A quick visit to Nankan
I paid a quick visit to Nankan in northen Taoyuan in Taiwan, recently...
Many taiwanee flags everwhere...since the national holiday was not soo long time ago...
Omg, a peice of pavement without scooters parked... :P
But hens running around...
I had an asian beer from one of the vietnamese stores...
I also passedby the local brewery...I tried to promote them in taipei...however, their owner thniks that they are not ready to enter taipei yet...maybe a clever choice, not to enter yet...
https://brewery-102.business.site - the website
Mr Serna joined up and helped to taste the different kinds...
We had some half hour interview with the owner...
Later we headed to Banqiao (first we planned to go to taipei 101, starbucks, but it was pretty hard to get through on the phone)...
Mr Serna never joined to the Asia49 rooftop before...
Omg...an area for helicopters to land...
I showed my Kavalan manspurs to Mr Serna...
Selfie time...
We stayed until the sunset...
And then headed to Le ble dor...also in banqiao...
...many awards...
Omg...swedish flag on the meal...
I also got to see a barking goat or something on pic...I ususally see them dead...
Later on I headed to Pingdong in the south of taiwan...
...and inspected some art...
Acting DJ in the backseat of a car...
And joined some party up in the mountains...with some aboriginals...I also brought some le ble dor beer...
I saw my friends new tattoo IRL...
We also had some BBQ...
and alot of BAR beer...
A quick visit to Hsinchu
I paid a quick visit to Hsinchu recently
Passing by the old Chalmers office...
I also met my old roommate Micheal...
And went to some food courts to experience the good old times flavours...
Many things were the same...many things were new...
These meal was pretty much the same...
But I had the chicken flavour...
I also tried to get my favorite Yeguo milk tea (coconut)...but they seemed to close that store (in that fod court)...or atleast the flavour wasnt the same..
I later had another milk tea at Qinghua night market...
And went to A-mart to buy some things...
I was asked to make some swedish food...for my classmates...
Moussaka - swedish style was made...(ping me for the recipe)...
While sippin local beers...
I am using an app since some monthes ago...where I log the ones I try...which makes it a littlbeit complicated when I buy nano or micro brewery beers...with no clear english name...
I had extra cheese on my Moussaka...
I also got some vietnamese food...
They had some head on the soup...interesting...
People passed by and tasted the culinary flavours...it was good...I had to finish it all I was told...atleast the spring rolls etc...
A trip to kavalan tribe (part 2)
A peaceful morning at road 11...
Some straydog and a red table with breakfast...
A peice of land...I wanted to buy for many years...but it seems hard...
omg...innovative...a chair out of a barrel...
And some wood art...
...my friends...people who cycle around taiwan...like i did...once upon a time:
Base for breakfast is porridge...
...but I also got milk...
the dog keep licking my arm and elbow...
I also got a banana...
After a while the fish truck came by...
Omg, I also got to visit an elder kavalan tribe guy...
He had alot of aboriginal stuff in his house...
Including hats...
He was typing kamalan words...
And his talk was recorded...
We drank Paolyta...
I also got some local candies.
Cars passing by outside on road 11...
The Kavalan elder also had plenty of old songs...
He has written down the lyrics...
omg...jade horses...
Later we got some food...
And some clams...whic were hard to eat...
But i was told to use one clam to eat the other...
I also learned how to say "I am a forineger" in kavalan language...
Later a trip uphill was made...
500m to some Amis tribe...
A sign in many language...
No smoking on this road...
Plenty of art on this road...
They had some arena for culture stuff...
I also found a loclal spoon...
And a micor water power plant...
Some local amis guy gave me some spicy crabs...
They had plenty ot wooden pots...for making some kind of food...
I was more interested in the spicy crabs...
This looks like a Mortar...or maybe is...
A local house...cool...i might build something like this in sweden...
Dipit is the name of this tribe...
...alot of art all around...
"FuXing tribe"...
Nice view of the east coast...
Clouds in the south...
Some binglang...
Seems like this is a mix between amis and kavalan people...
A small village some 30-60 minutes south of hualien...
Amis clothes...or Kavalan? Kavaln has more black and white...amis are more red and blue...
Later a visit to a local school was made...they had a boat at the entrace...
