Having made my way around the island on my first trip to Taiwan I wanted to do something different this time around. One option was to head south to Kenting National park, but unsure about the weather we would receive in March I didn't want to rely on a beach vacation. In reading travel blogs I came across some great reviews of HWY 11, and with someone to share the experience with, a road trip sounded like a good option. I did still want to incorporate a train ride into our vacation so we chose to travel to Hualien first, rent a car from there and then hit the road heading south, free to explore when and where we wanted. My only other focus was finding quality accommodation, gone are my days of sharing a hostel room with 10+ other people. Although I occasionally miss the communal aspect of meeting other travelers, not to mention common rooms filled with information, guide books, maps and enthusiastic owners, I cherish having my own quiet room to return to. I wanted to have at least one night in a hot spring hotel and found a great option just south of Taitung at Cheng Ping, a hotel near the Zhiben hot springs, including private hot spring bath on the balcony. Our train arrived in Hualien around 1:30 and by 2:00 we were on the road headed south after a seamless pick-up from the car rental agency. Our drive for the afternoon was only about two hours, giving us plenty of time to stop along the way at various viewpoints and attractions. We thought about stopping at a cafe, but favored 7/11 coffee and snacks for a picnic style rest stop, enjoying the view and nature over crowds and photographs. I often find myself in a battle with myself, unsure if I want to sit in a crowd at an Instagram popular cafe, or drink cheap to-go coffee oceanside. If you know me you'll know the later often wins, and the mood is almost always superior. We taste tested a few different Taiwanese style 삼각김밥, and I was surprised to find that the 'pork floss' flavor was my favorite. Kimbap was enjoyed at the Baqi rest stop before we continued along the highway. Various viewpoints and rest stops are marked along the highway on google maps, and one in particular caught my eye. The majority of names were in English, but this one also said "March" but I couldn't determine the reason behind the name. The stop had 3 different trails, each leading to different rock formations that made for great photo shoots. The kind Taiwanese man who took our photo also tried to explain the meaning of "March," apparently the silhouette of the cave resembles that of the Nisan March. From there we only had one more, very brief stop at the Tropic of Cancer landmark which I so elegantly described as a giant white penis. The fact that my bf finds my humor endearing is great reassurance that he likes me, sometimes things just come out of my mouth before I consider the level of appropriateness. After one pictures and a bathroom break we were back on our way, soon to arrive at our accommodation for the next two nights. It was kind of in the middle of no where, but I really wanted a sunrise view, and located directly across the street from the ocean, Ez Bay Homestay provided just that. When I set my mind on seeing the rising sun my body does a good job of storing this information and wakes me right on time. We were on our balcony by 6am enjoying the view. With no where to be our morning was slow and relaxing, yoga, reading and breakfast downstairs. Our plan for the day was to drive the coast, stopping at whatever attractions caught our eye and hopefully finding good eats along the way. Our first stop was only a short drive down the coast at Sanxiantai where the main attraction is a footbridge to an offshore island. Unfortunately the bridge was closed for repairs, but I found novelty in the pebble beach, and just enjoyed being outside in beautiful weather. Our next stop was at Douli, a secluded beach I had read about in some travel blog. It was near deserted with only one other person there taking photographs, which made for a great place to stroll the beach and enjoy the quietude of nature. After enjoying Douli we were both getting hungry, so we decided to drive to Dulan which has turned into a tourist laden surfer town over the years, although in the off season it was more like a ghost town. We decided to test our luck at a local buffet, and the wood was pretty good despite being laden in oil. Actually that was a theme of many of our meals in Taiwan, heavy on bread and oil, needless to say I soon found myself missing Korean. We decided to walk around exploring the town and stumbled upon an awesome seaside park, decked out with different photo ops, including makeshift cell phone holders to help capture great photos. Traveling with someone I think I have more photos of myself from this trip than all of my other travels combined. I'm completely awkward