Taiwan Trip - Day 3

Date: 5/10/2007
Places: Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷), Tienh Siang(天祥), Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩), Yu Bao Shop (御宝), Plaza International Hotel (通豪大飯店聳)

Today, we woke up at 7am; as usual have breakfast and then gather up to continue our journey with the rest of the group.

This is our tour guide, Yao Mummy giving us information on the places we are visiting.

The whole day, the rain and wind gushing non stop and one of our destination was closed due to the typhoon.

First stop was in Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷). The gorge was formed by rushing river waters which have cut straight through the marble and surrounded by subtropical forests. There are several notable scenic spots in and near the gorge. Due to raining, we just walk down and took some photographs before rushing back into the bus.

Raining season… but still must say cheese..

View from the bus.. raining

The gorge

We stop at Tienh Siang(天祥) to rest for some photo shooting, resting and drinking coffee.

Tienh Siang features a suspension bridge over the gorge, with a Buddhist temple and pagoda perched on the opposite side of the mountain. The Bridge of Motherly devotion is a popular spot of picnic, with a little bowed bridge across a small tributary.

Me with boy boy

The road…

The coffee shop

The next stop, we went to Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩) in Hualien to see the strong waves along the beach and also to feel the strong wind

See how strong the wind blows the trees…

Can you see the strong waves in the background?

My messy hair blown by the wind…
We saw reporter coming to this beach and the police told us to stay away from there as it is very dangerous. So we have no choice but to leave that spot and proceed to next stop.

Our next stop is Yu Bao Shop (御宝).

This is the shop where you can purchase Ling Zhi and other nutritional products.
Look at this guy who tells us the information on products sold.

See how big the real Ling Zhi is…

We bought Ling Zhi for TWD13000.

Name card of the shop

The lady who assist us in the shop.

Sooo big…

Helping him to shade from the sun… Haha…

After that we went for lunch. The place where we had our lunch is nearby the Marble Factory and there’s lots of marble craving statue around.

Some photos with the statue:

Haha, I’m Wong Fei Hong… (just kidding)

I like this statue…

Dragon Ball…

Can you see a man here?

Next we visit Marble Factory and Marble House.

Precious…

With Mickey…

The 12 chinese zodiac
1. Rat, 2. Ox, 3. Tiger, 4. Rabbit

5. Dragon, 6. Snake, 7.Horse, 8.Goat

9. Monkey, 10. Rooster, 11. Dog, 12. Boar

Dinner served at 6.30pm.

Then we went back to Plaza International Hotel (通豪大飯店聳) for spa. We stayed in Room 320.

Entrace to the spa.

The spa pool

**Additional Info:
Taroko
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko

Plaza International Hotel (Hualien)
- http://www.taichung-plaza.com/eng/home.htm

More photos here: http://sherlynchew.multiply.com/photos/album/106

Taiwan Trip - Day 2

Date: 4/10/2007
Places: Yehliu (野柳), Chiufen (九份), Nantien Temple (南天宫), Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村)

Today’s my boy boy’s birthday. =) Wishing him a happy birthday o!!!

On the 2nd day, we met our tour guide Yao Xiao Jie. She is also known as "Yao Yao Mommy" as she is like a mommy to us who will always take care of all of us in the tour. There's another tour guide (also her assistant), Fern Jie. Both of them are very helpful and knowledgable.

Today is the day which we met with typhoon. We were quite lucky today because when we arrive in every place, the rain stops and we are able to walk around freely without using umbrella. The rain falls when we were inside the bus.

Our first stop was at Yehliu (野柳).

Yehliu is a peninsula on the north coast of

Taiwan, between Taipei and Keelung. The natural rock formations at Yehliu (wild willows) are an amazing array of artistic shapes created by erosion and other natural forces.

It is famous for the natural formations of wonder rocks, sculptured throughout agest by the wind and sea erosion caused a chemical change hardened the top layer of earth. This top layer protects the layers below from erosion, leaving fascinating pillar formations, including the famous Queen's Head.

According to Chinese geography Magazine 2006 annual special report, Yehliu is the 2nd beautiful peninsula in China.

Entrance ticket:
We were given 1 hour to visit this place and to photograph the famous Queen’s head.

This is the mushroom head.

After that, on the way out, we went to buy “ChiChai” (Seaweed). The tour guide advised us to buy the one round in shape because it is better and no sand inside compare to the one in square shape.

Advice from my experience is not to buy directly from the first store as the next store will be selling cheaper than the first. =)

The next stop is Chiufen (九份).

It is is a mountain town in the Rueifang Township of Taipei County near Keelung, Taiwan. Chiufen features the old traditional lifestyle that still exists, with the aura of an old mining that still apparent. Here you can also try some famous local snacks like Taro and Sweet Potato Ball etc.

We tasted out the famous Drunken Chicken and the fish/meat ball.

We also bought the localities here.

Umbrella was sold for TWD100. I also bought my favorite bag here. It was said to be handmade. J

We walked all the way up until the end (without making any right/end turning) and took these photographs.

After tired of walking up and down, we rest at the shop that sells Yam dessert, which is called “Oh Ee”.

It costs us TWD35.

While waiting for our tour bus to come, we went into the magic shop located at the front of Chiufen and was amazed by the trick he perform using cards. So in the end, we end up buying the magic cards for TWD300.

Third destination is Nantien Temple (南天宫). It is the landmark of Nanfanau, and also the center of traditional religion of the local citizen. We went there to pray for good things and get a charm from that temple.


We also tasted the peanut ice cream selling on the street beside this temple.

Then we went for dinner.

Around 7.40pm, we visited Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村).

A-Mei is an aboriginal tribe in Hualien. The Ami are the native people of the Hualien area. There are a number of tribes of native peoples around Taiwan or as the Chinese of Taiwan call them, The Mountain People. In this cultural center, you can see A-Mei people unique life style and enjoy delicious A-Mei cuisines. We saw performances and dances from this tribe.

There’s also one of our tourist volunteer to help out in carrying the bride in the “Bride and Groom show”. In their traditional wedding ceremony, the groom will carry the bride on the back. We were full with laughter and entertainment when we say this volunteer carrying the bride on his back. (Of course with the help of other people).

One of the members of Amei Tribe

Amei tribe wannabe

Statue in front

After the show, we were sent back to hotel for rest and prepare for next day’s activity. We were given room 336.

In this hotel, the owner likes antique very much and displays these antiques all around his hotel. We took some of the photos with these unique antiques.


**Additional Info:
Yehliu
- Address: 10KM north-est of Keelung No 167-1, Kantung Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehliu

Chiufen
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiufen

Gold Coast Union Hotel (Hualien)
- 50 Chien-Chang Road, Pei-Chang Village, Chi-An Hsiang.
- Tel: (03) 8581-006
- http://www.union-hotel.com.tw/

More photos here: http://sherlynchew.multiply.com/photos/album/105