And a symbol for kavalan...which no one really knows what it means...i was told...
Also these patterns are from kavalan pattern i guess
We also got some bananas...smaller version...
Alot of kavalan food
...and kavalan hand craft...
We also had some friendly rice...
Even if it was a cloudy day, it was not raining...
Later we headed bak to the elder, for some more talking...
And got some more deer antler drink...but im not sure if it was real...
However it was pretty sweet...
More food from kavalan...
They also had some cats running around in the area...
I also gave them some things from sweden....
And added some coin from sweden to some jade:ish stone at their counter...
Later they insisted of taking photos of me...calling me "thor"...that was pretty funny...
They had plenty o decorations everywhere...
I also went to a nearby hostel....where they had alot of decoration from other countries...
We had some drink with gold in it...similar to the gold wasser I had in gdansk:
They also had some mushrooms in some vodka...
...and some other drinks...
...such as beer...
I also had some baozi..
At the end i got some real exclusive deer antler spririt...interesting...
This was the address...
I also had some malt drink from kavalan area (the distillery is in Yilan)...
And some other sweet cookie...
I also saw some kavalan kids sing some traditional songs and performing dance...
omg...santa clause clothes were in the teachers office...
...and flying fish decoration...
Some teacher gave me some examples of old kavalan songs
I was asked to make remixes of these...
More teaching of kavalan songs...
also they tried to write down kavalan phrases...
Later I went to a local restaurant in Fengbing..
and had some local food...
...it was good...they have alot of fish here...
I also got some rice ball...
Road 11...so cool...
I also got to some coffee shop that was closed...but on a very cool spot...close to the ocean...
I would like to have a place like this...
The ocean side...
...very green...
omg...a wild(?) palette flower...
Many things here was made in wood...cool...
...including these carvings...
The trip on road 11 continues...
...it is easy to see if we are heading north or south...since mountian is on 1 side and ocean on the other...
Super deep...the ocean here...and the current is also very tricky i was told...
At each river there is a bridge...by some reason bridges alwyas have a name here...
Ticket purchaising, no english option
In hualien Rotary has supported alot (or in taiwan in general)...
Hualien train station...
I got some nice snacks...
And later on, once back in taipei...headed to a bar in zhongxiao dunhua...called KOR...
It has this logo...
I asked the bartender for some recommendation...
And got something similar to Negroni...
And some other drink.
Drinks here were pretty pricy...
But on the other hand pretty good...2019 continues...
A trip to kavalan tribe
I made a quick trip to the kavalan tribe recently
...passing by hualien...with some local store...
they had greetings in many aboriginal languages...
this was the bus that went south on road 11 to the tribe area...
i also had some chest nuts...
...on the ride...
I also got a pen...from taiwan indigenous people society...
ocean on the left side...I cycled here in 2011...
the ocean...pretty deep out there...
some aboriginal place...
more ocean...
I wanted to buy land out here...long time ago...but it seems hard...
after a while the destination was reached...omg alot of local vegetables...including chilli...
passion fruit...(i tried to do some in sweden, but only sunflower came up from the soil...strange)...
lychee...?
pretty sour...
some buffalo head...?
...and a huge crab...
The local bus route...so rural...so cool...
omg...merida...also made in taiwan I heard...if not sold in europe..then made in germany...
Kamalan resturant...might be the only in taiwan(?!)
Many people cycle by...
wow...a Saab out here...impressive...
alos of Kamalan handcraft was pbserved....
...and wooden handcraft...
and some ashtray...(also some local amis tribe were showing handcraft here)...
they had alot of seafood here...and maps of the fishes available in taiwan...
...both on east coast and on west coast...
kavalan food...pretty good...
...and some tottem pole...
and cactus...the ones I think i use to have back in the days...
A short trip to the local near by town was made...here the 7-11 even had computer stuff...
I checked my blood pressure while here...not sure if the machine worked...
I also had some flying fish...
Pretty good...fish flavour...
Also a stop at a local coffee house was made...(alot of art)...and a connection to the pacific...
Alot of handcraft...
...and books...
...and stamps...
I had a milk tea...
...more decoration...
Omg...classical taiwanese eggs...
Tea eggs 15ntd
alot of fish can be found here in the ocean...
next stop was the Tropic of Cancer...
