Day 2 of the Taiwan trip which was also Yong's Birthday, I decided to spare him from shopping =P.
We took a day trip to Hualien for some sightseeing.
Hualien's really different from Taipei's bustling city life.
Will definitely plan for a 1-2 night stay the next round as there's more than the infamous Taroko Gorge to visit.
You can go out to sea to view dolphins (whales too if in season) or go white water rafting etc.
We engaged Mr. Lǚ Lai Fu (吕来福 +886 09-2856-9081) who is a highly raved guide on TripAdvisor.com.
His charges are NT 2,200 for Taroko Gorge alone.
If you'd like to visit Cingshui Cliff (清水断崖) it's an additional NT500 due to the distance there and back.
Price is for 2 pax so best to double check with Mr. Lǚ on the prices.
I called him to tentatively book his available date and then proceeded to book the train tickets online.
I've gotten very useful information from this blog post on how to book and pay for the train tickets.
Do remember to copy the booking number as you need that to cancel or pay for the tickets online.
We took the Chu Kang 69 there and 68 back.
We left the hotel at close to 0700 am as we picked up the train tickets the day before.
The streets of XiMenDing was deserted!
I wore my CottonOn jumper for the day with my old vintage blue adidas.
Arrived at the Taipei Main Station and changed to the TRA (railway) to catch our train.
XMD to Taipei Main Station is only 1 stop away so it took us around 10 minutes to get to the platform.
Train ticket.
Chu Kang 69 is also express train service and at a cheaper price then the Tze Chiang train.
Reason being that the train is slightly older =)
Same as taking a train in Japan or flight - you need to see which platform the train will arrive and depart from.
Before we left XMD, we went to buy breakfast at MacDonalds.
It was probably the only thing opened this early.
Yong ate his breakfast at the train station since the train was a tad bit late.
Car 3 of train 69 to Hualien!
My seats are in car 2 but took this on a rush to get on the train.
Tied my bun higher so I can lean back and zzzz...
Test shot to see how I looked like.
Took a nap and woke up to the beautiful mountainous view and gorgeous blue skies.
Upon arrival at the Hualien station, Mr. Lǚ reminded me to exit toward the rear station.
We missed him when we exited as he was chatting with another local guide.
In his taxi which he uses for 2-4 passengers.
If there are more in that group, he will use his '3rd wife' which is a white colored Wish.
His youngest son also helps him out when he has too many bookings so be prepared to see a younger man picking you up if you book Mr. Lǚ.
Enroute to Cingshui Cliff 清水断崖 after packing some lunchboxes - this is his normal routine.
He said that he's been eating their lunchboxes every day for lunch.
Cingshui Cliffs is the 12-kilometer route between Su-hau highway and Chung De which is a convoluted and winding highway.
Being among Taiwan’s 8 wonders, the view of the Pacific Ocean and mountain range was simply breath-taking.
We stopped at small Cingshui as Mr. Lǚ calls it.
There were many Taiwanese tourists there as it was the last weekend of the Summer holidays in Taiwan.
Their Summer holiday lasted 3 months!
Doesn't this look like a postcard?
It was really sunny and hot the day we were there.
But I'm not complaining since Aug-Sep is the typhoon season in Taiwan.
There are stairs that lead down to the beach.
Halfway down, we decided to give up as it was really too sunny and hot.
So we headed back up to take more photos instead!
After this, we drove further up the cliffs for a different vantage point.
Just look at the beautiful backdrop!
To those who are contemplating about taking the day trip to Hualien - do take it if you enjoy views of natural beauty.
Maybe I'm growing older (or have been to Taipei too much) I learn to appreciate all these natural scenery which may be gone very soon.
The shore line started to turn whitish as we took photos.
Having read Karen's blog post, I do believe its due to the minerals in the rocks that fell off the cliff on to the beach that caused it when the sea wash ashore (super duper long sentence).
It was really a natural wonder and simply pretty to see the crystal clear blue turn whitish slowly.
A photo of the clear blue sea off the cliff.
We continued to drive uphill to a small vantage point.
The coastline just got whiter.
Another postcard photo.
That's Mr. Lǚ who is already 60!
I love the sky behind them.
I have to split the Hualien day trip into 5 parts due to the multitude of photos that we took.
Stay tuned for more.