in posed photos, but give me fun props and the child in me will shine through. Mid-way through the day I received a message from an old Taiwanese friend in Milwaukee asking about my travels. He was kind enough to offer recommendations of food for the east coast, having family and friends from the area, so we capped off the afternoon with shaved ice. While eating I noticed Jeju Hareubang on the shelf and in the shop logo, something I had failed to notice when we arrived. Curious, I stuck the name of the shop in my translator app and sure enough, we were at "Jeju Ice Shop," small world indeed. We capped off the day with a stop for steamed buns, snacks and drinks from Family Mart and enjoyed sunset on our balcony. The next morning gave us another beautiful sunrise, and this time I chose to walk down to the coast for a closer view. Being here reminded me just how much I love and appreciate the quiet calm of the morning and that I should prioritize sunrise destinations more often. We were checking out and moving south so we packed up our things and hopped back on the road. Not wanting a repeat of the day before, we decided to explore the lower half of highway 9, an inland route running parallel to highway 11, and the drive west was beautiful, winding through the mountains of southeaster Taiwan. Scrolling google maps I found a rest stop that had photos of gigantic ape structures and knew that would be our first stop. I still have no idea what the purpose of this place was, but it was one of the highlights of this entire trip. There was something like 10 gigantic structures, one of which you could climb up, as if sitting on the monkey's lap, and we enjoyed taking photos with all of them. The real destination for the day was Chishang where I read that you can rent bikes to ride around the rice paddies and surrounding town. An advertisement for Mr. Brown coffee led to one of the streets being coined "Brown Boulevard" and boosting tourism for the area. I'm fairly certain that Seohui and I were the only non-Taiwanese in town which made the visit even more enjoyable. Too often tourist only hit the major cities, sites and attractions, so I always feel grateful to come across some of the lesser known treasures a country has to offer. We kept the bike for a few hours, riding all around the rice fields, to the lake, into town to buy some snacks, back to the lake, and then back to the rice fields to return the bike. The rental was the equivalent of about $15 and considering there was no time limit, definitely worth it. Had we arrived earlier we probably could have kept going, but we had a hot spring hotel to get to. Leaving Chishang we still had roughly 2 hours until we reached our hotel, Cheng-Ping Hot Spring Inn, located just south of the city of Taitung. We had initially planned to check-in and then head to the city for dinner, but realizing that once we arrived we wouldn't want to leave again we flipped those plans. Out of curiosity I searched "Korean restaurant" and was pleasantly surprised by the list of results that came up in Taitung. I sheepishly showed the list to Seohui when he asked what I wanted for dinner, but thankfully he was just as ready for Korean food as I. The menu was simple, but had some of our favorites - 비빔밥, 짜장면, 해물파전 (bibimbap, black bean noodle and seafood pancake). I definitely ate too much, but it was so yummy I couldn't stop - I was just mad an hour later when I was still bursting at the seams but had a glass of wine in front of me. We spent the evening relaxing in the hot spring bath on our balcony, enjoying the quiet surroundings.
The following day marked the end of our road trip journey, requiring us to drive the full distance of highway 11 back north to Hualien. The total drive was roughly three and half hours, and even with a few stops we made it in plenty of time to return the car. Thankfully we returned the car without issue, including paying the 10TWD fine for apparently parking in the wrong place in Taitung and made our way back to Hualien station for a train north. We had considered stopping in another town on the way, but realized there was still plenty to see and do in Taipei and intended to fit in at least one hike before leaving. Our road trip was a complete change in pace from my past travels, generally victim to public transportation and help from strangers, but I enjoyed the independence and freedom. Having survived a week straight together the two of us are now ready for bigger and better adventures together.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AsiaTaiwanThis country has a smell, I can't describe it and I actually don't know what it is, but as soon as I step out of the airport I know I've arrived. The land of night markets, bubble tea and so, soooo much food, your tastebuds will be tired. Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|