Day #121: Hualien

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Hualien is an industrial coastal city, and feels completely different to Taipei, much more rough and ready. For a start, walking the streets is hazardous: there are few pavements, and those that do exist are usually blocked by parked bicycles and scooters, so just walking around the city requires constant vigilance to avoid the traffic. The city feels tougher: not unfriendly, but not all welcoming smiles (as in Taipei and Kinmen) either.

The train journey from Taipei took 4 1/2 hours because the fast train was sold out, so no time for more than a walk to the seafront in the evening. This area is being renovated and is a building site, so to get to the actual promenade everyone had to shuffle through a narrow alley formed between fences and tarpaulins blocking off the building work. Clustered around the entrance to the promenade are a series of down-at-heel stalls selling tat and suspect-looking sausages on sticks, and the whole area looks a bit grubby. However the actual promenade, when you get there, is very pleasant and relaxed.

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