All about Hualien

Taiwan is a small island, much like Singapore. But it is blessed with high mountains and deep gorges and Hualien is a place where I went to find these.

Entrance to the East-West Highway and Taroko National Park



Pulowan Recreation Area or Visitor Information Area

Swallow Grotto Trail

Tienhsiang

Tunnel of Nine Turns

Eternal Spring Shrine

Chi Sing Tan Beach

In the south of Hualien, there are still more mountains and rivers. I liked the south better than the north so I had to go and see it. And if I went more south, there is the Tropic of Cancer markers which as suggested by their name, marked the latitude lines. There are 2 markers, one modern and one built by Aboriginals.

I went to Ruishui for the hotsprings, coffee plantations and farms. The one I chose was Hu Ye hotsprings because it was the closest to the train station. Hong Yeh is more famous but that's not my style. Another hostel mate told me it was also good because of the nice open mountain view. I got a free ride to the train station by the owner's daughter of Hu Ye. I miss the friendliness of people there. And, I learnt more abt service culture there. Very good.

I'm back in Singapore

As with people who fulfil their dreams of backpacking a country, I, too, have feelings of nostalgia for the wonderful days of carefree living and exciting new scenery.

I did manage to post up loads of pictures on Facebook, including the food of Taiwan. Didn't realise I ate so much beef noodles.

From my notebook, I find that I did save a few word document files on the places I have been passed.

Example: Tamshui – Riverside town with amazing charms.



Formerly called Hoba, Hobe and Huwei, it was first inhabited by Aborigines before the Spanish came in 1628 and the Dutch in 1642. After the Opium Wars in the late 1860s, the Qing government was forced to open Tamshui to foreign trade and missionaries. It became the largest and busiest harbor in Taiwan. When the Japanese came to colonize Taiwan in 1895 to 1945, they left their mark on the town and transformed it into a center for tourism.

1) Tamshui High School > Octagonal Tower

r

2 Oxford College/Aletheia University

Fort San Domingo

o

7)Fisherman’s Wharf

And Tamshui has one of the nicest sunsets around.