Nik


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Thursday, October 10, 2013 @ 10:47 AM PERMALINK

In the spirit of joining in the #throwbackthursdays fun, I've decided to start doing travel throwbacks.





Like us, many tourists use Hualien as a base point to explore Taroko National Park. Taroko National Park is beautiful.

The stark granite landscapes and crystal clear blue water were unlike anything I've seen before (perhaps partially because I spend most of my time in built up concrete urban areas) and it was a refreshing change from the usual tropical rainforests we are usually exposed to.











We stayed with Hualien Bay Minsu and I can't imagine a better place to stay. The land the minsu occupies is massive. In fact, the picture you saw at the top of this entry was taken in the backyard of the minsu.

Even the scenery surrounding the minsu is beautiful. You'll really have the sea in front of you with mountains at the back. There is even a plot of undeveloped land at the side of the property where you can spot fireflies. It is just the most perfect place to stay for city dwellers like me.

The owners Mr and Mrs Chen took spectacular care of us. They drove us to and fro the train station (even though there was a last minute hiccup and we arrived hours late),  settled the booking of our dolphin tour and Taroko tour guide, ensured that we were very well fed, drove us down to the night market, brought us to buy fireworks and even invited us to their personal BBQ to celebrate Mid Autumn Festival.












And finally, here is a picture of us in helmets cause.. Helmets always make you look funnier when they aren't being put to practical use.

Actually, the helmets are practical considering that the area is known for rockfall, so don't be too cool for a helmet if you are there okay?



Happy Thursday everyone. Just one more day til the weekend.. Hang in there!

Labels: dolphin watching, Hualien, Taiwan, Taroko National Park, travel, travel throwback

0 comments | Leave a comment Tuesday, November 1, 2011 @ 3:02 PM PERMALINK

We got up pretty late on Wednesday and headed to Taipei Main Station to get the 206 to Yangmingshan. We got a little lost finding the bus stop and had to ask a student for directions. The past is on the opposite side of where the main terminal is located and the bus stops are single straight poles on the curb.

The bus takes you all the way to Yangmingshan and from there you can take the internal mini-bus 108 to the various sights.


The route map of Bus 108

We weren’t sure of where we wanted to go and it was pretty late when we got there. However we met another middle aged gentleman named Mr Tsung who was just about to go hiking that started to give us some recommendations based on what he thought young people would like and based on how much time we had left.

He suggested that we head to Erziping station first. Located near Erziping station is Datun Nature Park. The path to the base of Erziping trail is about 1.7km from the bus stop and its a very cool walk as the entire stretch is shaded from the sun by the numerous trees along the path.


The path to the Erziping trail 


Mr Tsung telling us more about the surrounding mountains



Once you get to the start of the Erziping trail, this is the view you are rewarded with.



There are alot of people gathered here to chit-chat and rest. Tour buses also seem to bring tourists to this particular spot.

Mr Tsung later very kindly decided on the way to accompany us throughout our day at Yangmingshan. I imagine we would have been super lost to him.

After Erziping, we hopped on the bus again and headed to Qiangtiangang where grass pastures are.
On the way there, a light mist set in and the temperatures took a welcome dip.



The mist did obscure some of the sights but Mr Tsung informed us that this was considered a very lucky event as in all his years of walking here, he has never experienced such nice weather in the Summer.

We passed the volcanic crater on the way to the Qiangtiangang grass pastures.


The volcanic crater (not very clear cause we were on a moving bus) 

The grass pastures grow on a lava terrace and were used for cattle cultivation during the Japanese occupation, there are still cows around but many less than in the past.







Mr Tsung then let us in on a little secret, he had brought us to the Erziping area first because at 12pm, the sun would have been out at full force and the tree shaded trail at Erziping provided us cover from the sun,  If we had ended up at the grass pastures, we would have burnt to a crisp. You really can't beat local knowledge can you? :)

It wasn’t flower season when we went so we skipped the Flower Clock and didn’t have time to make it down to the waterfall either.

After enjoying the view and weather at Qiangtianggang, we caught another bus back to the city to see the Shilin Chiang Kai Shiek Residence.


Mr Tsung had gone on a whim that we’d like to actually see some flowers and he knew that the best place to see them would be the gardens.

The residence houses the National Horticulture department as well as museums dedicated to Chiang Kai Shiek (which were closed by the time we got there) Needless to say, the entire park is amazingly maintained.










After a quick walk around the garden, (we didnt get to see everything as it was about to close) Mr Tsung brought us to the nearby resident committee meeting house. He got his email address for us to add him on Facebook, checked with the rest of the staff at the meeting house for directions to Shida Night Market for us and we parted ways.

