maruko's travels: HUALIEN (9)

19 June 2009
太魯閣→花蓮市區
Taroko National Park→Hualien City Area

"stole" bicycles from the Tulip Garden to explore the place..
(it was too early and there was no one around ^^;;)

noob cyclist with noob bicycle.
i'm afraid i can't balance on those high mountain bikes.. ;;
getting laughed at is better than getting into an accident right..

the mountains look so near but it seemed impossible to cycle there..

do you know Chi-an 吉安 used to be called Chi-ye 吉野, but they changed it because it sounded too Japanese..

haven't cycle like that since young, when my family used to go cycling together..

we decided to cycle to the nearest attraction - 花蓮吉安慶修院

Ching-shiu Temple

Built in Chi-an in 1917 by Japanese immigrants, Ching-shiu Temple is the only Japanese temple that is completely preserved in Taiwan. Chi-an township (吉安鄉) was a planned immigrant village constructed by Japanese to relieve the increasingly dense population in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s. Most of the immigrants came from Yoshino, in the Shikoku region of Japan.

There are 88 stone Buddhas moved from the same number of temples in Shikoku.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/08/17/2003199073

taking a stroll...
it was around 9am i think? don't go too early cos it would be closed.

one of the best shots i took :)
reminds you of Japan, doesn't it?

little sutra

cleaning auntie says we should feed the kois, it brings good luck..

back to the hostel to get ready to go Taroko National Park!

we booked the taxi for NT$1500 for a day..
friendly taxi uncle brought us there :)

The Taroko National Park - one of the 7 National Parks in Taiwan

The name, Taroko, means the "magnificent and beautiful". Long ago a tribesman of the Truku aboriginal tribe saw the beauty of the azure Pacific when he walked out of the gorge. Astonished by the elegance of the scene, he cried: "Taroko!". And so it became the name of the place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_National_Park

many nature shots for Taroko..

all ready :D

beautiful :)

the water level diminished as years passed..

Swallow Gorge - Does it mean you can get lots of birds' nest here?

it's like a very big piece of marble :0

Uncle's taxi has open top! feels damn good when you get the wind in your face..

walking through the Baiyang Trail.
it's a long, dark tunnel..
we didn't had any torches and it felt rather creepy and scary..
10mins walk in the dark.. 伸手不见五指

light after dark moments =)
cannot imagine life without light...

nice :)
i love the landscape here..

Kungfu Pandas

an attempt...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

steep steps...

pleasant surprise ->

地臧王
it feels especially good when you make an effort (in this case, climbing so many steps) and you encounter something unexpected, doesn't it..

Ninpo! LOL

五_☆
what is that word?!

Aboriginal village place or something-- i love the wooden carvings..

The Taroko people had a fairly advanced culture. They mainly practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, fishing and gathering. After Taiwan was recovered from Japan in 1945, the Han people introduced the Taroko to rice farming, but the mountain people preferred millet, corn, sweet potato and hill rice. When fighting with other tribes, Taroko people used to cut off their enemies' heads, after which the members of the tribe celebrated with reveling and drinking as a means of promoting the solidarity and safety of the tribe. This custom was abolished many years ago, as have the initiation rituals of facial tattooing and tooth-filing.

omg that green stripe is TATTOO not paint! like that how to put blusher??!

i love this! it's accommodation up on one of the highest places in Taroko..

they bring u into the forest to see owls and fireflies at night!
so exciting ><

i was very fascinated by this 'human-face' spider. (look at its back)

the reason why i dared to go so near was because one guide who was passing by saw me snapping away told me that it only poses danger to insects but not to humans..

立德布洛灣.. I almost look exactly like that wood carving..

a tour bus was waiting for us to take this pic so he can park.
all the tourists were looking at us doing this pose -_-"

we want to take with the sign board, but taxi uncle captured everything but the board -_-"

the water was oh-so-cooling............ i like...........

hahaha so small..

the sign board -_-"

she attacked me ><

enough of climbing.... we will never get up there....

at the Visitor Center..

Regions we covered

^-^

down from Taroko to the city!

Steamed dumplings

Xiao long bao... it's like soupy bun but texture like cha siew bao..
very different from what we have in Singapore...

i can eat this every day and night.. wahaha

yum yum

the drinks flow down from the metal pipes LOL

周記四神湯and筒仔米糕

MUAH CHEE!!
best muah chee in the world, rated by us.

PEANUT ROCKS!!!
I will go Hualien just for the handmade ones.
i swear it's awesome!!

rankings for muah chee

haha!

good ice that taxi uncle recommended but never got to try cos we were very full already....

shopped around till evening before buying dinner back - we needed to paint the castles :D
there really isn't much stuff in Hualien actually, we just wandered around...