Taiwan.. ~ Day 3

Highlight of all sight-seeing: Taroko Gorge. the valleys and cliffs here are all naturally created marble, which really is amazing how only Mother Nature can create such beautiful places.

This route dug into the cliff side was dug by manual labour many years ago by the aboriginal villagers living in the mountains. It’s said to be still used today by the villagers bringing fruits down from the mountains to sell and by tourists as a hiking trail as well

We really enjoyed the walk through the Tunnel of Nine Turns, cos the weather here is the best so far! can slowly take a stroll without any sweat and the whole place is very serene.. look at all the photos we took! Easily the best place we went to in Taiwan..

Enjoyed a cuppa coffee and shao bing overlooking eternal spring temple, though abit of a rush cos the place only a rest stop.

a few stops here and there at the marble factory and lingzhi store, where we went thru a presentation highlighting the good of lingzhi and had some lingzhi tea. But we were not compelled to buy anything. Then we were on our way to Taitung already.. passed thru many paddy rice fields and managed to snap this shot with the sun rays peeking thru the clouds

had a hot spring bath along the way to our hotel and luckily we chose the public pool while the others took the private rooms. haha.. think in the end we enjoyed the most cos we had 3 large pools shared only with a taiwan couple cos the private rooms realli very crammed!

spent the nite at Master Bear Resort. The place is built like a resort with chalet rooms and quite off the main roads and thus no shopping or supper after dark.

The lack of food and shopping at night was compensated by programs arranged by the resort. There was supposed to be a tele-match between us tourists vs a group of Taiwanese schoolgirls but it started raining heavily! Thank god we got to release the heavenly lantern before the heavy downpour =)

Taiwan.. ~ Day 2

A tour of Taiwan's North coast bring us to Yehliu with the naturally formed rock formations, which are formed thru centuries of wind and sea erosion of the coastline. Most famous rock here is the Egyptian queen head which I'm kissing

we were brought to the old street of Jiufen for lunch. though it's a touristy shopping street now, the nice old feeling of past still lingers in the air..

met this BBQ sausage stall owner there with colourful over-the-top dressing, must pronounce her name 'Yao Zhi Zhi' before she'll agree to pose for a pic with you =)

after lunch we dropped by Nantien temple worshipping the sea-goddess Ma-Tzu and travelled to Hualien county via the scenic Su-Ao Highway. As the center of Taiwan is occupied by the Central Mountain Ranges, this route to Hualien was created by the cliff-side of the mountains.. One side the wondrous Pacific Ocean, one side the majestic mountain range.

Hualien is mainly inhibited by the Ami tribe, and we were treated to a song and dance show by the aboriginal people before we ended the night with bamboo rice and of cos, supper! And what a unique way to present the toilets!!!

Taiwan.. the Formosa Island~ Day 1

So sad we are back.. this time, we just got back from the Formosa Island - Taiwan. Seems like time pass much faster when we're having fun.

Initially explored the possibility of a total F&E 10 day trip, but turns out much more difficult than expected, with alot of plannings required and some inaccessible places such as the Taroko Gorge. End up we spent the 1st half following tour group which covers most of Taiwan, and the 2nd half totally f&e to explore the rest, and the trip was extended by 3 days at the very last minute on the day we depart Sin =P
Next trip must plan better..

First there's the meticulous planning.. air-tickets (Jetstar) was first booked way back in June 08 when offer at around $300 per pax, so immediately grabbed it. Serious planning started from Oct 08 all the way till end Jan 09.. with lots of research done online looking for interesting places, directions, delicious food recommendations, and trips to People's Park for tour packages' comparison and bookings, finally deciding with Travel GSH

And then 8 months' wait ended.. 10th Feb..
1st half: 6D All Taiwan Tour + Master Bear

Day 1- touchdown Taoyuan Int Airport around 5:30pm and sky already dark.

already close to 7pm when we arrived at Kilin Hotel. Went to Huaxi St NM for dinner and visited Longshan Temple with the lantern festival going on. Even though at night, it's still so crowded with lots of worshippers. Heard Taiwanese mostly religious people and got to see it for myself. Very excited first night in Taiwan only and got to eat so many good food already.