For those who aren't in the know, I have less than a month left during my stay in Taiwan. Thus, I've been stepping up my last-minute travel plans.
This weekend was the long-awaited trip to the beautiful east coast of Taiwan...more specifically, Hualien. Hualien is positioned rather unfortunately, geographically speaking...sandwiched between mountains and the ocean. How awful!
So, the basic plan was thus: Thursday night - arrive in Hualien, spend the night at my couchsurfing host's place. Friday - go exploring, find a spot to train, whatever, until meeting Josh at the train station and sleeping in a hostel for the night. Saturday - meet Yaling at the station, explore Toroko Gorge. Sunday - go the opposite direction of the gorge and visit the coast. see Josh off that night and go to Nanao to spend the night at Regina's (young student of mine) grandparents house. Monday - see the area where Rick (Regina's father) grew up, more beach and mountains, return home to Banciao that night.
Of course, things don't always go as planned, for better or for worse. If the above synopsis was sufficient, please stop here. If more details are desired, read on. Here's what went down:
Obviously, the best way to start any trip is to begin in a sleep-deprived state. Tuesday was a late night, and Wednesday night was spent at Corey's falling asleep late on the floor and then waking up for bagua. After bagua, I returned to the apartment to quickly pack and make some last-minute arrangements with Yaling.
After many complications, I arrived in Hualien (via train) much later than I had hoped for, around 9:30. My gracious host from couchsurfing, Skaya, (who had agreed to host me, in spite of my last-minute request. Not only was I fortunate enough to have a generous, outgoing host/companion my age, she was also an excellent source of knowledge, as she is studying History and Geography in Hualien) picked me up from the station and immediately took me to the night market, to cure my hunger. What a cure it was. I was treated to one of Hualien's famous foods, whose Chinese name I can't remember, but it basically translates to 'coffin'. The type I chose had chicken and cabbage in the middle of a thick slab of butter-battered bread. Delicious. Then, to her favorite bbq place for a healthy dosage of 'things on a stick' for dessert. After seeing a movie, we headed out to her apartment. On the scooter ride there, I noticed a familiar feeling seeping in: I was no longer in the city. I could see the horizon at times, the buildings were not as numerous (nor as ridiculously tall), the air was cleaner, traffic lights weren't necessary every block, and where those...stars I could see many of? It quickly became apparent that this trip was exactly what the doctor ordered.
After a night's sleep on the surprisingly comfortable floor, Friday arrived. Skaya, misinterpreting my flimsy plans as potential boredom, offered to take me to Lake Liyu (SW of Hualien City), to enjoy the area while she was busy. It certainly was an area worth enjoying. There's a path that goes around the lake, with several trails that branch off into the mountains. I meandered along the path, stopping to take advantage of a nice reading spot. As I continued, eventually late-morning drowsiness wore off and early-afternoon ambition kicked in. I arrived at a trail that appeared to go up the mountain, in some fashion. Truth is...yes, yes it did. The trail went up whatever mountain it was, switch-backing at times, straight up at others. About halfway up said mountain, it became apparent that this was more ambitious and time-consuming than I had assumed. I had to get back down to the other side of the lake in time for Skaya's return. However, I was enjoying myself too much to not take on the rest of the challenge. After double-timing it up the rest of the mountain, I was rewarded with an awesome view, sweat-soaked clothes, and a rain cloud hovering (oh so close) over my head. The view was enjoyed, the pictures taken, and the body given a brief rest. However, the looming dark clouds (which I now seemed to be in) and deadline ushered me back into motion...joyous downhill motion! The path (different path, twas a loop) back down the mountain was a bit tricky at times. Everything was a bit rain-slicked, so it was best to avoid the bare wooden tiles and stepping stones. Jogging it made for some precise footwork, but it beat the alternatives. However, during some stretches, the steps were wider as the spaces between the wood/stone steps increased. This allowed me to experience pure joy for the 2nd time this trip. For not the first time in my life (though it hasn't happened nearly often enough), I realized that I have known no greater bliss than running down a beautiful mountain. In those all-too-brief stretches, I knew only pure joy. There was no fear...partly because I have gained enough confidence in my physical precision, and partly because there was no point...even if, assuming the worst case scenario, I somehow managed to cause my own death...I know no better place for my end. Anyway, the mountain climb and descent took about 2 hours total, and I successfully arrived back to my starting point in time for some light rain and Skaya's return. Truth be told, it was the best training I've done in a long time.
Top o' the mountain, Lake Liyu below
Then, it was back to Hualien for a healthy dosage of another famous Hualien food. Refueled, we headed off to Chisingtan Beach, north of Hualien along the coast. Sigh, another beautiful place. Now, this isn't your stereotypical, perfectly sandy, babes-in-bikinis kind of beach. The beach itself is made of rocks. Many, many smooth rocks. The waves of time have washed them over and over, smoothing them to perfection and creating interesting patterns in their surfaces. It IS November, and the weather wasn't stellar, so there were only a few souls in sight. It was damn impressive. Also, the wind was blowing and the waves were surprisingly large. Though the lack of sun minimized the potential of nice colorful photographs, I do love me some mountains peeking through clouds. On a side note, there's no swimming allowed on this beach (as with most of the east coast), as the depth drops very suddenly only a short distance from dry land.
Post-beach, we made a stop at an aboriginal leatherworking shop before heading to Amigo's Hostel, near the train station, where Skaya and I parted ways. I settled in, dried some clothes, and killed some time until Josh arrived, at which time we beef-noodled it and bunkered in for the night. End Friday.
