It was a brief respite, a visual break of sorts from the emerald monotony of the Philippines’ cordilleras – don’t get me wrong, the mountains were gorgeous and we loved it to bits but a week of it can get mundane. Anyway, I told Katie that ‘sublime’ doesn’t even begin to do Taiwan justice. Remember Katie? Well, she’s the brave British lady we met in Sagada and then later Banaue. Yes, I told her just that. And I meant it to the T. What’s there not to love? We thought we’d have enough of mountains but Taiwan had all that and more. I mentioned that we adored Taipei the moment we landed, and to our surprise, we would sustain that sentiment right to the very end. It’s a lot to squeeze here in this entry but I’ll try to make it as succinct and enjoyable as possible.
We checked in at Taipei Hostel (NT750/night) off Linsen N Road. It’s an institution in itself (quotes Lonely Planet). All manner of nationalities graced its dorms and you really get a global feel in its lounge. It served as our base to explore the city. Taipei was everything that Manila wasn’t – it’s clean, modern, organized, and reminiscent of home. We reserved the second day in Taiwan for Ximending and Shilin night market. Ximending is Taipei’s answer to Orchard Road – hip, young, funky, and a lot of good-looking people. We ate at a local eatery for brunch and ordered oyster omelette, carrot cake and fishball noodle. I loved it but unfortunately Aly didn’t, I guess it was the blend and oily texture of the food. It was impossible to track down all of Ximending’s streets (mind you, 8 major intersections and a maze of narrow lanes within the designated vicinity wasn’t a joke) so by night fall, we headed down to Shilin for its infamous night market. It was mayhem, literally, with throngs of people of all ages and nationalities congregating in a space that resembles Geylang. I wanted to try the smelly tofu but the slightest whiff of it got my intestines churning. I backed away, far from the warzone and into the safe confines of a KFC outlet overlooking Shilin’s main drag for dinner. Still, the multitude of happenings on the streets was too much to handle in just a single visit. I vowed to return, but maybe sometime later. All in all, Taipei was fun but we felt that we have experienced it all in a day. Perhaps, it was just too similar to Singapore.
Hualien on the East Coast is a cookie-cutter town mimicking the urban amenities of Taipei albeit on a rural scale. It’s a city of 109000 people so you’ll get the big-town-small-feel effect that’s palatable to any urban dwellers who yearn to escape from the city beat. It was a breeze getting out of town; we purchased a ticket from the Taipei Railway Station (NT445/pax) straight to Hualien and 5 minutes later we were whisked on board. The ride itself was smooth and promised spectacular views of the rugged coastline of Taiwan’s Pacific shore, which it delivered promptly after turning southbound somewhere after Fulong. Sleep, if you must (which we did anyway since the seats were very comfortable) but be sure to wake up in time for Hualien Station just 2 hours later.
Don’t be fooled but what you first see and hear when you exit the gates at Hualien – the city did look like quite a drab especially in the searing summer heat and the omnipresent touts incessantly vied for the attention of anyone remotely foreign-looking – for once we passed all that, it made a good base to explore what the East Coast is all about. The 3 days spent there saw us exploring Taiwan’s much-publicised Taroko Gorge and the maddeningly beautiful rugged coastline. We made Chian Tai Hotel (NT700, double with attached bathroom) located at the junction just outside the train and bus stations as our home for the next few days.