We found out from the rest of the people there that he is actually the area’s resident chairman. Can you believe our luck?

Shida Night Market is located near to Taipower Building Metro station. It’s a bit of a walk away from the station but just keep walking straight down and you won’t miss it.

Shida is home to many quaint cafes and restaurants and is where the university crowd normally hangs out.

We decided to try a Korean restaurant for dinner. The food was not too bad and the appetizers that came with the dishes were good as well.



The clothes at Shida fall into two categories:
1. The usual mass produced merchandise (exact pieces go for cheaper than at Shilin) I bought a dress and vest for 150NT which usually went for 200-250NT at Shilin.


2. More exclusive/limited pieces/local labels/vintage merchandise that are not as cheap but definitely not as common as the usual pieces seen at other night markets.

We didn’t stay long in Shida because the prices were too steep for our pockets and headed back to see if Haley still wanted to go out to celebrate our last night in Taipei.

After googling what was happening that night, we decided to just go to Brass Monkey (which Hayley had been before). We recruited Matt who just got back from Yilan and Heidi who was sitting in the living room who were both up for a night out.


And a solid night of partying took place: 













When we finally left Brass Monkey, we annoyed a taxi driver into dropping us at a breakfast place before Matt got sidetracked by 7-11 because he wanted to draw $$ to pay Hayley back. But not before Haley tried to climb into a Taiwanese fire truck. We then proceeded to made a mess at 7-11 by spilling noodles on the cashier (who was super nice about it) and playing with Kinder-egg toys before Haley and Matt engaged in a construction light kicking competition while we walked back to The Meeting Place.

We eventually ended up back home, drinking water in the kitchen while Haley microwaved instant noodles and set them on fire. Kah and I finally retired into our room for the night leaving Haley sleeping in the common room and Matt sleeping on the computer bench.

Perfect way to leave Taiwan.

Travel tips:
Have an idea of what you want to see, Yangmingshan is by no means small and the internal buses not only come only about once every 15-20 minutes but not all of them stop at all the stops along the way.

There is a unlimited pass for 60NT but after 12pm, it is not recommended that you purchase it and even though we enquired, everyone said we are better off using our Easycards.

The internal mini buses also use the usual Easycards so make sure you have enough credit in them.

Shida night market is known for its crepes, but we couldn’t find the famous crepe stall so we had to give it a miss.

There are a ton of cute cafes and resteraunts to eat at in Shida, if you are looking for a place for a nice meal splurge; this area could be it.

Brass Monkey is a pretty cool bar which caters for mainly Westerners. The music played are Top 40s songs but everyone there is up for a laugh and a dance ; so its a great place to go just for fun. Bear in mind though that it is more like bar not a club, so no unlimited drinks per cover charge. Although girls do get in free on ladies night.

Labels: Taipei, Taiwan, travel

0 comments | Leave a comment @ 2:56 AM PERMALINK

After spending 2 amazing days in Hualian, we returned to Taipei and decided to head to Danshui and Beitou.

Danshui is Taipei’s seaside boardwalk and is easy to get to by metro. Just get off the metro at Danshui station and walk towards the sea. Once you get to the sea, you can see the boardwalk



Apart from the boardwalk, there are also a number of historical buildings that we decided to take a look at first.




Steps up to the Red Castle



The Red Castle has been converted to a restaurant (sadly) and thus is honestly not much to look at. After the Red Castle, we got hopelessly lost in the narrow residential alleys of the area before chancing upon the church.





We then tried to navigate ourselves back to the boardwalk since walking in the heat was really starting to get to us but soon found ourselves at the gates of Aletheia University.

The Aletheia University grounds are beautiful and European styled like many of the buildings in this area. This style of architecture is due to the Portuguese influence on Taiwan when they invaded the country in the 1600s.









After viewing the university, we found our way to Fort San Domingo which is a bit like our own Fort Silso. You can walk through the fort and view the history of the Spanish occupation of Taiwan and view how they lived.









After San Domingo, we walked down towards the boardwalk.





We came across this building, which is an arts gallery of sorts. (I cant remember the name of this building nor can I find anything about it on google) Entrance was free and we ducked in to hide from the rain and to enjoy a little air conditioning for awhile. There was a photo exhibit going on inside that was showcasing photos that captured the spirit of Danshui.




The walls of the gallery were built with old roof tiles of other buildings that have been demolished in Danshui.

