Hualien is good for scenery and hiking.

When you arrive at Taipei Taoyuan airport, take a bus to Taipei main
train station (about 45 minutes) and take a train from Taipei to Hualien, a journey of 3 hours. If you take Scoot
and reach Taipei at 6am, you would reach Hualien station at around 9am. To the right of the station is the Visitors
Centre. Go get maps and information. Dont go to the hotel or min-su (homestay) yet; hire a taxi to go into town
for breakfast first. (Remember to get the phone number of the taxi driver; there are no cabs roaming the streets.)
You may keep your luggage at the station or bring it with you.
According to the locals and new friends we asked, they unanimously stated that there are three must-eats in
Hualien: Gong Zheng Buns, Mr Goose, and wantons.

So for breakfast, go to the 24-hour Gong Zheng Buns (at the intersection of Zhong Shan
Road and Gong Zheng Street). Just tell the driver the shop name: the town is very small. Order three
things: steamed dumplings, xiao long bao (or known as soup dumplings), and
red tea mixed with soya bean milk, which is very fragrant, refreshing and quenching, not at all queer.

While the skin is thick, the steamed dumplings, that come in a basket of 10 for only $30NT, are orgasmic and
indubitably the best thing we ate in Taiwan, as if the meat within is foie gras, very buttery and flavorful.

Not the dainty 18-fold thin-skin xiao long bao, it is really a bun, at $5NT a piece, slightly smaller than a char siew
bun. Like the steamed dumplings, the skin is slightly too thick but the fillings divine. We saw a local young
woman ordering 10 at a go for herself. This shop is a definitely amust-go.

If youre still hungry, resist the urge to eat from the neighboring shops. We tried a nondescript shop facing Gong
Zheng Buns with its yuan zhu min (aboriginal) owner. We regretted.

Noodles & soup from the nondescript shop

Instead, you can call a cab (or walk 20-30minutes) along Zhong Shan Road to Wang Ji
Teahouse ( 565 , or No. 565 Zhong Shan Road, T: +886-3-833-9388) for its beautiful, postapocalyptic architecture which clashes with its Chinese interior. According to our new Hualien friend, whose name
is Winnie the Pooh, this teahouse is known only to locals. The drinks cost about $90NT and the specialities
are Jasmine milk tea and (osmanthus milk tea, I think). Besides these, we also
tried blueberry milk tea, which is real blueberries blended freshly into tea. Not too bad.

Wang Ji Teahouse
Now you can telephone your hotel to come pick you up and the check-in timing is about right. Book a homestay or
hotel along the coast of Qi Xing Tan because there is nothing much in the city. Remember to pick your
luggage along the way back to the hotel if you leave it at the train station.

We stayed at the mistranslated Hotel Bayview (better translated as Where Seven Stars Align
at the Bay Hotel), a 10-minute drive from the train station. Decorated in a (cheesy?) Mediterranean style
throughout the hotel, the VIP Double Suite with Balcony room at $4800NT a night is cutthroat and tiny:
a bedroom, a tiny corner that doubles up as a wardrobe and vanity room, a tiny sofa at the door, and an openconcept large bathroom with a jacuzzi. The sad thing about having a no-door bathroom is we (Wise Guy and Mr
NGFL) are friends and this is a couple room. It was difficult when we wanted to shower.

Another reason for the cost, besides the large bathroom, is the splendid view from our balcony:

After you take a quick shower and energize with a short nap, take the late afternoon to cycle (free bicycles from
the hotels) along the coast of Qi Xing Tan. Youll need the exercise for the binging. At night, take a cab
back to the city centre and try the second local recommendation, Mr Goose at the intersection of
Zhong Shan Road and Ji Yue Street.

We tried several dishes, including the goose (of course), Shan Shu Cai (a Taiwanese vegetable) that is curls
at the stalk, tung hoon, and soup. To be honest, the old kopitiam feel is charming but the food, while having
a home-cooked feel, is nothing fantastic.

