Discovering Formosa : Day 6 - Hualien

After having a taste of the Hot Springs of Taitung, we were headed to Hualien county, located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan. And going into Hualien, we were certainly not going to miss Taroko Gorge, so we made it it our first stop there. The bus made its way up the mountaineous region and dropped us at the Tunnel of Nine Turns. We took the well known trek down the mountain which gave us chance to have a close up look of the magnificent gorge that was carved up by the river a long time ago. However walking down had its share of lurking danger in the form of falling rock. We were given helmets but that was just scant protection against the impact a falling rock can make. There was a scary moment too when a rock the size of a small papaya dropped just a few meters away from our group. We completed the walk in about 30 minutes and headed towards the town.

Taroko Gorge

Site of a recent rock fall accident

There was a short pitstop at a Jade Factory for a salespitch on Jade and other stone pieces. It was already dark when we stopped for dinner. We arrived at a normal house, looking nothing like a restaurant, that had a few tables laid out for us. However this was the best food we had for our entire trip. The food was mainly organic, with free-range chicken and wild boar, and tasty glutinous rice.

Jade Factory

Part of our dinner

There was more activities after dinner and like all Taiwanese towns, Hualien also had a Night Market. Although there was not much of a crowd in this sleepy town. The highlight of the Market was that it was loacated just next to the beach, and this allowed activities like firing fireworks and setting free 'Heaven Lanterns'. The flying lantern bit was quickly over due to strong winds but we had a good time lighting up the skies with fireworks of all sizes and colour.

Lighting up the Lantern

Flying to Heaven

Fireworks of all shapes and sizes

Age is not a barrier play Sparklers

Like A Comet Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky

...Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Discovering Formosa : Day 5 - Kenting and Taitung

It was another bright and sunny day today. Though the blue skies would really look great in pics, we will have to earn it by sweating it out. First stop was a tour of Hengchun which was a really a tour of the filming sites made famous in Cape No.7. Here are the pics.

The Hengchun Post Office

The Church

Aga's house. Aga is the male lead of the story.

Inside the house

The two panes which were replaced and autographed. The panes were broken by Tomoko in the story.

The West Gate, where the bus carrying the models had problems crossing

Sending a self addressed postcard back home.

Next we travelled the coastal road to two popular rock formations, ie. President Nixon's Nose and Cat's Nose (Mou Bi tou). You need some imigination to figure them out but if it gives tourist a reason to stop and admire, the Taiwanese wil name all the rock formations along their coasts.

President Nixon's Nose

Cat's Nose (Mou Bi Tou)

After lunch, the bus took us through the scenic coastal road all the way up to Taitung. While they played 'Cape No.7' on TV, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery which meanders around mountains on one side and cliffs on the other. The skies were cloudy so we were given a respite from the scorching heat.

It was evening when we reached our accomodation for the night which was along the belt of 'hot spring' hotels in Taitung. Now, one has to be clothed in proper swimming attire (cap and trunks) to take to the hot springs, else you will just have to do with the piped in 'spring' water in the bathroom. But since I was there,I was not going to miss out on the real thing, so I bought a cheap set at the hotel. The water was piping hot in the 'All Male' pool, but once I am in the water it felt so comfortable and therapeutic. Too bad one can't spend too long in the pool. By the way, the rooms were spacious and had a nice Japanese theme to it. It could really have filled a full family.

Discovering Formosa : Day 4 - Kaohsiung and Kenting

We had a day to explore Kaohsiung today. So we started off with the tallest building in sight, the Kaohsiung 85 Building. There was only one main attraction here which was the viewing deck on the 75th floor. The lift raced up the building in no time, so we had ample time to admire the 360 degree view of the city and port from the vantage point. This building has been surpassed by the Taipei 101 Building since, but the clear skies in Kaohsiung helped put one over the cloudy Taipei skyline.

Panaromic views of the city

Next up was the Dream Mall, located just a few blocks away. This was supposed to be the biggest shopping complex in Taiwan with a Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel on the roof. Yes, we did rode on it. It was purely for the view, I swear, and not for the cute Hello Kitty inspired cabins or the Cinnamon Roll pilow in ours. The rest of the mall was not much different from the ones in Singapore except for a few interesting shops. There was a particular one which combined fashion, collectibles and dining, and had moving display shelves.

After our shopping stint, we headed to the countryside for a visit to the Fo Guang Shan Monastery. This is just a monastery with big grounds, lots of buddha statues and one really gigantic one. The walk under the hot sun made us sweat out and we were glad to be back in the air-conditioned bus again. Our next destination was to be some distance away, so we had time to take a nap while the scenery slowly changed to one with a rugged coastline.

