Trekking through Taroko and Taipei

The second half of our journey through Taiwan offered even more extraordinary treats! 

We visited the memorable 太鲁阁 Taroko Gorge. This stunning natural wonder was carved out by water flowing through the mountain range and is nicknamed "The Marble Gorge" because of its rich supply of marble. To get across the gorge, you need to cross a suspension bridge. However, the bridge can only accommodate five people at a time so remember to wait your turn! From the bridge, you have a clear view of the sparkling waters and the marble boulders inside the gorge. 

If you walk along the gorge, do remember to wear helmets in case loose rocks come pelting down on you! We rate Taroko Gorge 5 Poo-Poo Rockets

Not far from Taroko Gorge is the town of 花莲Hualien. Hualien is well-known for its tourist attractions. Some popular sights there are the Taroko National Park (in which Taroko Gorge is located) and 七星潭海湾Chishingtan Beach. 

When you think of beaches, you will visualise a wide area with lots of golden sand right? But Chishingtan beach in Hualien is different - there's no sand in sight! You are just surrounded by rocks, rocks, and more rocks! They come in many different shapes, sizes, patterns and textures! We had great fun building 'rockcastles'! 

Not far from Hualien is 野柳Yehliu, a cape in the town of 万里Wanli, where there are many striking stone statues formed by the geological forces that pushed Datun Mountain out of the sea. The statues resemble different objects and have names such as 女王头Queen's Head, 仙女鞋Fairy Shoes, Ginger Rocks, Beehive and 烛台石Sea Candles. Our favourite formation was the Queen's Head, the most famous statue and unofficial emblem of the town of 万里Wanli. It looks like the profile of a lady's head. Sadly, because of erosion, it is believed that the Queen's Head will break off in a few years. 

After Yehliu, our next stop was 九份Jiufen, a small, old town located in 瑞芳Ruifang. Tons of movies are set in Jiufen because of its rustic and charming look that evokes the Taiwan of yesteryear. 

Jiufen is home to a delightful old street with shops, restaurants and street food. We enjoyed an ice cream treat that Jiufen is famous for. Balls of yam-flavoured ice cream topped with coriander leaves and grated peanut candy, all rolled up in a spring roll skin are definitely a must-try! The sweetness of the ice cream, chewiness of the skin, crunchiness of the peanut candy and fragrance of the coriander leaves blend beautifully together! 

We rate Jiufen 5 Poo-Poo Rockets! 

Miaow! For avid cat lovers, purr along to cat land! 猴硐Houtong is a cat-themed town, also located in Ruifang. It was originally called Houdong, which means "monkey cave" in Chinese, due to the inhabitance of monkeys in the olden days.

There are countless cats living in this area and quirky cat touches such as cat-shaped street signs, maps, mailboxes, and furniture! It’s impossible not to bump into an adorable feline everywhere you go! When entering Houtong, you will see a “kitty shop”, which sells nothing but cat merchandise! 

We rate Houtong 4 Poo-Poo Rockets 

Next, we explored more of Taiwan's natural riches. 阳明山Yangmingshan National Park is the largest and most famous park in Taiwan. It is so big that you will need at least a week to walk through the whole area! It is home to many attractions such as rich sulphur deposits, a flower clock and Seven Star Mountain, the tallest dormant volcano in Taiwan. 

Cover your noses as you make your trip through Yangmingshan's sulphur deposits. The unmistakable yellow hue can be seen and smelt from metres away! 

The ground there is so hot that you will often encounter little bubbling hot springs. 

Last but not least, Mama's friends Cheryl and Jeremy took us to 乌来Wulai, home to the beautiful Wulai Waterfall that is accessible by the quaint little Wulai Scenic Train. 

We even had the pleasure of walking their sweet dog Raski! If you're planning to go to Wulai, don't forget to include a trip to the hot spring there! The hot spring is a perfect place to soak your feet. Water can be as hot as 79 degrees Celsius! You can even have a relaxing swim in the cooler parts of the water. 

Wyn enjoyed throwing small stones into the water to make them "bounce"! 

We rate Wu Lai 5 Poo-Poo Rockets.

We ended our travel through Taiwan with a visit to the world-renowned 国立故宫博物馆National Palace Museum, home to thousands of precious artifacts from ancient China! This impressive museum is set within a complex built to resemble a Chinese palace and the permanent collection is so large that exhibits are rotated every three months. The adjoining 至善园Zhishan Garden is also a lovely place to rest your tired legs after viewing all the exhibits. 

A must-see is the famous 翠玉白菜Jadeite Cabbage, a highlight of the museum. It is a piece of jade carved into an entire cabbage with two insects perched on it. As the story goes, when the skilful sculptor cut open the jade, he saw that it had many shades of green and white, together with many cracks and blemishes. The anonymous sculptor shaped these imperfections into the veins and leaves of the cabbage, skilfully adapting his design to the stone's natural characteristics as he discovered them. Thus, he transformed something imperfect into a perfect masterpiece. 

The National Palace Museum's amazing collection does draw a crowd though, so do be prepared to queue patiently and endure some jostling tourists to see its many treasures. We rate the museum 5 Poo-Poo Rockets! 