One of the must-eats in Taiwan is

its fruits. Just beside Mr Goose is a shop called King Watermelon. The watermelon
milk shake gave me a feeling of bliss.
If you still want desserts, and want to try a hakka dish,salty dumplingshakkas being the second largest
demographics in Taiwango to Cai Family Dumplings ( 37 , T: +886-3-832-5110) at the
intersection of Zhong Hua Road and Guang Fu Street, a 15-minute walk from Mr Goose.
For sweet desserts, try Wu Ba( 165 , T: +886-3-832-2929) at the
intersection of Bo Ai Street and Zhong Hua Road, next to the street of Cai Family dumplings. It is
similar to ice kacang, a blanket of ice drench in caramel, condensed milk and cinnamon, covering a bed of
adzuki beans, mung beans, soya bean curd, grass jelly and rather tough tapioca balls. At $45NT, large enough to
share among four, we cant say we like it.

Wu Ba Ice Kacang
If you want to buy local snacks back, 10seconds from Wu Ba, along Zhong Hua Road is a row of
shops. Recommendations: ( 96 , T:+886-3-834-0456, with chains around the city.
Check the website) and ( 95 , T: +886-3-833-1088).

Alternatively, if you dont want Mr Goose for dinner and you drive and want something local, try
Ai Zhi Wei Smokeless BBQ Buffet ( 102 , No. 102, Nan Bin Road Section
1, Ji An Town, M-F: 4pm-1am, S & S: 12pm-1am, T: +886-3-852-8855, $300NT, additional $99NT for free flow
beer). Our new Hualien friend, Winnie the Pooh, brought us here. They use charcoal and have delicious, fatty
black pork belly. Very local but nothing special.

Day 2: Hualien to Taroko Gorge to Hualien

The next morning, after a local breakfast of Taiwanese porridge at your hotel, take a day trip to Taroko Gorge, the
#1 tourist attraction in Taiwan, but avoid weekends as it tends to be crowded. The Taroko Tribe, known for their
hunting, weaving, facial tattoos, and headhunting (collecting the heads of enemies), inhabited the park 3,000
years ago. In 1896, there was a war between the Japanese and Taroko aborigines. In 1950s, Kuo Min Tang
(KMT) made this the first cross-island highway and many road workers settled down here, marrying Taroko
women, becoming farmers. But these days, Taroko Gorge is known for its hiking and cycling trails. For the
sporty, buses run hourly from Hualien to park entrance hourly from 5.30am (NT$82). At the park, pick up the
guide, The Trails of Taroko Gorge and Su-Hua Areas (NT$220), giving you useful trail maps that range from
2km to 10km to 75km.
Mr NGFL and I used to trek at MacRitchie (13km) and Bukit Timah Hill often but we stopped after Mr NGFL has a
chronic back injury. So not the hiking sort, no problem. If your hotel has travel packages to Taroko, go for it. If not,
check out Taiwan Tour Bus (NT$600 half day/NT$988 full). Note that the bus only stops at two locations and it
wont be fun with all the tourists around. When Hookerlily went to Taiwan, she took the Bus Tour and thought
Taroko Gorge was over-rated. But Mr. NGFL and I enjoyed ourselves immensely here because we took a taxi so
we could enjoy the Gorge properly, stop wherever we wanted and we needed someone to guide us to the places
we should stop. Check with your hotel for taxi packages or check at the train station. Hotel Bayview has several
packages and we took the one-day taxi package ($3500NT).
This is Mr. Lin, our A-mei tribe aboriginal handsome taxi driver who looks like Jacob from Twilight:

Taroko Gorge is all about walking: wear proper

shoes. Ask your driver where some of the good spots are and make a decision where to go. It is impossible to
finish everything in a day. We stopped at Qing Shui Duan Ya (very first photo in this entry), Taroko
Visitor Centre, Chan Guang Temple, Bu Luo Wan-Swallow Grotto,
Tian Xiang, and our last stop Bai Yang Trail. For the last stop, youve a choice of Bai Yang Trail
or Lotus Pond Trail but the hotspring at the end of the Lotus Trail has dried up. So we chose the
more scenic Bai Yang.
At the end of Bai Yang Trail (2km, 40 minutes), there is , a cave leaking with water (pictured above). There
are used disposable raincoats at the mouth of the cave so dont worry about getting wet. Youve to take off your
shoes, so remember to bring towel or tissues to wipe your feet.
TIP: Like in all tourist destinations, the food at Taroko Gorge is ghastly and expensive.
Pack a lunchbox or sandwiches for lunch.
After youre finished with Taroko Gorge, ask your driver to drop you off to eat the third local recommendation,
wantons, for dinner. We wanted to go to highly recommended Ye Xiang, at the intersection of
Ren Ai Street and Zhong Hua Road. But according to Winnie the Pooh, the wantons are similar and
bought us to Hualien Xiang Pian Shi( 355 , No. 355 Zhong Shan Road, T: +8863-833-6166).

While the skin is very smooth and the filling bouncy, these are merely very good wantons. Even though Mr Goose
isnt astounding, we can see why locals recommend it (because of the restaurant represents their everyday life)
but we cant see why this is a must-eat in Hualien. You can get wantons like these in Singapore.
But, of course, the wantons are just starters. After wantons, go to Zi Qiang Night Market (from
5pm till late night) at the intersection of Zi Qiang Road and He Ping Road.

 is a must-eat at Zi Qiang Night Market. You select your food, they give you a number, and you
can walk around the market first before collecting it. Winnie the Pooh said that on crowded nights, you have to
wait for more than an hour. The skewered food is cooked in boiling broth and then dipped entirely in a sweet and
slightly sauce, so that the food is savory and sweet. YUMMY.

Although the stalls are named steak in general, they also see chicken chop and pork chop, similar to
Singapores version of Western food stall. Winnie the Pooh stopped us at his favorite stall called . Free
flow of chowder and melon tea, although the chowder has too much condensed milk, too sweet for our liking. The
steak comes with an egg, a custard bun (YUMMY!), and pasta in the form of Chinese egg noodles with a rather
tough but pleasant texture. You can choose from 3 sauces to drizzle over your well marinated steak: we picked
black pepper and mushroom. The deliciousness of the food outweighs the cost of about $100NT.

A third
item we had was the very delicious chun juan or known to Singaporeans as popiah. The differences lie in
the skin (Taiwanese version is thick) and the fillings. Singapores version has a base of turnip while Taiwanese
has no base and throw many ingredients, including braised tofu, vegetables, thinly sliced meat. There is a variety
of sauces to choose from: seaweed, wasabi, etc. This stalls chun juan had a queue and was very delicious. I
liked it so much I finished an entire big fat roll on my own, leaving very little to Mr NGFL.
Winnie the Pooh also recommended the Guan Cai Ban (T: +886-3-835-5045) at Zi Qiang Market but I
was quite stubborn. Since Guan Cai Ban (coffin board) originated from Tainan, I want to eat from Tainan.
Other places to Eat:

At the intersection of Lin Sen Road and Xin Gang Street, Truck Road ( 359 , No.
359 Lin Sen Road, T:+886-3-833-0282, 1130am-10pm, close on Tue) is a 1950s American-styled diner, very
quaint and pretty.
#2.
Zheng Lao Pai Fried Egg Onion Pancake
102
102, Fu Xing Street
T: +886-919-288-590
1-7pm
Other Place to Shop and for Entertainment:
Hualien Cultural and Creative Park ( 144 No. 144 Zhong Hua Road,
T: +886-3-831-3777) takes over a 100 year-old building of an old beer brewery and has a magical aura of
calmness. You can buy affordable local art and watch performances (many for free) here.