On the Danshui boardwalk there are a ton of souvenir shops selling all sorts of goodies. They run from the run of the mill Taiwan magnets to more creative items such as build it yourself postcards.



We came across this street artist who was hard at work on this masterpiece before stopping for some famous Taiwanese styled ice-cream, only 10NT (yay)




Please try and keep your minds out of the gutter


Cute little animals styled out of fruit, too cute but also too dear for my pocket to afford. There was also a banana dog and sweet potato seal that I really was tempted to buy. 



After loading up on loads of knick-nacks, Kah and I went to shoot BB guns at balloons. I’m terrible, I hit only like 8 balloons while sharpshooter Ng shot like 16 or something.


Trying to hit balloons with BB pellets. A good aim ; I am not. 


After claiming our winnings (4 bottles of bubbles) we headed back to the metro station and went toward Beitou.



The entire Xinbeitou district is very Japanese styled and there are various attractions for you to walk through. Unfortunately, we only got there in the evening at about 530pm so a lot of things such as the Plum Gardens and the hot spring Museum were already closed.


The town of XinBeitou


The Hot Springs Musuem, which was closed by the time we got there

To get to the public hot springs, take the metro to Beitou station and switch trains to get to XinBeitou, from there, follow the signs and it will take you about 10 minutes to reach the Millennium Public Hot Springs.


The entry point of Millenium Public Hot Springs



Entry to the public hot spring is 40NT. For the price you pay, don’t expect it to be a private experience, hot springs are a national past time and a lot of the people in the hot springs are elderly folk over 50.

The hot spring is also mixed gender and so bathing suits are required. If you are the shy type and don’t want to look super out of place, wear a one piece bathing suit. I was the only person in a bikini and while there are no rules against it and while I wasn’t treated poorly because of it, it may be a little disconcerting for some.

There is also a method to approaching the hot springs. There are five separate pools. Three pools (warm, warmer and hot) and two cold pools. You are supposed to slowly work your way up to the hottest spring by dipping in the hot pools one at a time with dips in the cool pool after each temperature level.
So the right sequence would be:  Warm to cold--> Warmer to cold-->Hottest to Cold
This is so your body has time to adjust to the rapid change in temperature.

My guess is that this is written amongst all the signs but I don’t know how to read Mandarin so being totally oblivious, I jumped from the warm pool to the hottest pool, much to the amazement of the old men in the pool. There aren’t a lot of people in the hottest pool so I presume that in the first place going in is something that not everyone attempts let alone not doing it the correct way.

It was there where an elderly gentleman informed me that I could have died (if I were not so young and fit. HAH, Fit) and told me the proper way to do things and that I should go get a drink of water to rehydrate. For the record, your heart really does start working overtime if you don’t do it the correct way, so please learn from my stupidity.

Many people skip the public hot springs and opt for private hot springs with hotels or spas ; these generally don't come cheap and you'd miss out on a genuine hot spring experience but if you are not thick of skin or don't like the idea of sitting in small pools of boiling water with old strangers, you may want to consider purchasing a package with a hotel/spa.

Once I was done with the hot springs, I went to the Beitou Public Library to meet Kah who was waiting for me there. The library is beautiful. It has a beautiful courtyard and the main material used in its construction is wood.




How beautiful is this? 


I read in one of the library brochures that the design of the library was to make it look like a tree house. 



After Beitou, we headed to Shilin Night Market for dinner and shopping. We had amazing beef noodles for 90NT (not exactly cheap) but still one of the better beef noodles I’ve ever eaten. After that, we embarked on mad shopping (for Kah) and more controlled shopping for me (still recovering from Bangkok).

Apart from the crazy amount of clothes there are in Shilin, there are also a ton of food stalls.
Bags and shoes in Taiwan are very worth buying however if you have tiny feet like us, you may have a problem finding shoes that fit. Bags go from anything like 250NT (for a small sling) to 500NT for a larger shopper and if you are super lucky, you can get shoes from about 200NT. I managed to score a pair of flats from WuFenPu for 100NT.

Apparel- wise Taiwan does have its own brands that make okay quality clothes but most of the clothes are about the same quality as you can get in Bangkok except slightly more outdated and expensive.

There are a few things in Shilin that are must eats, unfortunately we missed all of them because we didn’t find them or because the queues were too overwhelming. I did have some pretty good cheese fries from a shop called Deadbeat Chicken though.

No pictures though, was too busy eat/shopping (oops)

Next up: Final Day in Taiwan, Yangmingshan and our final drunken night at Brass Monkey

Labels: Taipei, Taiwan, travel

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