Following a truly memorable time in Taipei, I went to Hualien for two days, where I met up with Robert, a Taiwanese friend I met when he was working as a housekeeper in Williamsburg over the summer. He has a scooter that he rides around Hualien, and since the city's public transportation is pretty much non-existent, I rented a bicycle to go around by myself and rode on the back of the scooter when going around with Robert.
Hualien is a large county in Taiwan that is most well-known for its beautiful scenery both by the ocean and in the nearby mountains. Unfortunately, it is also known for having cloudy and rainy weather, especially in the winter. However, Zeus smiled upon me during my time in Hualien, allowing the past ten days of rain and clouds to give way to beautiful sunny days. Robert and I spent most of the full day I was there in Taroko Gorge, a stunning national park near Hualien. We rented a taxi for the day with four other guests at the hostel and drove around to see some really amazing sights, from ocean-side cliffs to caves sprayed with beautiful curtains of water to fields of sunflowers. As you can see below, I had a blast with my camera.
I also tried a number of good Taiwanese foods, such as Hualien's version of Xiaolongbao's and a "Tawanese Hotdog," (also known as a big sausage wrapped around a little sausage) which consisted of a sausage surrounded by what was essentially a sausage made out of rice. Creative and delicious.
On my last day in Taiwan, I took a train back to Taipei followed by a bus to the airport, where I relaxed until my flight to Beijing.
After a night of sleep in Beijing, I went to Peking University for the day to see friends and teachers from the previous semester. I also met up with a friend from William & Mary who is just beginning the grueling process of Chinese immersion at CSI, and to whom I tried to provide a few words of encouragement and camaraderie.
I also bought tickets to go to Harbin for the ice festival, which was both more expensive and more difficult than I had hoped. It looks as if it will truly be very difficult to do as much travel around China during my holiday as I would like because of Spring Festival. After Harbin, I hope to go either to Chongqing or straight to Yunnan, depending on the sort of train or plane tickets I am able to find.
Until then, feast your eyes on the beautiful landscape of Taiwan!
View from the train on the way to Hualien from Taipei
A train photo reminiscent of my Dad's blurred car photos
Field of sunflowers on a beautiful morning
There is one sunflower more handsome than all the others!
Stunning view from the road just north of Hualien
The Pacific Ocean - in my grasp at last
It is hard to tell in the photos, but the beach was made up of small rounded rocks rather than the fine sand we are used to on the east coast of the US
The gorge was named not by the Japanese, as I guessed when I first heard the name, but after the native people who lived there
A pair of waterfalls leading down to the path
Steps leading to the cave of water curtains
In the cave of water curtains trying to get a picture, not slip, and keep my camera and clothing dry at the same time
A memorial for all the workers who dies building the highway that goes through the mountains.
All the nutrition you need after a long day of hiking and sightseeing in the form of a "Taiwanese hotdog"
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