Weekend 7

Hualien and TAROKO!!!!!!

This trip had been in the plans for the better part of the summer. Given how popular Taroko is, I was pretty pessimistic about the entire outlook of the trip. Luckily, my friend came through and he managed to score train tickets to Hualien. This is also why we ended up leaving Taipei in the dead of the night one Friday.

Our train was one of the more "vintage" models (left). Look how shiny the new models (right) are ! They even have the words "Taroko" on the side! Beggars can't be choosers.

 

We arrived in Hualien a little after 1AM and promptly checked into the youth hostel and went straight to bed. Checking out the place next morning (when I was much more lucid,) it had a pretty cool vibe. The lobby is a combination of a bar and a library. You could tell it used to be someone's home once because they still had wedding photos and knick-knacks in the cabinets. It is definitely a departure from my perception for youth hostels.

Waking up in a room with nine other people was "interesting," let's just put it that way.

Up bright and early to grab the bus from Hualien to Taroko.

Two hours later... we're finally here. Taroko National Park.

This is where we started. If all went to plan, we should have arrived at our final destination a little before dinner, just in time to grab the bus back to Hualien. But you know what they say about plans right?

We went down to the water's edge. It was so cool standing at the bottom of the valley and just looking up around you, taking everything in.

Just look at that water. It was unbelievably clear.

During our walk, we went through three or four tunnels. Not my favourite thing walking in the dark with cars whooshing by, but it had to be done. Kudos to my travel buddies who made walking in those dark dark tunnels a semi-enjoyable experience.

The "Beware of Falling Rocks" sign was everywhere. We probably should have worn protective gear. Instead, we just walked extra fast through the most "dangerous" areas while keeping our eyes upwards for any "loose-looking" rock.

Lushui Trail

Great view from the trail.

One of the suspension bridges we encountered.

Purrrty. There's also river-rafting at Taroko but we didn't have enough people. It should be a pretty neat experience. Something to definitely consider next time I'm at Taroko.

Tunnel of Nine Turns (九曲洞)

Unfortunately, the path was closed off for repair due to recent heavy rain. This particular path has one of the best views in the park but it's also extremely prone to falling rock. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be.

Swallow Grotto (燕子口)

With all the traffic, the swallows have all but deserted this place now. Hopefully with better conservation, they'll come back again. A lot of tourists, many of which were wearing helmets. Surprisingly, none of the native visitors were wearing helmets.

Gah! My camera ran out of battery after this point. Anyways, it took us about six hours to walk a little over 7km (three times longer than anticipated.) I found out afterwards that the distances marked on the map is that of direct distance from A to B and not the actual road distance inbetween. So we prob. walked A LOT more than just 7km. We gave up about half-way to our final destination and took the bus back to Hualien. Just as well, since  we prob. would have had to camp in Taroko for the night had we persisted, something we were definitely not prepared to do.
We actually did a bunch more stuff that day: we went to the coast; watched the Pacific Ocean; lit a sky lantern; watched the fireworks; and hung around the night market. No pictures unfortunately. You'll just have to take my word for it. It was an exciting night!

On the way back to Taipei, we finally got to ride the newer Taroko train! Shiny! 

We enjoyed some "seeded" tapioca in Luodong. There's a bean inside every tapioca. Really chewy and utterly delicious.

Weekend 6: Saturday (Part II)

The Two Halls - Theatre Hall
I've been wanting to visit the two halls for a while now. But getting a guided tour for just myself was next to impossible. Instead, I ended up tagging along a group of elementary school students and their parents.
The tour was obviously simplified for kids but I was glad just to be able to go inside.
Both halls were modeled after the Forbidden Palace in Beijing. However, the interior of the music hall has far more western influences. One of the elements where this is the most evident is the chandeliers. Whereas the chandeliers in the theatre hall are fashioned like lanterns, the chandeliers in the music hall have the more conventional and western styling.

A close-up of the lantern chandelier.

One of my favourite photos from the theatre hall.

The Two Halls - Music Hall

My art appreciation skills are not quite up to par because I couldn't make heads or tails of this calligraphy masterpiece. Supposedly eight characters but it looks like a mess to me. Need to work on that, appreciating good calligraphy.

Note the chandeliers.

We got to see the VIP room. Even the doorknobs are super fancy.

We even got to see an orchestra practice. Pretty cool. Hopefully the next time I'm in Taiwan, I can take in a play/performance of some sort.

Weekend 6: Saturday (Part I)

Presidential Building
Luckily for me, it's the 100th year of ROC (Taiwan.) In celebration, the presidential building opened its doors to the public one weekend per month this year. I already missed July's open house, there was no way I was going to miss August's. Normally, the building is open on weekdays, but taking time off work to go visit the presidential building was not an excuse that would go over very well with my boss.

This used to be the governor's office back in Japanese colonial days. So the architectural is heavily Japanese-influenced.   

The Foyer. Impressive.

There were many exhibits detailing the history of the building and of Taiwan. Look at all the flags that flew above Taiwan. Netherlands->Zheng Cheng-gong->Manchu->Japanese->ROC.

A view from the courtyard.

Look. They even provide cardboard cutouts of the president and vice-president so you can pretend to shake hands with them.

Taipei Guest House

This was the governor's residence during the Japanese colonial period. It was then converted to a guest house for important dignitaries/guests. Now I believe it's just a museum.

Look at the details. It must have cost a small fortune to build this place. I was surprised at how European the whole manor looks and feels. The gilded details, the tiled furnace, even the staircase seems something out of Anne of Green Gables.

Finally, something distinctively Japanese. A decorative chest that folds outwards. The ceiling inside holds 72 panels, each with an unique design (as you can see from the plaque.) Very curious thing. Why did the artisan spend so much time and energy on an area hidden from view? (The conspiracy theorist in me is yelling "Secret compartment!!!! Secret compartment!!! The panels act as a keypad!!!") Regardless, the craftsmanship on this chest is simply stunning. All the details. Very very ornate piece of art.

More pictures from inside the manor.

 

At this point, I would have been extremely surprised if the backyard landscape turned out to be mediocre.

A lovely backyard. You could tell a lot of thought went into the overall design of the landscape.

On the way to CKS, I saw the East Gate. Out of the four gates, only three remains (East, West, and South.) There's South Gate Junior, but I don't think it really counts.

Unto CKS! I had a date with a tour guide and a bunch of little kids.