The next morning things continued to be just as great. Amber had gotten up early to go work out at the local YMCA she discovered just down the street from us. Inside she found an insanely good breakfast place called Ikari Coffee. We at there and had hands down the best coffee and latte's we've had seen we've been in Korea (besides those I had on my brief trip to CA in April and rivaling those in Cambodia). I don't know why Korean coffee is so bad but well... it just is. Ikari Coffee was amazing! Plus they had awesome breakfast combos! For only $3 I got a coffee, scrambled eggs with ham and toast, plus a bowl of fresh fruit and yogurt. Jason got the same only with an omelet and bacon with a bagel. Glorious! It was nice to sit in the YMCA and see all of the families, children and older couples relaxing with a nice breakfast and reading the paper. No one seemed to mind we were there. In Korea we are always getting started and and people often don't know how to react to us, especially when they have to take our order. In Taiwan, that was rarely the case which also made things nice and relaxed.
After breakfast we hopped on the MRT and then the bus to the National Palace Museum. We were told the Palace Museum was a must see on our trip, rivaling the Louvre in terms of its collection, but instead containing Chinese art. When the Republic of Taiwan was formed there was a rebellion going on in China. Thus 100 years ago (this year is Taiwan's centennial) half of the empire's museum collection in Shanghai was relocated to Taiwan, where it now remains. Thus the National Museum is loaded with thousands of years of Chinese art, from pottery to metal to ornaments to calligraphy scrolls. The museum grounds themselves were very impressive as we stepped off the bus, a large entry gate greeted as and then we climbed many steps to enter the building that sat at the far end of a large front road. The museum was only $5 and was thoroughly tip top inside, clean modern and comfortable, even providing free coat check and lockers.
The museum was amazing... we spent all day there! They had a huge collection and we only made a small dent. There were blue and white Ming dynasty vases, jeweled boxes, copper plates, calligraphy drawings... one of my favorite things was a Tibetan dagger with a jewel encrusted hilt that was supposed to vanquish evil spirits, so awesome! The museum also wasn't very crowded in the morning although things picked up in the afternoon. We had some dim sum (dumplings) and tea at the expensive museum restaurant before heading on our way.
Next we attempted to go to a "mall" but the "mall" just turned out to be more underground shopping like you can find in Korea, long hallways of cheap clothing and trinkets. Some people love it but I get bored of it quickly. We bought some cheap tank tops before abandoning the idea. We ate dinner at the train station (kind of a Tokyo Steakhouse type place where they grill the food in front of you) and while the atmosphere was very fun, we think we overpaid and the food was only so-so (we saw it elsewhere and it looked better.)
Next we headed to Longshan Temple, the most famous temple in Taipei. It was even more fabulous than the ones the day before. Although every similar, we arrived at this one at night, so all the lights were on and the lanterns were lit and the light from the incense burners illuminated their surroundings. There were even more people at this temple and it was full of hustle and bustle! There were lots of tables set out and people would leave food offerings on them. The food was anything from bananas and pineapples to packaged crackers, cookies and chips. People would bring the food and then go around to each statue in the temple complex, with their food and incense, and say a little prayer, bow and leave the food on the table. I didn't quite understand it all because I also saw people picking up food from the tables, praying and taking it home. I didn't know if it was a kind of bring some and leave it, take something else deal, or if you left your food and then picked it up when you left, or if people who were "in need" could take the food. I'm not sure but there were probably ten long tables that were covered in food. I don't know what happens to it, if someone gives it away or if its just thrown away, I hope not!
Anyhow the temple was full of people and good smells and a bright, happy atmosphere. I could have sat there for the next hour just looking at people and relaxing. It was probably one of my most favorite things to see in Taiwan.
Unfortunately Jason and Amber were impatient to move on so we did. We visited a different night market that was much smaller than the one by our hostel. I found out later it is known for its food, although we didn't try anything but some almond milk tea, which was delicious. We headed back to our hostel and visited the large market one more time, heading for the taco stand. We got lost a few times and by the time we finally found it another hour had passed. By this point it was nearing 11pm and we were tired and ready to get to bed. Jason and I visited the grocery store next to our hostel to buy some snacks for the train the next day. It was awesome! It had so much to choose from, both Western and Asian foods. In Korea its hard for us to find things like cheese, plain yogurt, certain fruits and vegetables, brand name snacks or candies, this store (and most in Taiwan) had everything!
The next day we got up again to eat at Ikari Coffee. We ordered the same delicious breakfast and same delicious coffee. This time I got a cafe latte and it was to die for! Mmmm. Then we headed to the train station to buy tickets to our next destination a small town on the east coast of Taiwan called Hailien. We lucked out and the train was leaving in 10 minutes so we boarded the 12noon train. It took us 3 1/2 hours to get down the coast (it could have been faster on a non-stop train) but I really enjoyed the ride. The train was clean and comfortable. The chairs moved around so we were always facing forward, like in Japan. The views out the window were also magnificent. We passed lush, tropical green forests, hills and mountains, and then followed the sea for the last half of the trip, glimpsing crystal clear blue water and white beaches. So peaceful and relaxing, and it was so sunny! Blue skies all around.
In Haulien Jason and I had a different hostel than Amber. We thought we could walk to ours from the station even though it did look a little far on our tiny, confusing map. But we set off anyhow in the muggy heat. Hualien was a small town, with only a strip of "downtown" and was nestled next to the sea. It was famous for being the gateway to Taroko Gorge, the place we were going to visit the next day. Yet even though it was small, Jason and I got lost and after walking for half an hour, we decided to hail a taxi. Thankfully one pulled over after a few minutes. The driver was a woman and she was so nice to us! We had a little trouble communicating because I didn't have the directions in Chinese, only English, but she worked with us and knew the English numbers so things worked out! (Again we were impressed and couldn't help wondering again why in Korea people know so little English...) Thankfully we found it, and it was far, located on the edge of town on a road peppered with car dealerships, not homes. Inside the place was beautiful though. Our room was so cute and so clean! It had a canopy bed, a flat screen TV on the wall and a huge window with a view of the mountains. So perfect.
