Asia Mega Tour II - Mountains and Sea Shore

We're in Hualien, Taiwan. When you tell locals in Taipei that you're going to Hualien they practically swoon. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas of Taiwan. We've arranged two full day private tours. Today we went to the coast north of Hualien and into the Toroko Gorge National Park.

Toroko Gorge is an incredibly steep long river valley caused by the uplift of the Taiwan after a friver valley had already been formed. The speed (relative speed in geologic terms) with which the island of Taiwan is rising has given the river cutting through the valley to go straight down.

This area is also interesting in that it has two predominantly three kinds of rock limestone, marble, and serpentine. There is no granite to speak of.  We were also introduced to the aboriginal ancestors of Taiwan. Taiwan was populated by a group that was of the same type that were in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Micronesia and it is thought that the language type of these people actually originated in Taiwan. These people lived in isolation for some 8,000 years prior to the Qing Dynasty Chinese arriving in the 18th century.

The scenery was spectacular but as was in Taipei, we were plagued by hazy skies that hurt the quality of our pictures. Nevertheless, I took a hundred of them and it is taking a long time to cut the number down to a reasonable size for posting. AND we are going on another all day tour tomorrow to another part of Hualien County so there will even more pictures!

Asia Mega Tour II - In Transition

Saturday was a rainy day. We were supposed to go on another of the free walking tours but the weather made it so it would not have been fun. We were also going to go somewhere for tea tasting but we put that on hold too and instead went to the National Palace Museum, one of the greatest collections of Chinese Imperial Art. There is a long history of how this came to be in Taiwan. Wife has written a more detailed description of our day and our encounter by the dreaded Mainland Chinese Tour Groups. 

It was another gastronomically just okay day. We ate at the Museum Cafe where I had a 'rice pork burger'. This was some pieces of braised pork between two patties of rice that served as a bun. If that doesn't sound good to you, then you are spot on. We went back to a place for dinner where we'd been before but we ordered poorly and a number of the dishes were very bland.

Today we were in transit. Taking a train (that I will assure you was not like a Japanese Shinkasen Bullet Train!) to the East Coast city of Hualien. We have two all day tours to see the geographic sights around the area on Monday and Tuesday and the weather is supposed to be lovely.

I want to make a few remarks about our experience with the Taiwanese. I have to tell you these are the most friendly and helpful people we have met in Asia bar none. The level of English is pretty darn good and all kinds of people (at least in Taipei) from Metro guards, to waitstaff, to hotel workers, to taxi drivers, to train ticket sales people are incredibly helpful. People in general seem to be warm. You can see it in how the children behave. Wife and I have both said this may be the first place in Asia where we would think to come back to because it is so comfortable.

Asia Mega Tour II - Heights, Mountainous and Man made

Amazingly today started as a nice day. It's the first time we've seen blue sky since we've been in Taiwan (though thankfully it hasn't rained even though it was predicted to). We decided to put two major attractions on our list for today. They were visiting the Maokong region and the Taiwan 101.

Maokong is a region that is known for tea plantations and the area has become a mecca for tourists and locals who come up to access the hiking trails, the scenery, taste tea, and get out into the countryside. One of the notable things about Taipei is how much nature is close at hand.

To get to Maokong you can take a bus, taxi or drive...BUT the preferred way is the Maokong Gondola. It is a part of the mass transit system and you can use your Easy Card to access it.

As we were taking the Metro to the Gondola and were changing trains I saw this vista which caught my I. It is interesting that the locals were oblivious to it which is how things are everywhere.

The Gondola Experience

This is a design made out of some kind of small windmill devices

Tea Culture

This area is about tea!

Country and City

Temples

HAH! You thought you were going to get away from me without pictures of temples didn't you. 

Listen remember this when we go to Europe next and you have 3,482 consecutive posts about cathedrals. You'll beg, beg for a post on Asian Temples. 

Tianen Temple

This is somewhat unique among the temples we've seen as it is dedicated to the Maitreya Bodhisattva, considered eternally happy

Zhinan Temple

This is dedicated to all three of the major spiritual paths - Buddhist, Tao, Confucian. However it is considered to be most sacred to the Taiwanese Taoist sects.