I also got some other local food...
...from some loca Kavalan people...
A guy were chopping up a chicken...or duck(?!)...
And i got to taste some "Mijiu"...rise wine preparations...
And some nice soup...very salty...
More kavalan food from the restaurant...
Some intestines....
Not sure what this was...
Also shrimps....I usually eat some with the shells on...
Next stop was the BBQ...
...abd some japanese fish...
...together with salmon and more meat...
And some local vegetables...
We also got some wine with the former presitend on the label (President Ma)...
...and alot of onions...
and some red dragon fruit...
I had to finish it all...i was told...
...2019 continues...
A rrevisit t a Sheep farm
I visited a Sheep farm in the middle of taiwan recently
It was sunny weather
Pretty nice here...reminds me of european mountains and hills...
Some New zeeland or australian guy (i think) was showing sheeps and entertaining the visitors...
They also invited the audience to attend...
Fields with mountains in the background...
I wonder why not more taiwanese created fields like this...on mountain flat land...
Maybe its an investment or knowledge issue...
They had plenty of entertainment here...
Some aboriginal songs...
...and dancing...
I have been outside this sheep farm manytimes before...this was first time I entered...seems like its devided into 2 parks and 1 sky walk...
...they also have alot of buildings here reminding of europe...
And alot of grass...
...and some other part of the part they had some sheep fields...i guess this was not for visitors...
Many locals playing with the sheeps..
The Australian?! dude...who worked there...
a recently cutted sheep...
Many people taking pics...i think this is a popular weekend destination...
Another paparazzi pic of the dude...his chinese was very good...
Omg...they also had a horse...and a caterpillar...
the fur of the day...
they also had many souvenir stores...very touristic...
And view spots for picture taking...
People were also rolling down the grass slopes...
and the sheeps were climbing the bushy areas...
I also had goat icecream...i think i tried it before here...
They also had a nearby market...for taiwanese food and local stuff...
"green green grassland"...i guess is the local naming of this area...
Another activity is the sky walk...a bridge that is recently built...connecting the nearby village to the sheep farm...(all near road 14...one of my favorite roads in taiwan)
...may people taing pics of the views...
not much shade...
I guess it was in similar area i ran my trail run some year ago...and it was nearby for sure I had the video session with Yogu Wallis tha aboriginal seediq girl...
some european looking house...
looks pretty nice...
more sky walk...
after some 15 mins the sky walk was over...it cost 50ntd to walk it...
Some touristic information sign...
I also passed by one of my favorite lakes or ponds in taiwan...it was not that much water at this time...
In nantou I spotted some religous monument aswell...
omg they spell the word for middle (zhong in pinyin), "jhong" here...
I later visited a painted area of taizhong...its the second time im here...I had an icecream of similar colour...
Maybe I will paint some similar thing in sweden some day...
A visit to the Golden canyon
I paid a visit the the golden canyon recently
Mr Serna was fixing some finger gloves on a friday...
I had some comombuan sugar n lemon drink the same day...
And the day after I headed to Hualien
I found some aborignal drinks such as xiaomijiu
I bought some small one...
It was a sunny day at the east coast...
And people were getting prepared for some river tracing
Up along some small river...
that had its more watery parties...
And a place to jump from...
I published this on google maps...
We also had some costco pizza here...
And later went for some high jump...
And more pizza...
Some locals were also fishing small fish...
Later on we headed up the forrest...
And back to the river...
And some people jumped from this water collection tower...
And later on we swam some more...
...I missed some wild hotspring here...
We jumped from these cliffs aswell...
We were asked to wear wet suit the whole day...pretty hot...
...and some people peed in their suit as well...(i didnt)
Jump again...
And more walking...
and more jumping
some clouds were approching...
later on we put up a camp...
and some people were taking a short swim...
the guides were preparing food
some guy brought fake kavalan whisky...
we also brought some beer...
it was pretty touristic here...many groups walked up and down...
after a while the dinner was finished...
Omg...up n the nearby forrest I also found some hunters hut...
dinner is ready...
some vegetable and flat noodles...
We also brought a very huge log, which we put on fire...
Mr Serna was supporting as an umbrella holder in the rain...
and many of the locals were talking pictures...
