9:09pm, Tsienshing Youth Activity Center, Taroko Gorge NP
Party room tonight. All four of us in a big nice room here… We were up at 7am to finish packing our bags, drop off some bags at the hotel's luggage storage, and down a quick 2-plate breakfast just as the rental car arrived at 8am for pickup. Good thing Wendy was around to handle the communication in Chinese. 10,800NT for 8 days, not too bad. The Ford Tierra was roomy enough for all our bags, and the 4 of us, comfortably. Fairly new car, with a great stereo and CD player (big upgrade from NZ).
The big challenge would be getting out of the giant labyrinth of roads, called Taipei. Irene asked a helpful stranger for directions, and Wendy downloaded google maps with her GPS. After a good 30 minutes of contemplation, we headed out, only to make a wrong turn at the first intersection (Irene was right, we should have listened to her). After a quick correction, we slowly made our way up the chaotic city streets, with swarms of mopeds streaming by constantly. We managed to stay on the right route, but missed a ramp to an elevated expressway that ran directly above us, which resulted in much confusion and a stop at a gas station to ask for directions. Eventually we found the secret ramp up to a bridge out of the city, and it was smooth sailing from there (after 1hr from leaving the hotel). (Side note: 2 months later I would end up receiving a speeding ticket in the mail, going 50km/hr in a 30km/hr zone, from a speed camera somewhere in Taipei).
We passed through several tunnels that cut through the mountains to the southeast of Taipei, where we came to the painful realization that our Lonely Planet guide book was missing, likely left in the lobby of the Hero House hotel. Doh! Fortunately we had another guidebook, but LP is a big loss. Hopefully the hotel attendant we called finds it for us to pick up next week, since it's a library book. The skies were completely overcast and light rain fell, symbolizing our grief at Lonely Planet's dis-appearance. We made great time through the tunnels, and soon reached the shoreline, with cloud obstructed views of the mountains rising above the ocean. The forecast was supposed to be decent today, so we stopped at a town, just south of Su-ou, ~11:30am to check out lunch/snack options. It was famous for it's fresh fish. We walked around in the drizzle, eventually buying an array of exotic fruits, dried fish to bring back for Wendy's dad, bubble tea, sticky rice balls with sesame, and cooked sweet potatoes (native variety). The snacking continued into the car during the drive south.
A little odd to be driving on the right hand side of road again (after 41 days on the left handed side in NZ). Wendy also had to fight the urge to correct me on my turns. Also, the turn signal was back on the left side of the steering wheel, which screwed me up.
The weather didn't take advantage of our delay, and continued to stay clouded. However, the ocean still looked sharply blue, despite the lack of blue sky. The most scenic stretches of the coastal cliff highway were coming up, and I drove slow, hoping for a chance of clearing. We stopped at numerous lookouts, and marveled at the tunnels born into the cliffs as we passed through. The road used to be a one-way extremely scary cliff road, but has now been widened, and set inland via tunnels. Hardly any exposure at all. Michael Jackson on the CD player.
We arrived at the Taroko National Park boundary at 2:20pm, and continued through more tunnels...
We stopped at Chifton Cliffs to admire the most scenic vantage point, and hung out for awhile. The whole drive was largely deserted, which meant we had the place mostly to ourselves, which is no doubt a rarity, considering this is one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Taiwan. Helps to be traveling in the winter…
A 14er cards plant appeared! What an impressive coastline!
We then continued south, and made the right hand turn up Taroko Gorge, stopping at the visitors center to pick up info and maps. We got a long lecture from the lady working there, about all the hikes, and our listening perseverance paid off when she gave us a free pictorial magazine too (normally a few bucks).
We headed further into the National Park, and were quickly entranced by the shear marble cliffs lining the road and across the river, amongst the forested mountains. The road seemed to have been carved into the cliffside like someone making a channel on the edge of a stick of butter with a putty knife. It felt a little scary, wondering if the cliffs would cave down, but the spectacular scenery offered plenty of distraction.
We briefly stopped to view this temple from afar, but didn't have time to explore it today, as we needed to reach our hotel further up the gorge...
We were on the lookout for Indian Head rock, and took a wrong turn which lead us high up into the mountains to a scenic lodge that head gorgeous flowering trees. After this unexpected surprise stop, we returned and found the crowded Swallow Grotto, where the cliffs had turned into swiss cheese due to water erosion, and the hand carved roads. We spotted the Indian head, and vowed to comeback tomorrow to explore more, since it was already 5:30pm, and we needed to arrive at our hotel before darkness arrived, and the restaurants closed (~7pm).
Swallow Grotto is one to the hot spots in the park. The gorge is narrow, and the road is carved into the side of the cliffs...
The angular rock near the river in these pics is supposed to be shaped in the profile of a head...
Another 10 minutes up the road brought us to Tianxiang, where we drove up to the Youth Activity Center, located at the top of the hill, looking out across the gorge. Our room was big and sweet, and there was free wi-fi, much to our surprise. The cafe served dinner 6pm-7:30pm, and it looked good, as we watched them set it up. But first we wanted to check out the temple and bridge at the base of town before dark, and investigate the 2 other eateries in town.
I dropped off the Changs at the bridge, parked the car, and met tham on the bridge. The stairs leading to the temple were closed, but it was pretty anyway.
The gates leading to the temple stairs was closed, so we'd have to revisit tomorrow morning...
A look across the bridge to the small village of Tianxiang. A look back at the bridge and temple (lit with red lights)...
Irene and Wendy investigated the other eateries, and decided to try the NT800 menu for 4, which included soup and 5 dishes. It was a success, and everyone left content we made the right decision to eat there.
Back at the hotel, we ate some of the exotic fruit for dessert. I had a date (green skin, and like an apple/pear, not very sweet, unlike the dried version), and shared in a huge asian pear.
Wendy is excited to try some of the giant asian pear...
Then Wendy and I started researching places to stay the next few days, and finally decided on Hualian for tomorrow. After some difficulty figuring how to dial with the cell phone, we had success, and Irene handled the booking.
One by one it was time for showers and bed. My turn (I'm last). Breakfast is 7-8:30am tomorrow. Included with our stay.