However

I believe it is really sacred to the Gods of Construction

Please note the Temple of the Holy Scaffolding

And the Temple of Divine Bags of Construction Materials

Other Temple like pictures

Wife protecting herself from a shower of blessings and wishes

Taipei 101

Then it was off to the Taipei 101 building one of the tallest in the world. It used to be tallest until a few years ago and had the fastest elevator too until just a few years ago. That's life in the tall building/fast elevator lane.

Seen from afar

The top seen from the 91st floor outside viewing deck

The building's tuned damper to protect it from typhoon winds and earthquakes

The promo hype is this is the best place for views of the city.

However it was very hazy and grey. I'm posting these shots because they give you an idea of Taipei even though they are questionable photos.

There were a couple of cool buildings you could see from the 101

Yesterday was a zero gastronomically so on to...

...SIGNS OF THE WORLD

Guess how many of these rules Wife and I broke

This sign makes no sense at all. I think it is supposed to be a recreation of the Tower of Babel

Asia Mega Tour II - Some Days Your Lucky...The Tamsui Video Spectacular

Wife and I have an attitude that our travel is an adventure. True it might not be what people who are decades younger than us and who are fit and athletic might call an adventure. But for us, each new place we go to, each new country, each experience is an adventure in what we are going to find, how we are going to figure it out, what we are going to see and experience, and what surprises we're going to have but pleasant and unpleasant. When things don't go so well, we will bitch for a while but then we just chalk it up as 'part of the adventure'. But then there are the times when totally through luck you have these fabulous experiences.

Yesterday we headed off to town/small city that is at the very end of one of the Metro lines. It has an interesting history. In the 1870's a Canadian, George Leslie McKay, came to this town. He established a medical school and university. He was revered as a person who introduced Western medical practices to Taiwan. He was also a Presbyterian minister and that sect is now the largest Christian sect in Taiwan. All kinds of buildings dating from that period as well as an old Portuguese fort and some older temples are found in this town. So we were looking forward to walking around the area and taking it all in.

We arrive and get out of the Metro. They've predicted rain for the day and it is wet and a little misty when we arrive

 Fortunately it stops almost as soon as we start walking and is nice the rest of the day.

First let's get our bearings

"Uh honey, can you read this sign?"

Ah here we go. That's better

We're trying to find a temple (shock!) but are getting completely lost

We end up in some market...and not a tourist market...a real working market...where of course we find...a temple

We finally get ourselves out of the market when we hear this noise.

No it's not really a noise. It sounds like music and drums playing.

So we make our way back to the main street of the old area.

There we run into what looks like a parade

We continue up the street where we run into floats. 

It really does look like a parade being staged.

With all kinds of drumming and displays that are very reminiscent of things we've seen in the temples

Moving further down the street, we reach an area where things seem to be happening.

Need to move forward and see if we can figure this out.

Ah this is it.

I find out from a local (using the Google Translator App) that this is the annual celebration for the temple we are now in front of. Each group that comes represents a neighborhood in the city. We stay there for an hour and a half watching one set of devotional performers after another come and pay their respects to the God of the Temple. Here are the three best. If you'd like to see some great still photos go to Wife's blog which should have a post up later.

Here is the object of veneration. We're still not sure what the Temple's name is and they had this big billboard poster covering it.

We were starving and I'd spied a fish restaurant on our way out from the Metro station. I will cover our meal in Gastronomy below.

We decided to take a ferry across to another town touted in our guide book as 'postcard picturesque'.

I got to practice the 'paparazzi' techniques I learned in Kyoto and got two shots of this adorable little girl with her parents and grandparents. Seeing all the little kids is so cool. Kids are the same everywhere.

Also was able to capture a picture of a hot photographer who wasn't paying attention

'Postcard Picture Perfect' Mud Flats

Gastronomy

We had a great eating day!

For lunch we had shrimp dry cooked with salt and spices, grilled snapper collar, and sauteed water spinach. Sorry no pictures. Hands were too dirty shelling the shrimp.

One of THE SNACKS OF CHOICE is grilled or deep fried cuttlefish. These are attractively displayed on a stick

There were places giving out free samples.

I tried a couple and they were pretty good. Not as chewy as I would have thought.

But I had my eyes on something else I'd seen earlier in the day.

An oyster fritter that the woman was cooking to order.

It was amazingly not fishy tasting.

For dinner we went to a Shanghai style place that was also real good.

Soup dumplings

Orange Chicken that was neither too sweet nor too spicy

Stir fried greens

And Shanghai style noodles