We went on a three days excursion in Hualien, Eastern Taiwan. It takes about 2 hours to get their by the express train from Taipei to Hualien. On the train, we can see Pacific Ocean and mountainous views which are gorgeous.
After having lunch, we went to see Taroko National Park or Taroko Gorge. This is where torrents of river waters cut through the marble and granite over the years which create a beautiful, narrow ravine with waterfalls, complete with a misty mountain top. There are subtropical forests surround the gorge that enhances them to be more fresh and stunning.
Our first scenic spot was the Central Cross-Island Highway which was destroyed by the earthquake in 1999.
Then we arrived at Shakadang Trail where we had to hike about 40 minutes. This trail is built along the river cliff and travelers can easily observe the plants and rocks when they hike. There are some spots for ecologists to do research.
It was tough to hike and climb up the highest rock with flip-flop like me as it is very slippery and I made it.
After that we visited the Tunnel of Nine Turns trail and all visitors had to put on the helmet to protect their heads from falling rocks.
The view was awesome when you are in the middle of the mountain; you can look down to the deep chasm. The next spot is the Swallow Grotto. I didn’t see this one because I fell as sleep when I was on the bus and when I opened my eyes, everyone had left.
After this, we went to see Eternal Spring Shrine. This Eternal Spring Shrine was built to honor the 450 workers who died during the construction of Taiwan’s Central Cross-Island Highway in the 1950s. Our last stop was the sea side of Pacific Ocean. I didn’t go down to the sea because it is so windy and at that time, I am afraid of getting a cold.
We arrived at the hotel at around 6pm and decided to discover Hualien city at night. I was with other students to find McDonald’s or other places to eat dinner using the map given by the receptionist. We all stopped at 7 Eleven to buy some stuff when when we (me and Ellina) got out, everybody was left except Suyash. He told us he didn’t see other people when he got out also. So we decided to go back to the hotel because none of us had the map. One the way back, we stopped at a place where we see some pretty girls sitting outside. Suyash thought it was a bar so he wanted to go and check it out. It was so funny that when we came in, they said that girls, me and Ellina couldn’t get it and it costs around 8,000NT for a girl with free drinks for Suyash. We guess it is a guy entertainment place and they all look very creepy.
After getting a map from the hotel, the direction showed by the receptionists and Dr. Median, we started our trip. Ellina wanted to find the laundry place as Dr. Median said just go straight. We went straight and didn’t look at the map carefully. After finding the laundry place, we asked people on the street about McDonald’s and they told us to keep straight. We was walking on a very dark street and didn’t see any McDonald’s after around 40 minutes. We decided to ask some young Taiwanese sitting in a restaurant to help us. Finally, we made our way to McDonald’s in over 1 hour tiredly. We were a little bit upset because other people didn’t wait for us when we are clueless about the direction in this city.
Sitting at McDonald’s, I looked at the map again, tried to read the street’s labels and figured out that we walked way too far. We have gone through a big curve instead of a short line. We found out that McDonald’s is very close to the hotel and we should have turned right when we got out from the hotel. Anyway, we got back to the hotel using the short way safety. We were freaked out when walking for so long and couldn’t find McDonald’s and the street and people were looking at us like we are from a different planet. However, we enjoyed a long walking journey afterward even though it was tiring and I was so hungry at that time. I think it’s good to get lost because from there, figuring out the rite way back is a challenge that we all want to get through.
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