...with different poses...
another pose...
Later we went to sleep in the tents...
Breakfast time...
Some bagel...
With meat and more lettuce...
t was pretty good...
Jason, who invited me here was eating by himself...
Some hunters bringing fish down...
Time to head to the golden canyon...
I saw a very suspicous cable...it might be some electricacl grid to the hunters hut...
Mr Serna was preparing water to his bottle via a filter...
Off we go...
We left the tents at the camp while heading further up stream to the canyon...
Slowly walking...
They previous day we were wearing wet suit...
(dates on pics indicated williams go pro cam)...
we were heading further up stream
pretty hot, and sunny...in this canyon south of taroko gorge
me and william and the guides were the ones skiping the wet suit...they first thoguht we were americans who wanted to sue the guides for strachin ourselves...i told them i was european...
...some nice pond upstream....
...we made a train...
...and continues further up...
...later we came to a cave...
...and some time later we came to the place where we had to limb more..to get to the golden canyon...
and many people were posiing.å..
...another lake..or pond...upstream...
...after some climbing we came to another pond...
....and we ahd to wait,,cus the guides had so secure the ropes...
...yet another waterfall to climb....
...and finally we reached the golden canyon...it was said to look golden in some light....
The guides thought about fixing so future tourists could climb further up, but the tarko national administration said no...(when they applied)...
After some time we were back at the camp...for some fast lunch
And cleaning some equipment...
It started to rain...but thats ok...the air is very fresh here compare to the western parts of taiwan...
Mr Serna put on his wet suit again...
We hiked down in some hour, what took us a day yesterday...
Chillin in the water...
When back to hualien we quickly returned ur equipment...
Serna was waiting for the cab...
It was a fast baibai to the others...
While the clouds were covering the mountain tops that yesterday was shiny...
I finished the xiaomijiu I bought the morning before...
But bought some more drinks and chicken...
...omg...a nice pic of the lake near hualien...
I also bought some mochi, which is some rice startch that is said to be famous around hualien...2018 continues...
A hike with Oscar
Me: Where do you want to go?
Oscar: Mountain area
Looking for buses and car rental stores in a coutnry where there is a "no why" ending to most aruments/quetsions, we took scooter...
Oscar wanted to leave 5am, due to traffic...but not many taiwa go to the mountains...
Oscar had some ideas about the road...
After Jiaoxi we passed by an aboriginal museum, that I wanted to visit for a long time...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atayal_people on pic at this wiki link...
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2017/april/a-trip-to-cueifong-lake.html and passed by on my last visit to road 7...
I was party in a rush since Oscar didnt have the same interest as me with this cultural info...but it was interesting about the clothing etc...
Some nice and colour pic...
And a classic map over aboriginals in taiwan...
...and some names...
...and some info about how people moved before and the similarites with other people in polynesia...
I also got a atayal name...Wadan...
Baibai friends...the guy the the left is Paiwan guy from Pingdong...
A rural area...but still interesting house...
We stopped in Nanshan for some food...
Omg, a family mart...recently opened...just like in orchid island where a 7-11 recently opened...will it kill the old local stores...?
I got some aboriginal food...
Oscar was tired after a whiel...
He likes his sun glasses...here in Lishan...
...we later made it to Hehuanshan...it was so steep and high up so I asked him to walk on the worse part...
...we later made it to the central peak...and we installed oscars drone...
...it was pretty good weather...we expected rain...
...some guiding tour arrived after us...
...some cluds far away...
Some locals posinng...
Oscar checking his drone...
...after a while we were heading back...
...we planned ot put up a tent, but might ask in a nearby resort if they have a cheap bed...
..must be the highest reosrt in taiwan...3100m high something...
they even had a ski resort here some time ago...
...yep, oscar was willing to pay 1200nt per bed...including breakfast and dinner...
in the background "qilai" mountain..the dark mountain...
Dinner...pretty crowded....
ha..they had some oxygen chamber for people...some locals were using it...
...they also had plenty of nice pics...this was the name of the restaurant...
They also had some inspiring wooden sculpture...
...and animal poster...
...bird poster...
...eng of may...11.3 degrees...very nice...
In the morning it was sunny weather again...
Oscar made some drone tests...
