Happenings @ East TWN Day 2
-- train ride --
we woke up really early esp. on our 2nd day of the trip. soon it’ll be time for us to gain 1st hand experience riding on the train from Taipei city to Hualien 花莲. definitely excited about this – our very 1st “virgin” train ride in Taiwan! as we've pre-planned our journey and also bought our train tix & breakfast the night before, a stop over was made @ 7-Eleven to purchase some drinks for the train ride on 11 Jan 2007 – it was a breeze traveling out of Taipei city!
we were directed to the right platform to catch our ride and our train was on time – each purchased tix is assigned with a seat number. for our cart, it sure was pretty full for a weekday.
we were pretty much drained + medication intake the night before, we kinda dozed off while watching the scenery. hahaha. nonetheless, resting is much advisable as the upcoming attraction’s not to be missed ~ TAROKO 太鲁阁 NATIONAL PARK ~
some sights we've captured along the way :)
approx 3 hours later, we arrived in Hualien 花莲. once outside the train station, we went in search of Tourist Information Centre to confirm our guided tour (tour agency’s offering NT650 per pax for half day tour) of Taroko National Park. however, we were soon “chased” by a local – wanting to offer us personalized chauffeured service for the tour. he insisted being cheaper (his offer, NT500 per pax) and that it’s better to go with him. another local even tried to offer us NT400 per pax!
"Chased" by a local for personalized tour guide service
fellow travelers, do not be attracted by these CHEAP offers! we spoke to a local (owner of a shop) and was advised that it’s always better to follow guided tour agencies instead – mainly, they are registered companies in Taiwan and usually there’s no other hidden / additional charges as released to the public.
our "breakfast" before the trip
anyway, we went ahead with our guided tour as previously booked the night before –NT 650 per pax. as lunch will not be included in this package, we ta-bao (packed lunch) before boarding our mini-bus for Taroko National Park.
our guide, Mr. Wang was a very interesting and funny guy. he was very polite and apologetic for the late comers (yes, 5 pax were late for the tour due to train delayed~!) approx 30-45 mins later, we set off to our destination. he was informative and provided the group with a quick history of the surroundings around us – just like what a tour guide will do. we found out that a couple of the mountains (towards Taroko’s direction) were actually empty “shells” used to keep fighter plans inside! can you spot the fighter plane in the picture below?
up the hill / mountain we go. TAROKO 太鲁阁NATIONAL PARK is a natural reserve of huge marble rocks and the view was fantastic! it’s a MUST do/go site if you’re visiting Taiwan. the weather was cooling with a right amount of sun for great photo shots! check out the view and pictures we’ve got!
Cool Slideshows |
we took more shots ~ candid ones!
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