Misty Hualien

Although having a chance of rain was worse than it raining all day, it did make for a mystifying view of the Hualien mountains. The way the clouds move around the peaks makes me want to daydream all day. Sometime you couldn’t tell if clouds were swooping down from the skies or billowing up from the mountain side. It was as if a mythical battle had finish and the air was damp of fatigue. And here we were, pack animals, wandering through the battle field in marvel of what was left.

Okay, maybe my imagination took the best of me. But that’s what it felt like here. Especially up in the Taroko Gorge National Park 太魯閣國家公園.

We decided on something different than our usual exploration of a town, a personal driver. But not just a driver, but a tour guide to take us where we wanted to go and learn about what we needed. Great idea given we were tired of exploring and getting caught in the rain (though we still did riding back and forth to the night market). Problem was, our guide only spoke Mandarin so I was only filled in on highlights about the ten spots we visited. So as usual, I played the role of photographer and annoyingly, the videographer. I’m surprised I hadn’t fallen off the cliffs gawking at the 90 degree cliff walls that surrounded us in Taroko. Quite magnificent! We hiked some paths and even made our way down to a natural hot spring where people were already making much use of. The only thing I didn’t like was the local guides (not only ours) were creating “new” landmarks such as, “the sitting frog” or the “half face.” All of which are rock formations that, given the right psychological suggestion, are the proper shapes. But would also be unknown if the highway had not been carved into the mountain. It’s all cloud watching in my book. Just sayin!

The end of the day, we spent pampering ourselves to a two hour foot and body massage. That night was the best night of sleep

Food:

While I can’t rave about the local everyday food, I can certainly say try the Ocean Sunfish. Our driver took us to the “fisherman’s wharf” where you buy fresh fish and take it next door to have it cooked. Kinda like what we did in Kenting. But this place had this fish that had the most interesting texture, close to the chewiness of fish cheek. And it’s intestines were equally as good. If it doesn’t sound appealing, I’d say if you ever want to start being adventurous, start here with this fish. Trust me, get it while you’re here. Not many countries have this.

The Ziqiang Night Market was small, but well worth the visit. The rain fortunately kept the crowds at a minimum. We still waited about 15 minutes for our barbeque skewers which I think you could skip. One of the memorable places was the popular coffin toast place. You’ll know you have the right place by the crowd around the booth. And they also have a seating area. What made this memorable was, if you happen to read my earlier posts, I wasn’t a fan of this stuff. Well, this place let’s you choose your filling. The black pepper steak filling was good! And the bread was nice and dense. About half way through the sandwich, I had to stop to make room for other foods. Glad I did, because the grill seafood shop was a great place to relax, have a beer, and snack on some giant oysters.

Getting Around:
Scooter was an easy way to get around town. To get to the interesting parts, either get a 125cc scooter and be ready for a long ride up the mountains or get a driver. If you think taxi, might as well get a driver for the day. Don’t know about taking the bus.

Overall Feel:
I definitely will be back. Lovely city that’s busy but not too congested. And with the option of getting away to the lovely mountains within half an hour or to the beach in minutes, it’s a trifecta!

Costs:
$568NTD Tze-Chiang train from Fengliao to Hualien (4-hour train)
$2000NTD/night at Royal View Hotel
$350NTD/day scooter rental
$3500NTD personal tour