Blue sky...I like...
My faovrite moutnain Zhongyangjianshan, as a pyramid in the background...
Scooter to a local store to buy dringk...and sun block on...
...we also left plenty of stuff at our scooter...before heading up on the north peak of hehuanshan...
some small hill which is he trail entrance of the north peak...1000 of locals, as it seems..
We were walking faster than others...alot of passing by people
Locals resting...
Pretty nice filds up here...
up here we could se nanhushan and zhongyangjianshan...I also got tast of how dangerour ignorance is, when some locass told me that that high mountian over there is not xueshan (the second highest peak in tiawan). they claimed that that peak is in yilan...i ownder if they ever been in yilan or know what a coast town looks like...
me and oscar continued towards the west peak...
Oscar saw jade mountain in the horizon...
Also he drove his drone while walking...
yesterday he almost crashed hte drone...I was worried that he might lose it forever if he goes to far away (it can drive 2km away)...
Later we headed back again...passing all the 1000 locals again...
blurry pic...
Far down there is the resort and the highest road in taiwan...
I also saw a new 7-11 pretty high on road 7...i knew that the highest 7-11 befoer was on road 14 towards Puli...i had to stop here and get some stuff...
Back in nanshan I saw that they had le ble dor at family mart...I had to buy...
We also stoped on the raod 7 conection to Daxi...just for fun...
and passed kavalan destillery
and later went to jiaoxi and waiao
english teachers and tais who love foreingers mecka...
some kids made a fire on the beach...
Oscar went to bed early..I was the driver...
We did somme short visit back at the beach...
and later headed north..oscar wanted some fish..but they only had hotpot at the fish villages we went to...
sun glasses one...
after some hours drive we were back in taipei..oscar wanted to go to Din tai fong...
..too long queue there...we ended up at a roof top in yonghe...
pizza and music
Oscar left the ame day...
finishing with BK at the airport...sometimes they are not that good...i they tend to sell cold nuggest at late hours...
Last pic of oscar...baibai
Oscars summary of the mountain trip...
A hike session in Hsinchu
I went to hsinchu some days ago..
Many cars here...
Went with some school mates
Up in the mountains, they had some morning event..
It is nice in the mountains, these were like 1000m high i think
Omg...a hello kitty bus..
We were heading here...
We heard there had 3 entrances to the hike...and some were free entrance...
...apparently some bus also passed by here...
Some aboroginal worked here...
...they had allot of cute decoration inside...
...with some quotes...
...the atayal guy...
...and nice view...over some hsinchu mountain..
...i also found a dog with 2 different colours on his eyes...
...after a while we found the trail entrance...
..it was a saisiyat area...
..not sure what this means...
...chop chop start the hike...
...the entrance had some broken stairs...
...i brought some burgers from family mart...
...we entered some bamboo jungle...
...and later some som road..
...steep contrete road...
more steep road...
..and some green nature
Robert was running in the grass...
To some first peak...
...and some second peak...
...they had some paper signs...the path ways...
...and some hight..1182m...
...plenty of pine trees...
And then it became steaper...
omg...some plastic bottle...
...we also met some old people...pretty close to the highest peak...
...omg some steap wall...
...after some time we reached the peak...
...1579m high...
...we had some snacks here...
Some people brought a kitchen to make tea...
...view over hsinchu...
the climbing gang...
And then we went down...
Robert took the lead...
More jungle...
...the rest of the hike was easier...wider path...
...some warning signs...
...and more pine trees...
Omg...a container...in the forest...
after a while it was a wider road...perfect for downhill cycling...
...we were heading to some coffee store...
...and some "forest area"...
...finally reached it...
Some high mountain tea...i think...
...and the houses looks like home...almost...
...or like in the southern part of germany..
...we also got offer for a free ride back to our car..
...pretty nice...
...some traffic jam...
And we were back to the 2 coloured eyed dog after some while...
...i visited a store at the saisiyat area...to buy osme aboriginal thing...
..i ended up buying xiaomijiu..i hope the saisiyat made it...
No one wanted to drink with me...so i ended the whole bottle...
we also went to this fish place...
and this funny guy showd up ...most people were old NTU student...
the resturant gang.....
Plenty of taiwanese food...
