Taipei - Hualien (13 – 19 Apr 2005)

My Impression of Taipei.

A place where you can hardly find any dustbins yet the streets are meticulously clean. A place where traffic lights are not honoured and you have to really watch for the scooters that zip about everywhere, even on the sidewalks. Pasar malams all over the place, legal and illegal. There are rich people and poor people but hardly that many destitute and homeless unlike in the United States. Crime rate seems to be quite low.

My Impression of Hualien.

A small city within a green, rural setting. Quite commercialized and appears dependent on the tourist trade. The single most attractive destination is Taroko Gorge National Park. Being an exporter of marble and other stones of volcanic origin, Hualien's streets are lined with marble. Its beaches consist of pebbles, not sand. A pity because the ocean is so blue and inviting.

Our Itinerary

Day 1 SIN-TPE by JetStarAsia, ShiLin Night Market.

(Overnight at Yu yu Hotel)

Day 2 National Palace Museum, Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, underground mall at Taipei Train Station.

(Overnight at Yu yu Hotel)

Day 3 Yangmingshan National Park, Sun Yat Sen Memorial, Taipei 101.

(Overnight at Yu yu Hotel)

Day 4 Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, train to Hualien.

(Overnight at Naluwan Hotel Hualien)

Day 5 Taroko National Park, out and about in Hualien.

(Overnight at Naluwan Hotel Hualien)

Day 6 Out and about in Hualien, train back to Taipei, XiMenDing, LongShan Temple, Huaxi Night Market.

(Overnight at Keyman's Hotel)

Day 7 XinBeitou hot spring, Ketagalan Culture Center, TPE-SIN by JetStarAsia