On the eastern side of Taiwan lies Hualian county, a long strip along the mountainous central coast. Our trip there was great, but if you're going make sure to plan it out before you go. Reason being is most of the great outdoorsy activities you need to register for. You can do that here:
http://www.taroko.gov.tw/English/
If you don't make a plan there, it is still great to see Toroko Gorge (太魯閣峽谷). Without reservations you can ride a motorcycle up the gorge and hike some of the easier trails then head back to Hualian for some good eats.
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| The Waterfall Curtain Tunnel (水簾洞） at the end of the Baiyang Waterfall trail (白楊步道）. |
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| At the Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠) |
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| Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠) |
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| The Qingshui cliffs from the South (清水斷崖） |
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| As close as we could get to the bottom of the cliffs, looking south. |
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| If you want something good to eat in Hualian, look no further than their night markets, in particular Zhiqiang Night Market (自強夜市）. You will see a lot of Taiwanese people lining up for all the common night market treats, but one, Gaodaxia (高大俠), was quite unique. The first thing you see is this handsome man flame grilling shrimp and clams, whilst a dozen or so Taiwanese women of mixed age take millions of photos of him. The first thing I thought was, I'm not lining up, but, well we did and it was worth it. They offer super fresh seafood for a pretty reasonable price, plus they do it right. To make it more appealing, they have a huge selection of imported beer to choose from in the back. The best time to go is probably when that night market starts at about 5pm. |
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| Nicely grilled scallops |
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| Raw oyster with Thai sauce |
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| Oysters ready for consumption |