Saturday morning, we fooled around Hualien a bit while waiting for Yaling to arrive. Her train arrived later than we had planned, so we had to make some quick decisions, as we needed to get to the gorge ASAP. It was decided to take the bus to Tianshiang, located in the gorge. There we would book a room in a hostel and explore the area with what little daylight we would have left. So, off we went into the gorge. The bus ride was about an hour and a half of twisting roads, breathtaking beauty, and harrowing close encounters with walls/guardrails/vehicles. Upon arriving in Tiansiang, I think we were all a bit grateful to be on our own two feet again. We did a quick survey of Tiansiang (using our favorite method of wandering aimlessly), which is just a small town/outpost situated in the gorge (but very much still on a hill). It had a handful of small food shops, a convenience store, a police station (?? there were cops there??), 3 hostels, and a visitor center. We decided upon the old Catholic hostel and were given a 4-bed dorm style room with a bathroom. Apparently, the only decent food in this place was at another of the 3 hostels, the Youth Activity Centre...so we ate our dinner there that night and breakfast the following morning. We had no luck finding any short trails to explore before darkness fell. We were discouraged to find one trail closed, the road to the west (which goes beyond Tiansiang, deeper into the gorge) closed, and learned that the hot springs were also closed. So, we just did a bit of playing among the rocks by the river, made plans for the next day, and that was that.
That night was spent lounging around, taking a good shower, etc. Josh and I got involved in playing some cards with another foreigner group (mostly from the states). It was obvious that it wasn't exactly our type of crowd, but we were grateful for a little company and fun. Truth be told, playing 'Asshole' on a picnic table in the middle of nowhere made me think of similar situations with Laura and the boys up at the cabin...I would have preferred that instead, but hey. That night, fortune smiled upon me as the clouds temporarily parted to reveal a twinkling star show. I spent a nice amount of time lying on my back on a bench on the roof, gazing...then, some qigong was the perfect was the perfect nightcap. Once again, pure medicine.
From the hostel
We got a pretty early start the next morning and were greeted by a decent breakfast, more clouds, and more decisions to be made. Since the road to the west was closed, we had one direction to go: east, back towards the entrance. So, we decided to do it our own way (what better way is there?). We would hike the road back to the entrance, partaking in any tempting trails along the way. So, we did just that. The distance was about 18km, plus any additional mileage the trails tacked on. 18km of cliff faces, boiling rapids, rocky turns, close calls with tour buses, and a feeling of pure majestic power that didn't fade one bit. There was some grumbling and some sore legs, but when all was said and done, I think we all agreed that it was the right decision. Having plenty of time to soak all the majestic beauty of the gorge forged many memories for us, and not just pictures. Suffice to say, Toroko Gorge did not disappoint.
However, upon arriving at the entrance/HQ and checking the bus schedule, a big problem arose. I had left my duffel bag (the others had no extra luggage, as I was staying the longest) in Tiansiang, to be retrieved later that day....buuuuuut there were no more buses going to Tiansiang. So, I asked the rangers at the visitor center if there were any other options. My options were laid out as thus: call a taxi (which would cost an arm and a leg) or wait until tomorrow. Well, since most of my stuff was in my duffel (including my laptop, which I was NOT psyched to leave in a hostel unattended overnight (however locked the room might be), I wasn't thrilled about waiting for tomorrow...and also because going from hualien to tiansiang and back would take 3+ hours out of our next day. BUT THEEENNNN, fortune smiled upon me, for not the first time this trip. The nice ranger lady I was talking to offered to take me there in her car, after her shift is over. Wow, great! When's her shift over? In 5 minutes. Uh...ka-ching? So, she drove all of us back up to Tiansiang and back down (which took a depressingly short period of time, given the length of our journey...), all the way to the train station in Hualien (where she lives, so at least that part wasn't too out of the way for her), in time for Josh to catch his train back to Taipei. Plans were changed, as Rick informed us that his parents weren't going to be home, so we were better off staying in Hualien. The remaining two of us checked back in to Amigo's, which is run by a super nice lady and her super nice dog. We rented a scooter (300 NT for 24 hours for a decent scooter) to get around Hualien City and to the coast. This allowed us to hit the night market (where I devoured coffin sandwich) and a nighttime visit (going there blindly was a bit of an adventure in itself...) to Chisingtan. Unfortunately, the clouds were still out in full force.
Gorgeous (hehehe get it?)
Monday arrived with confusion in tow, as I woke up wondering why there was a big white guy getting changed on a bed across from me...right, hostel. We weren't in too much of a hurry, so we slept in for a bit, abused the wifi, and had a little breakfast. Then, we made a more proper visit to Chisingtan. The waves were large, the water warmer than expected, and the clouds dynamic. Excellent. After spending a nice chunk of chill time there, we made a brief stop at a nearby 'ranch' (which was basically a tourist trap consisting of 3 goats and an expensive restaurant). Then, it was back to Hualien for more famous food: mashu (muaji, as the taiwanese call it). We hit a couple more spots and dawdled around a bit...I don't think either one of us was returning to the trenches of Taipei. However, duty and our own beds called. After gathering our stuff and saying our goodbyes to the super nice hostess at Amigo's, we caught the 5:50 out of Hualien.
Chisingtan Beach
And that's that. Someday, I will return. I hope my companions enjoyed it as much as I.
