu, Mr Chen and his wife kept plying us with great food and drink. There was freshly grown Hualian pomolo, moon-cakes and sandwiches.  Mrs Chen even went out to purchase Taiwanese styled lunch boxes for us while we waited for our rooms to be prepared.

Our rooms were tastefully decorated and the bed was super comfortable.  We rested for abit before Mr Chen informed us that the whale watching tour he had arranged for us had arrived.


Our amazingly comfortable bed

The tour cost us 750NT (inclusive of insurance) and was arranged for us by Mr Chen himself.
The brothers were a little reluctant to go at first because they had just been talking to a couple earlier who had told them that they had been out the day before to see dolphins and had seen nothing at all.  They did change their minds in the end after Mr Chen convinced them that it would be fun.


The mini bus driver who was bringing us to the dock to get on the boat informed us that if we were afraid of getting sea sick that we should take anti-sea sick medication that was available at the dock. I thought it would have been a pill but I was so wrong.

This is what we had to take and we had to drink the whole vial, mind you.  


As you can guess, it tasted hella nasty and after retching my stomach contents out the night before, it was not very pleasant to drink. BUT! It works! (either that or I’m never sea-sick, which I doubt)


The views you get on the boat are spectacular, the sea is a beautiful shade of deep blue and so unpolluted. You also get to see both mountains and see in the same frame, something I’ve never seen before.  (noob city dweller)





View as we leave the Hualian Habour. 


The water starts to get choppy here as the channel enters te ocean so it took us awhile to get our sea legs. 





We were extremely lucky, barely half an hour into searching we came across a large dolphin pod. (okay, it was not by any means a super-pod) but there was easily 20-30 individuals. 











I wish I could tell you what kind of dolphin they were but I really can’t because I didn’t understand their name in Mandarin. According to tourism sites as many as 29 species of cetaceans can be found near Taiwan, so your guess is as good as mine. 


The dolphins are so cute though and they love to come all the way up to the boat to play in the waves the boat makes and to investigate what this intrusion in their environment is. The pod stuck around for a pretty long time and after about half an hour or so our boat made the decision to return to shore as the sea was super choppy and a ton of people were getting seasick.

The afternoon out at sea in the sun got us all pretty tired and once we got back to the Minsu, we fell asleep and abandoned our plans to go cycling by the beach (sadly)

When we woke up, the Chen family invited us to their Moon Festival BBQ. We had chicken (from the yard, a bit gruesome I know) which was super juicy and tasty, homemade tau kwa and other assorted meats.






Mr Chen then dropped us off at the nearby night market for us to explore and we got a couple of snacks and walked by the beach before he came back to pick us up and brought us to buy fireworks.



Stone Marker on the Beach
When we had arrived we had told Mr Chen very excitedly that we were hoping we could get to launch fireworks and he told us that he would hook us up with a local contact to purchase them as they would be cheaper than at the night market.

The door to our evening of entertainment


 
This is our arsenal of pyros. There are large and medium firework displays, hand-launched fireworks and fireworks that you put into the ground and huge sparklers. The Singaporean couple that was at the minsu with us also purchased a sky lantern.

With the help of Mr Chen and the guests at his BBQ, we put off the fireworks and our generally cautiousness (or rather cowardliness) provided the entertainment for the night. 

We ended the night looking forward to a good night’s rest in luxury (personal television, private showers and airconditioning) and ready to set off for Taroko National Park the next day.



(Sorry for the sore lack of photographs of the fireworks, my camera was already dead by then and all the pictures are in Kah or Minghui's camera) 

Labels: Hualian, Taiwan, travel

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