20 May 2009

Started our day early and started travelling at about 8 to 九分, bought three baskets full of local black peanuts and charcoal nuts there. It is a small and peaceful town facing the sea which is quite nice to live in.

We continued the rest of our journey by taking their public bus to the nearest train station at 瑞芳. Then took train to 新竹，before the coach pick us up again and bring us to taroko gorge. This is to prevent us from car sick when the coach run through the mountains. The train travelled along the eastern coast and i could see the endless pacific ocean, the feeling is good indeed. Lunch was on the train as we tried the 便当 that the locals eat on the train journey. And i learnt that 便当 actually comes from the word 'bento' in japanese as taiwan was under the rule of japanese for quite some time.

Taroko Gorge is a dangerous place, as rocks are falling from the top at any moment and many people had been buried under the rocks over there. But a lot of tourist like that place as it is quite natural. the mountains are mainly marble and imagine if a marble rock of a hand size were to fall from a high cliff and hit a person, the force would be very great, not to say about a big rock. I would still prefer the peacefulness of the Grand Canyon in the states as over there it would not be flooded by china tourists.

We ended our day at another 5 star hotel on top of a cliff by the pacific ocean, Falgory Hotel. I love the design and everything about this hotel from the room to toilets and even the lifts.