Off to Taiwan (Part 1)- Trip to Hualien

Long overdue post about my Taiwan trip, but it's still not too late to do so, so here it goes!!!

My friend and I decided to kickstart our trip at Hualien on the day we arrive at Taoyuan International Airport. It is important to ensure that you have sufficient to travel from the airport to Taipei Main Station. It takes quite a while at the immigration, followed by a 40-min ride to Taipei Main Station via the Airport MRT. We also booked the tickets online so as to reserve seats in advance for the train, since it takes about 2 hours to get to Hualien via train.

Fast forward to our 1st day in Hualien, we started off by exploring the Qixingtan Beach and Hualien City. As we wanted to save some money and explore Hualien, we decided to walk to the beach from our airbnb, especially since Google Maps said it would take ~50mins. Little did we know that we ended up taking 2 hours to Qixingtan, while a 15-min taxi ride would have sufficed. Nevertheless, we managed to enjoy the morning breeze and immerse into the local way of life.

Upon arriving at Qixingtan Beach, we were greeted by a splendid sight of the blue Pacific Ocean, as well as a picturesque view of the mountains. In my opinion, Qixingtan Beach should be visited in the morning, where the skies are clearer, and with lesser tourists.

We then headed back to Hualien Train Station and set foot to explore the rest of Hualien City. We stopped by the Pine Garden and Meilunshan Park. We then walked to Hualien City and tried some of the MUST TRYs Hualien snacks - The Famous GongZheng Street Pau and Organic Yam Ice Cream. After our little adventure, we then headed for Dongdamen Night Market. Honestly, the prices are rather touristy and the street snacks were not as great as what I imagined it to be.

 

Some photos from Day 1:Hualien

On our 2nd day in Hualien, we explored Taroko Gorge National Park, one of Taiwan's most beautiful sights. I was extremely captivated by the beautiful sights and how much the park can offer to everyone. In the many other blogs that I read, travellers tend to hire a private charter that brings them around, but costs at least NTD2500-3000. However, as we were on a budget and did not want to be restricted by the guided tour, we decided to purchase the 1-day Taroko Gorge Bus Pass  instead for just NTD250. Contrary to most private chartered tours, we decided to explore the Shakadang Trail (~4-5 hours round trip), followed by exploring the rest of Taroko Gorge via the public bus. On google maps, it seemed possible to walk from Shakadang to Buluowan, but we got a shock when we were ascending upwards the Gorge on the bus. There is no way to access the other attraction areas by foot as the roads are very narrow to begin with, and it is also one of the most dangerous highways in the world. 

Anyway, given that there were many trails that we had to choose from, we decided to go with the Shakadang Trail. It is an off-beaten path, and the least packed with tourists, as compared to Buluowan, Swallow Grotto Trail and Lushui Trail. Best to go early in the morning before it gets too hot at noon, and also, to enjoy the morning serenity. For amateurs, the Shakadang Trail is only limited up to 4.0km before you have to turn back, unless you have a hiking permit to go beyond the more uneven and dangerous paths. Shakadang Trail probably has one of the most mesmerising landscapes as we were greeted by such picturesque marbled rocks, and the clear emerald blue waters. 

The tunnel through to Shakadang Trail 

    
    
   

 Honestly, it was one of the best highlights of our Taiwan trip, but after the recent 2018 typhoon, I'm not sure Taroko Gorge is what I saw in 2017. It's gonna be such a pity should a beautiful place like this gets destroyed by the natural disasters.

After exploring Taroko Gorge, we then headed back to Qixingtan Beach again to enjoy the afternoon breeze for awhile before heading back to rest up for the day and packed up for Taipei the next day.