After we rested a little the hostel owners even drove us to town where we were to meet Amber. Unfortunately it was a long walk for us otherwise. We asked them to recommend somewhere to eat and they said "do you want to maybe, drink beer and eat Taiwanese food?" we said "heck yes!!" so they dropped all three of us off at a local restaurant. It had a huge tree growing out front with red lanterns in it and the inside was open air with large circular tables. The hostel owner talking to the restaurant manager and made sure we were taken care of, they pointed a fan our way, gave us a good table and told us if we wanted a taxi back to the hostel at the end of the night, we only had to ask and they would arrange a discount one for us. I love being taken care of like that. The dining was family style and we ordered a variety of delicious dishes. We got a few types of stir fry type lamb, a veggie dish covered in a delicious wasabi sauce and two large Heineken's (seemed to be Taiwan's drink of choice, they do not have a big drinking culture.) After our dinner Amber wanted to find a bar but all we ended up doing was wandering around the small downtown before we called it a night. Well, we did briefly enter one bar, the only one we found, but it was empty except for two men standing on a stage belting out extremely loud karaoke. We quickly left.
The next morning we headed off to Taroko Gorge. We hired a taxi to drive us, booked through our hostel, and he stayed with us all day. He had a brand new Toyota station wagon with leather seats and spoke great English. He picked us up at nine, we swung by and got Amber, at were at the entrance to the Gorge a little before 10am. Taroko Gorge is one of Taiwan's national park and was listed as a must see while we visited. Its kind of like the Grand Canyon, only you drive through the bottom instead of look down from the top, and it is filled with tropical vegetation, sapphire blue water and marble gorge walls. Our driver was to stay with us all day and drop us off at different small hiking and sight seeing areas, pick us up, and we'd move to the next. It was awesome to be carted around, especially in the heat and especially because the Gorge is miles long. Our first stop was our longest hike, a three hour round trip bath that followed a stream back to a small dam. Again the sun was shining and it was great being in the fresh outdoors. Our next stop was the "Eternal Spring Shrine." We realized after our guide dropped us at would is supposed to be the end of the hike, but I didn't mind. That meant we were going down stairs instead of up! We started at a large temple, then crossed a real-life suspension bridge (this was no Disneyland) miles above the ground, and the visited a lookout tower on the top of the mountain, only to come back down to the Eternal Spring Shrine. It was a small structure built at the mouth of a small stream that turned to a waterfall and then met the larger stream at the bottom of the gorge. The water has never ceased, hence eternal, and comes from a mysterious source deep within the mountain. Next we visited the Swallow Grotto, which is a large grotto on the side of the mountain that you walk through. Many swallows live within it. You also walk on the every edge of the gorge and can look down into the winding, shinning blue water below. Probably my favorite part of the gorge. The walls of the gorge are very close at this point and you can see the different grains of the marble as well as the different holes were water once trickled down to the stream below. It was beautiful. And I guess also a bit dangerous. We wanted to see the Tunnel of Nine Turns, but our guide informed us it was closed for two years because a young woman had been killed last year when a rock had fallen on her head in a small slide. Yikes. Because the rock sheet is marble and filled with hidden pockets of water, rock slides are a serious threat. Double yikes. There were many signs telling us to keep moving instead of stopping to take in the sights, as if that would really help if a rock slide started...?
We stopped shortly after to get lunch at a small restaurant our guide knew of. The first place we tried kicked us out because we were too late in the day to order lunch. The next place took us and our guide knew the owners. He said he has been driving a taxi to the gorge almost every day for the last 7 years, making $30 a person. What a life. He knew the perfect places to take us so it was a very easy trip for us. For lunch I had a chicken stir fry and purple rice which came in a bamboo shoot! It was so cool, I had to pry it open to get the rice out. It was the indigenous people of Taiwan's way of eating rice. The Gorge still has one indigenous tribe living within it some meals and souvenir were themed after them. After lunch we did one last short hike with more spectacular views, got milk tea (this time I got honey milk green tea, my favorite tea when I'm sick) and decided to call it a day. It was around 4pm! It took us about 30 minutes to get back to the mouth of the entrance to the gorge so I had some time to look out the window and take in the curving mountain sides one last time. On the way back to town our driver took us to the beach. There we sat for a little while, people watching and enjoying the weather. Although the beaches in Taiwan are beautiful, few of them are for swimming due to the huge waves, rip tide and naval bases, so people were just wading and playing in the sand, it was nice. The army base was literally right behind the beach and four F-15's flew right over our heads immediately after taking off! Felt like home.
We parted ways with Amber, took a few good showers and napped until about 9pm. The good thing about our hostel was its proximity to a night market. It was a quick 10 minute walk for Jason and I. I loved this night market! It was small but had everything a night market needs. And it was packed with families, couples and teenagers! Night markets really are the thing in Taiwan. I had such a great time at this one. We played arcade games, shot some hoops, ate street food, got a papaya smoothie and dessert. This all took a few hours because we had to wait so long for our popular dinner choice. We had kabobs of bell pepper, mushrooms, fish, egg rolls and chicken. They took our order, gave us a number, barbequed it with a sweet sauce and gave it to us all in a little bag. We ate it off the skewer. So yummy! And my papaya smoothie was nothing but fruit and ice, cut on the spot, for $1! Taiwan had great value. The vibe of the night market was like that of a fair or carnival, a wholesome, clean, family one, yet it happens every night!!
