Taroko Gorge

Taroko Gorge

In April 2009 I went to Hualien and Taroko Gorge with a friend. We spent one night in Hualien, then rented scooters and went up the coast. It was our first time on scooters, and it took us a little while. I froze completely and my friend accidentally drove into a car. But within an hour we were fine. Later I saw in the guidebook that they don't recommend taking a scooter to Taroko Gorge if it's your first time because the road is so dangerous. It's narrow and there are a lot of very sharp turns and aggressive bus drivers. Oh well.

Coast between Hualien and Sincheng

We stopped at this beach to have lunch. It rained most of the trip, but we had ponchos and it was warm, so it didn't really matter.

The scooter I rented

I don't really know anything about scooters, but they said this one was 150cc. I tried going into the mountains on a 100cc a few months later, and I thought the scooter was going to die, so I'd recommend paying the extra for the 150cc. We paid 300nt (about US$9) per day.

Eternal Spring Shrine 

This shrine is very close to the entrance to the park. There were a lot of tour buses, but it wasn't too crowded. I don't know when the high season is, or what it's like then, but it might be better to go midweek if you have the option. There is a little cafe and restrooms here. 

Most people didn't walk up here, at least on the day I went. I think the tour buses have strict schedules, and there are more impressive views further up. 

A brief moment of sunshine

This was taken near Swallow Grotto. I believe this was the only time the sun came out on the whole trip.

 View from Swallow Grotto

Buddhist Temple near Tiansiang

Tiansiang is the only town in the gorge. It's near the middle, so it's a good place to stop and get a snack. 

Entrance to the temple

We were looking for  waterfall, but we managed to pass the entrance several times before we gave up. Somehow we didn't notice that we had been going uphill for a very long time, until it started raining very heavily. Going downhill on slippery roads while trying not to be hit by tour buses wasn't that best part of the trip. There are a lot of tunnels that aren't wide enough for a scooter, the tour bus that's trying to pass it, and any kind of oncoming traffic. This fact didn't slow the buses down at all. I was really beginning to loathe tunnels by the end of the trip. We had a really good time though. 

Lunch

We ate at an indigenous Taiwanese restaurant. The food was amazing, although there was an herb in the rice I didn't really care for.

Cemetery

Many of the people in the area are Christians, so that's why there are crosses.

 Cingshuei Cliffs

 

Guarding the mountain

Bao-an Temple, Taipei

More Photos: Confucius Temple and Bao-an Temple

Night Markets in Taiwan

Shida Night Market, Taipei

One of the things I really miss about Taiwan is the night markets. Shida Night Market is next to Shida University. It's not that big, but I usually stayed at a hotel near there when I went to Taipei, so I would always visit it. The One Cup 1000cc sign describes all the different kinds of tea they sell. 

Fruit Stand, Shida Night Market

The red ribbons hanging over the fruit spin around to keep flies off the fruit. 

Shilin Night Market, Taipei

Shilin Night Market is probably the biggest one in Taipei. It's split into two sections, a food hall with a roof, and the (primarily) non-food stalls outside. This is the food section. There's over 500 food stalls here. 

Shilin Night Market

On the right is a fruit juice stand. Those were generally my favorite. I only knew the words for mango, papaya or strawberry milkshakes, so that's all I could order. Well, I did know the word for juice as well, I just prefer milkshakes. I could read Chinese better than I could speak it, so if I had wanted to I could have pointed and ordered something different. 

Hsinchu Night Market

I'm not sure if this is really a night market or not. It was open all the time (perhaps not mornings, I was never there in the morning) and it was pretty permanent looking, but it was tiny shops set up outside, so I'll count it. This one had mostly clothing.

Fish Stall, Cijin, Kaohsiung

This one is on an island in Kaohsiung. You can take a little ferry there. It's pretty touristy, but it's cute and has nice beaches. There was a lot of fish for sale.

Cijin, Kaohsiung

This one has something to do with fried eggs, unless I'm reading it wrong (which is very possible).

Xinbu, Miaoli

This one is only open in the day, I believe. It's just a handful of stalls set outside of a little park filled with odd statues. If you are in the area, and I can't imagine you ever will be, as it's near absolutely nothing, go to this little park. Take the local train to Xinbu, on the sea line - between Jhunan and somewhere in Taichung county, the train splits into two lines, the sea and mountain lines. The station is also called Xinpu or Sinpu. Anyway, take a left out of the station and walk down the road until you see a park with strange statues. There is nothing else there, so you can't possibly miss it. If you get hungry, walk all the way through to the ocean to get to the food.