http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Taiwan , Hualien en-us Tue, 08 Dec 09 02:41:00 +0000 Tue, 08 Dec 09 02:41:00 +0000 Next stop Hualien 3345733714The day started pretty early as we had to catch 7.30am train to Hualien. In about 3 hrs' time at Hualien station we were greeted by the taxi drivercumtour guide Mr Zhuang. With Mr Zhuang around the trip around Hualien's attraction became more interesting and convenient. After settling our accommodation and getting a coffee fix needed a perk man our Hua http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-397887.html The Story Of Hualian and the Deep Dark and Dangerous Taroko Gorge We arriaved to Hualian 2 days before my birthday. Hualien is a small city on the less populated eastern coast of Taiwan. People from this area wear homemadeyarn embellished pursesmdashhatsmdashbelts. These people are direct descendants of the aboriginal Indians that lived in the mountains.We noticed more BETLE NUT here than a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-385507.html now continuednow you are arrived in Qixingtan beacha wild flower ocean sunfish statueocean sunfish ceramic tile ocean sunfish catch catch caught eat ate eaten Hualian fisherman catches 200010000 ocean sunfish per year1717a find a lighthouse so huge road mark you never lost18 right turn19 left turn20 right turn2122 the end point happy ending finished you wonI am so hungry http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-359851.html now continuedlegendMB monkey bridge11 right turn left turn to monkey bridge11a monkey bridge11b carved monkey statue 12 right turn12a find another road mark1314 right turn15 left turn16 right turn now you are arrived in qixingtan beachof course you can go the short cut 8 gt 15I am so busy let us continue tomorrow http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-359743.html now continued2a find a road mark follow the road mark you never lost3 right turn3a good paved bicycle trail4 good marked bicycle trail right turn5 left turn5a white goose another road mark6 left turn7 right turn8 left turn9 left turn10 right turnof course you can go the short cut 4 gt 7 bike tour Hualien Taiwan 1 I am so busy let us continue tomorrow http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-359621.html bike tour Hualien Taiwannow you are arrived in Hualien railway stationlet me give you detail instruction step by stepstep 1 railway station to Dr. Sun YatSen marble statuethe red 1 is Dr. Sun YatSen marble statue let us go step 2 the red 2 right turnlegendRS railway stationi informationp park green groundI am so busy let us continue tomorrow http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-359529.html We awoke early on the second day and caught a train down the East coast of Taiwan to Hualien. Once there we found a scooter to rent filled up with gas and headed to Toroko Gorge National Park about 20 kms away. Taroko gorge was once home to the Atayal people who were known for weaving facial tattoos and headhunting. The majority of the Atayal people have moved out of the gorge but some still r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-359200.html Nick and Kristen writeSchool is over for the semester and we have had some time to roam the island. The last few days we have seen some temples museums and night markets that we have been meaning to visit since we first came to Taipei. Think of it as thinks on our to do list that we never got around to doing but finally did. The strangest day last week was when we visited the Taipei Fine Arts http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-357042.html Soaring Cliffs Waterfall Tunnels and Eternal ShrinesTaroko Gorge Tai Lu Ge is Taiwan's most famous natural attraction. I have now done two journeys to this beautiful valley where cliffs rise from the river bed to the skies and terrifying tunnels dig through the mountains to allow buses and trekkers to pass. My first trip was with my family last summer and more recently I went with some frie http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-354775.html Greetings from Eastern TaiwanTuesday 19th August 2008The day trip to the Taroko National Park was memorable because It offers a great orientation for first time visitors to the gorge. Precious time was not wasted on shopping. Reasonable stopping time at the various attractions in the park. Sumptuous lunch was served at the Grand Formosa Tiensiang.I missed the black pepper salmon fried ric http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-338151.html 18th August 2008One of the chief aims of this Taiwan trip was to spend sometime in Hualien which I've read it often but never had a chance to see it for myself ... Three hours on the Tze Chiang Express 332582437821495 down the eastern coast of Taiwan brought me to the charming city of Hualien. With a population of only 15 of Taipei the city has maintained a relaxed and laidback pa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-323471.html The day before we left Hualien to come home Suzanne and I went to church at Agape House one last time. Agape unconditional love House is a Christian alcohol and drug residential recovery facility about twenty minutes north of town on Hwy 9.This is my farewell to the men and women living in the placeJourneysSuzanne and I are going home to Canada tomorrow. In other words we are on a journey http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-301371.html Read about a hot spring in the wilderness. Once our host at Heartstay BB Yang Baba Mama knew that we wanted to visit this hot spring they went out of the way to check around if the hot spring is accessible. The last they knew was that the place was destroyed by some tyhoon some years ago. But their friends confirmed that it's now accessible again. YohooAfter visiting the other sights at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-294477.html Well I have my worldclass Hwy 193 and my picture of a farmer's truck and his sheaves but leaving this beautiful place that I have come to love is certainly no cause for rejoicing. I tried a video of firing up Esmerelda but it's in kind of slow motion. I had a choice between filming or having a rear brake so I took it easy. Using the front brake alone can cause lowspeed instability on a m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-292177.html I added a couple of brief clips about the local scenery. Unless someone thinks I have nice feet I should apologize for showing them at the end of the vids.Before you even look into the window of a business establishment heremdashfat lot of good the sign does when I canrsquot readmdashyou can spot the Internet Cafes a mile away. The giveaway is the disproportionate number of bicycles from http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-291145.html The Harvest Festival in Hualien http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-290721.html Returning teachers are entitled to select the location of their next assignment in Taiwan and if we were staying I would be ready to move on to somewhere else. I had to write on the request form that I would not be returning and the options read like a travel guide1. Taipei City or County2. Taichung City or County3. Tainan City or County4. Taitung City or County5. Yilan City or Count http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-289129.html There are a few videos in this chapterand I know that they will be of limited interest other than to foreigners who have lived in Taiwan and have now gone home. One of the biggest hits believe it or not was the musical garbage truck from a few chapters ago Quite a few people asked for a copy of it. Itrsquos a bit disconcerting reallymdashall the filming and snapping Irsquove been doi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-285991.html There will be no new pictures in this chapter. My digital camera having done yeoman service is ldquotango uniformrdquo so I looked in my files for something to add. I found a video clip of the wonderful road through the mountains back from Li Yu Tan. More about that later.Life goes quietly on. Irsquom doing OK on my own Laopuo Suzanne is in Hanoi with our daughter ReneemdashI jus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-279537.html ldquoMy girlsrdquo so Irsquom a chauvinistmdashsue me returned to Kuala Lumpur after an overnight trip to Ipoh. KL threatens to become our favourite city in Asiamdashclosing fast on Taipei. They have been doing fabulous thingslike having a gourmet Mothers Day Thai meal at the Petronas Towers and caveexploring in the Batu Caves. Laopuo is really good at planning trips and this ti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Hualien/blog-275307.html