Most people would have convinced that you would need a guide to Taroko and they will go the extra mile (mark my words) to have you know that the best way to view the limestone formations is by hiring a taxi and whizzing through it for half a day. Reality check: the gorge is bisected by a national highway which runs its entire length and there are permanent settlements within the park so public transport is not a problem. This was exactly why we did the tour/trek ourselves; to allow ourselves ample time to take in the views without the fuss of someone haggling over you. We took a mid-morning bus to Tienhsiang (NT191/pax) which we did in 2 parts to allow time for a brief tour of the park entrance and by 1pm, we embarked on our first trek to the Cave of The Water Curtain. The walk itself was nothing spectacular save for the towering limestone surfaces that dwarfed us but true to its name (like straight out of a Chinese period serial) the cave offered a brief walk through an underground stream which led to an internal waterfall best thought of as water streaming down a series of cracks from its ceiling. It would not do Indiana Jones proud but the brief cave walk was pure fun – we showered in its cool torrent and traced the ankle-deep stream on our way out. Desperate to make time for our second trek up to Huoran Pavillion, we headed back to Tienhsiang and traced the trailhead up the slopes. It was no walk in the park; do not even dream of attempting this if you’re short on time and energy. We certainly did not have the luxury of an entire day and I for sure had yet to recover from the punishing hikes in Luzon. Guidebooks would have you believe that making 400m along a 1.9km trail is not so hard. Only true if you’re doing geometry – Points A and B were not connected by a straight line. The trail was steep, slippery and vegetated, something we’re used to but not after a series of prior trekking. We only made it as far as the 1.1km mark where there is a viewing platform where you can glance at the valley below as well as the pavilion that seemed to be an eternity away. After some heavy panting and a good 4 sticks of cigarette each, we retraced our steps and took a cab (NT200) back to Hualien, with a stop at the Swallow Grotto, arguably the most scenic and majestic stretch of the gorge, with the highway weaving in and out of the limestone on one side and 300m sheer surfaces on the other.
Having soaked in enough of Taiwan’s famed mountainous interior, we embarked on a road trip south of Hualien along coastal Highway 11. It was simply breathtaking. NT90/pax got us to Cow Mountain Beach where we trekked down a 1km dirt path down from the highway turnoff to the beach. Every bit as dramatic Taroko, we witnessed the Pacific greets emerald cliffs. The beach is hemmed in between these 2 giants. It was off-limits to swim but was the perfect spot to get a nice tan. Those not keen on that would have a tough time locating any decent shady spots but whatever it is, the stunning views would blow you away, literally. On our way up, we ran into ‘Mr. San’ and his wife, ‘Mdm. Shi Xian’, who very generously offered us a ride to Shihtiping (some 30km further south). It was this kind gesture that sealed the perfect impression of the Taiwanese for us – warm and inviting people who make particularly gracious hosts to any foreigners. Shihtiping boasts the dramatic limestone coast where one would be easily impressed by the ravenous power of the ocean. Centuries of erosion carved blowholes, cuestas and cliffs that would be the domain of any deserving geologist. Such was the moonscape of Shihtiping – the hostile face-off between land and sea unfolding before your very eyes. We could not resist exploring rugged coastline and soon engaged ourselves in a good hour of trekking the coast, which involved climbing, skipping and clawing on the part-barnacle-infested part-aeolian-erosion surfaces of boulders and rocks. To cap it off, we sat at the base of a cuesta, by a blowhole, and took in the ironic beauty of it all, with a video as proof. By 5.30pm, we board the bus back to Hualien (NT183).
We returned to Taipei the next afternoon, only to learn that a moderate 5.3 magnitude tremor rocked the coast off Hualien that same morning. Amazingly enough, we slept through it like a baby still lulled by the magnificent wonders of the East Coast. Our remaining hours in Taiwan were spent roaming the streets of the city to view Taipei 101where w had good food at its fabulous food court, especially so for Aly who finally had some Indian fills. We then headed to Core Pacific City or better-known as giant golf ball cum Jupiter cum sotong ball or any either round ornaments you can think of. We returned to our hostel early but lulled the hours again on the roof garden smoking and occasionally visiting the lounge to take advantage of the free wi-fi.
Taiwan is really a land of contrasts; modernity constantly married with traditions, nature alongside the man-made, the rural versus the urbane. It makes for succinct East Asian odyssey if time and money aren’t on your side. We had a week in Taiwan and it was 7 days well-spent; we ingested the best of what Ilha Farmosa had to offer and quite honestly, we’d both be more than willing to return should the opportunity present itself in future. But for now, it remains as one of the most fulfilling journey we’ve had thus far.
Gosh, I miss this. It was taken at Puka Beach on Boracay.
