~Taiwan Part 2~

DAY 3


We went to 九份 the next day by bus,unsure what awaits us there for we had very little information bout the place but Min Ley was VERY sure there was something special there.Sure enough,it was a tourist spot where we get to buy loads of souvenirs and took pictures of scenic views.This 芋圆(yam balls) was our breakfast,very cooling and appetising from the scorching hot weather.(by now,I'm already a dark skinned pig)
The beautiful view from the hills of 九份..
Look at the houses built there..nice eh???
We also tried 红槽肉圆(a local meat delicacy)after a few walk and souvenirs buying.阿妹茶楼 was our rest stop where we splurge and relax ourselves with the art of Chinese tea making and 'gua ji' eating while enjoying the breeze and the view from the traditional,beautifully built architecture..

Tea anyone?

Next we went to a place called 蘇澳(su ao) for its 蘇澳冷泉(cold spring)Yes,its cold spring,not hot spring.One of the few special places in the world.On this hot summer,when you get all sweaty and sticky,what's a better place than to dip yourself in icy 21degrees cold spring?Its so cold that we were shivering throughtout the 40minutes dip in our own private cubicle.It was damn nice and worth the effort to take a train there.The next stop was 花莲(Hua Lian),the place which has the best view of the nature side of Taiwan and the place where I have the most unpleasant memory..

We went there by ourselves but there was this taxi driver who showed us a place to stay,I was grateful towards his help but I can't help feeling being lured into some scam when on the way,all he talk about is the advantages to book a taxi while travelling in this place.The thing is,the hotel he took us to,of cuz,is someone he knows.Once he see that we settled down,he start talking about the plans for the next day and all the fees we needed should we chose to travel ourselves.Then he tried to say that all these money is needed etc,so why not travel in a taxi where its more convenient and relaxed blah blah blah.I'm not really sure if the amount he showed us if we chose to use public transport is correct,or if he had marked up the price,for we just arrived and had no time to ask around.But we realised after dinner that compare to other towns we had visited,this Hua Lian place really lack bus stops and we didn't see any public bus.So although unwillingly,we booked his cab the next day.Above is all the places he took us on the first day.(there are more pics,but I just upload the best scenic views).We had a damn LOUSY seafood for lunch,no doubt,he intro one.The only thing worth eating is the sashimi.By booking his taxi and the food he introed,we had spent in one day,what we had spent 3days before we arrived at Hua Lian.This old fox is really damn cunning wehhh...I even noticed that he had the same seafood lunch as us,only,I didn't see him PAY!!meaning,he asked the aunty to cook a lot,take some out from our dishes for his lunch,and pay under our expense....DAMN!

DAY 4
The next day we went more place with this taxi driver as our guide to 太鲁阁 but we didn't want to go any further as the money need for the transport need was far more than our budget could afford.So we head back to Taipei after that and man,we were all smiles once we reach there..I guess all the ill feeling was gone after that..(actually,I would love to state what we had for breakfast etc,but I have to remember that this is no about-food-only blog so,I'll just leave them out this time)

WE went back to Hotaru hostel,a day earlier than we said we will arrive but nevertheless,the Obaasan again received us with open arms.The thing I love about this place is that we have free laundry service.hahaha..That night we went to Warner Bros Village cinema(The biggest cinema in Taiwan) and watched Pirates of the Carribean and had our first non Taiwanese dinner(had pasta).Enjoyed our movie and took the last MRT back,tired out for the day.. End of part 2...