Some of you may also have heard recommendations from family or friends to release lanterns into the air, a favorite activity of tourists in Taiwan at places such as Shifen. But we strongly discourage it. If the wind tilts the lantern to its side, the lantern will catch fire while afloat and may be a fire hazard when it lands. The lanterns may also be caught on trees or land in the sea, where the wildlife may mistake them for food, consume them and die. You may read more here and here. Tour guides will claim that the lanterns are retrieved but it is simply impossible to keep track of where every single lantern lands. We wish the Taiwanese would rethink this activity as it can wreak great damage to their beautiful homeland. 

We hope you get to visit this gorgeous island and enjoy its riches as much as we did. We rate Taiwan 5 Poo-Poo Rockets! 

Terrific Taiwan

Last holidays, Poo Poo Rocket said:" 你好台湾 Nihao Taiwan!" This fascinating island is located north of the Philippines and east of the Chinese coast. 

Source: go2taiwan.net

We first landed at Taipei International Airport and drove straight to Taichung, the starting point of our fun-filled journey across this stunning island. But not before we made a quick trip to the bustling night market in 台中 Taichung, where we savoured stinky tofu, a famous (and notorious!) local delicacy. The tofu was scrumptious and not too smelly after all! 

How to eat smelly tofu - pinch your nose and chew!

From Taichung, we began our adventure through the Central Cross Island Highway that cuts through the imposing mountains of Taiwan. Amazingly, the highway was built largely by hand by soldiers who had come from China, fleeing the communist government. During our trip, we stayed in different bed-and-breakfast inns called 民俗 minsu. Being much smaller than hotels, they were more charming. Every minsu is different as each owner adds his or her special touch to these cosy abodes. One minsu in Cingjing had the most adorable animal hosts who made us feel very welcome indeed! 

This Cingjing minsu had the cutest hosts!

Our first scenic stop was 彩虹村 Rainbow Village , a small cluster of houses adorned with crazy and bright drawings by a sprightly 92 year-old former soldier, Mr Huang. Apparently, he painted the houses in the hope of persuading the government not to tear them down. Upon entering Rainbow Village, you are greeted by a myriad of colours! No corner is untouched by art. The stunning village has attracted droves of admirers and sight-seers for years! We even had the pleasure of meeting the talented artist himself!

Meeting Mr Huang, the talented artist!!!

Don't miss this chance to visit a living, breathing art gallery! We rate Rainbow Village 5 Poo-Poo Rockets. 

From Rainbow Village to 妖怪村 Monsters Village...Monsters...? This next attraction may sound scary, but it's actually fun and delightful. Monsters Village is like an amusement park with a monster and demon theme. There are cute and funny statues everywhere you go, even a post box that looks like it was scared out of its wits. My dad also found a bottle of beer named after Kumar, the resident monster!

Just some of the monsters at Monsters Village!

There are also various shops selling Taiwanese snacks, including one that serves traditional sticky rice in a bamboo tube. No cutlery was provided, so guess how we ate our rice! A section of the tube is to be removed and used as the spoon! 

How to eat the glutinous rice!

How cool and environmental is that? We rate Monsters Village 4 Poo Poo Rockets. 

We retired that night to a welcoming lodge called the 溪头青年活动中心 Xitou Youth Activity Centre. We had specially chosen this place as our mother had stayed in this very hostel when she was all of 15 years old on an overseas school trip years ago! To be able to return after what seemed like an eternity was especially exciting for Mama! The lodge is nestled amidst thick forests with imposing tall trees and is a great place to enjoy nature at its best. 

You stay in small wooden huts with no air-conditioning as the weather there is really cool due to the high altitude.

 We took short hikes around the area to admire the wide variety of flora and fauna, and stunning vistas. 

One special attraction in this area is the sea of clouds (云海 yunhai), which is a breathtaking view of low-hanging clouds surrounding the mountains. The sea of clouds makes the mountain peaks look like little islands. 

The Sea of Clouds. 

 We rate Xitou 5 Poo-Poo rockets. 

Later, we travelled to 日月潭 Sun Moon Lake. This lake earned its bizarre name because it is shaped like a sun and a crescent moon stuck together. It is an extremely large lake - one needs to take ferries to get around. We took a boat to an aboriginal village on the other shore of the lake called 伊达邵 Itha Thao. The village seemed like a tiny fisherman's port, but we ended up eating crepes and bean curd instead of seafood. 

That night, we stayed at another minsu in the mountains of 清境Cingjing. The supposed attraction here was 清境农场 Cingjing Farm, which had sheep and horses in an environment fashioned after New Zealand pastures.

Unfortunately, the farm was disappointing. Uncivilised tourists tried sitting on the sheep and lifting them up over their heads. The poor sheep were very frightened and made loud noises in protest. In a nutshell, we don't consider Cingjing Farm a must-do, and we rate it only 1 Poo-Poo Rocket. 

After leaving Cingjing, we headed further uphill to one of the highest points in central Taiwan, 合欢山 Hehuanshan. Brrrr! If you are planning to go there, don't forget to pack your thick coats and jackets! The temperature on the mountain is 6 degrees celsius! Look at the view from the top! 

Coming down from the peak, we admired the oldest tree in that area, the 碧绿神木 Bilu Shenmu Heavenly Tree. It is believed to be more than 1000 years old! The tree trunk is so thick that you can barely hug half of it! 

The Heavenly Tree!

 We rate Hehuanshan 5 Poo-Poo Rockets. 

But that's not the end of our amazing Taiwan holiday. There's still lots more to come in our next post where we head to a rocky beach, a hot spring and a grand old museum. Stay tuned!