We were heading to 'Cape No.7 ' country, the Kenting National Park. This place is down at the southern tip of Taiwan and boasts many sunny beaches. But now it is even more famous as the filming site of the Taiwan's hit movie of 2008. We made a pit stop on the way to savour some local fruits, namely the 'Jambu Air' and local Mangoes. It has been a long time since I tasted Jambu Air and these Taiwanese grown ones were as big as Fuji Apples and really sweet.

After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed to the town for yet another night market. For a small town, there were quite a number of people walking around the stalls. There was a difference between this night market and the previous ones in the major towns. People were less hurried and walking at a leisurely pace as you would have expected of a 'Beach' town. Our only buy at this market was a foldable bag which could fit the rest of our buys and potential ones. Yes, our luggage space was bursting at the seams and reinforcements had to be bought in.

Dognapped in Muar Town

This actually took place at my in-laws' place in Muar.

My in-laws have three dogs at home , one Shitzu and two Toy Poodles. All were kept outside the house, under the porch. It was raining heavily that fateful night. When my bro-in-law got up the next day, the Shitzu was barking furiously at the cage where the poodles were kept. On further inspection, the cage was found empty and pieces of chicken (probably drugged) were lying around. Then the Shitzu started barking at the back of the house. The smart mutt was probably trying to indicate the direction where those thieves fled with the Poodles. The thieves had came from the back lane and over the back wall. My bro-in-law (BIL) who had bought his wife-to-be (WTB) those dogs was devastated. The police were called but there was not much that they could do (we don't expect much from them either).

Yet, BIL and WTB were determined to find their babies. They printed thousand over 'Missing Dog' notices and got them distributed and pasted all over town. A reward was offered to any leads leading to the stolen dogs.

Then a phonecall came. The person claimed to have seen the dogs being sold and had seen the new owners entering the temple at 'Lak Beh Loh' (or Jln Daud). So BIL and WTB called the police to meet them there. Now this temple is a hangout for gangsters, and the two policemen that turned up did not dare to enter the premises. While the policemen called their superior, BIL and WTB went in and tried to get their dogs back. When the police chief came, he had a quiet word with the people there and then asked BIL and WTB to take their dogs back. Nobody knows how the matter was settled between police and the gang, except that all charges were to be dropped. However there is high suspicion that the gang was somehow involved in the theft and the lead came from a fellow gang member.

So dog owners beware. These thieves are on the prowl. They know the worth of your dogs and your miniature-sized dogs are just the right size to cradle away under their arms (but we have heard cases of Rottweilers being stolen too).

One of the 'dognapped' poodles. He was dyed pink by the thieves to avoid being recognised.

The Shitzu that got away ... either she was too choosey with food (did not touch the chicken) or the thieves had only hands for two.

Discovering Formosa : Day 3 - Nantou and Kaohsiung

We were going further down south today, passing by the mountainous Nantou county on the way to Taiwan's second largest city, Kaohsiung. Our first stop was the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village, one of the many theme parks that are strewn around the country. This would not be a stop if I had a say in the itenerary but most 8 Day tours around Taiwan seem to fit one of these amusement parks into their round the island tour. Maybe it was meant to appease any kids who were bored with night markets, temples and mountains, but the average age in our group bordered somewhere between mid-life crisis and retirement. We even had an over 80 Grandma who gamely walked around with the rest of us.

On the plus side, the park was set amidst wonderful natural setting with mountains on all sides. Once we were in the park, we started by watching aboriginal dance and songs at the Naruwan Theatre. The second half was free and easy, though we were not so keen on the rides there. We were rounded up again just before lunch. Our next destination was Sun Moon Lake which was not too far off.

Scantily clad all-male aboriginal dance troupe

The ladies' turn

The most photographed couple in aboriginal costumes ... and all they wanted was to sell CDs

Cable car ride at Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village

After eating at a restaurant near the lake, we were brought to Wen Wu temple, a huge temple complex overlooking Sun Moon Lake. As much as I appreciated the architecture of the place, being given over an hour to roam around the temple was just too much, and this is from one who takes a lot of pictures. I would be happier if we had spent the rest of our time cruising around the lake but I guess technically they did no wrong (in their brochure) - a 'Visit' to the lake does not equate to a 'Cruise' on it.

Wen-Wu Temple

Inside the complex

From the top ... in the distant is Sun Moon Lake

Our next stop was Kaohsiung. We were promised a boat ride on the Love River but a check at the river front revealed that there were no services that night due to a Dragon Boat competition the next day. I guess we were just not meant to be on the water today. We were already hungry by then, so we were off from the word go when we reached LiuHo night market. This was not a very big market but the crowd there was huge that night. We helped ourselves to a bowl of Dan Cai Mian, buns and some tropical fruits before calling it a night.

Love River

We had noodles from this stall in LiuHo night market

The rich variety of Taiwan fruits