Some group pic...
They people hadnt seen 20nt before...they had to take pic...
Omg...they had kavalan whiky...2017 continues...
A visit to Wanli Ufo village
West of keelung (and west of the Yehliu Geopark), there is a UFO village...long time ago there use to be many like these:
But now there are mainly in Wanli:
Many are abandoned...
But some of them...maybe 1 out of 4 has people living in them...
This shape is the coolest...
Many had sea view...
The atmosphere reminded me or arild in sweden....however its very much "taiwan north coast atmosphere" here...
Some platform...and house...seems like a summer cabin...
Keelung island was visible in the horizon...
A revisit to Tainan (part 2)
I saw a guy in Tainan who looked like my friend Milo..but it wasnt him...
But I just saw him 4-5 meters from his right...
They use some red flower for the addresss on the street signs here in Tainan...its taken near a famous food street in Tainan...
This place was famous...had some special food
Based on locals advice from some previous night...at this place...or area
...an oyster omelette or something
Next stop this place...
Famous for this food
A long queue
Nest place...some tea bar..or juice bar...same street...
A crowded street...allot of scooters driving around
...next place...this ice cream store...
Very popular...or maybe just "famous"...
This is the address...
Number 135...but have to wait almost 50 numbers...a sign says if one misses their unmber, they have to queue again...
Allot of decoration at this street...
This might have been the name of the ice crea place...
Some queuing regulations
And the ice cream...some burned sugar...
...and green tea ice cream...
Omg...another nice "no idling" sign....how cocme taipei dont have this...? so strange...
Next stop was an aborginal park...but it was rather empty...just some cool images...
Group photo...
...geographical explanation
...some local promotion of event...
...some cool picture with aboringal things...
...aboriginal bench...
...more event info...
...after some pics at the aboringal park...this restaurant was visited...
...famous for this dish...
...Next stop...near the tainan old town...
...they even had AC...
...famous for this dish...like pure mached meat in salty water...or something
At the address on the green sign...
Next stop: An american boat
It was used during the vietnam war...
And has been here some some decade...
...many things can not be taken on board...
It was equiped for doing many things
...abd hade a cafeteria...it cost money to enter...people on board didnt seem to wanna buy things for the moment...
They also had some flag alphabet...as the military often use...
The tainan trip was ended with some sweet n sour sauce dish back in taipei...
A revisit to Tainan (part 1)
I made a viit to Tainan recently
"Good used books"...sounds like a nice store to buy books at...
First stop was a tample...near some dike...
I visited here 2008 with some friends...its a verey touristic spot...
Long queue to get on a boat, which brings you back and forth on some small pond...covered by trees...
And after som queing, another long queue...
I know that tainan is one of the oldest cities in taiwan...according to literature...here is some map from some dutch people
And some route some dutch people took...
We needed to use some life jacket
And we could use some chiense rice hat...or atleast a hat that is often used at the rice fields...
...and once in a while other boats approached us...
...apparently they had many crabs here...
And many people took pics of the gree tunnel that was created by all the bushes...
...far away was the end
It was some other dyke...
And back we went...
At the tample again i saw some bird that locals played with...i thin they cut its wings...so it could not escape...
And next stop was some museum, looking like in europe...
Tainan metropolitian museum park
It was famous for its international style...
Many locals ere here to take pics...
They also had smoe greek god statues...
And birds running around on the grass..
It seemed like the museum itself was closed...
More people taking pics...
And some other pic..
...more pics...
,,,school classes...
A statue of Serenity...
Next stop a "famous hotpot"
But then there was a waiting time for 30-60 minutes...
Some cow statue at the entrance...interesting...
Menu only in chinese...
It was pretty crowded in there...
And people left some things on our table...it felt like siting in a kitche...
Tainan is famos for having taiwanese cows...so the meat here is not imported...
Omg...later on a saw a sign that almost made me fall in tears..."no idling"...i wish this sign were spread out all over taiwan...or maybe also in china...where people often idle everywhere...
Some night pic of the museum..
Next stop...somce other oyster restaurant...
They had many kinds of dishes...
...friend oyster...
oyster in egg...and red sauce...
fried oyster...
grilled oyster...
Next place to visit was at Tainan harbour...a coffee shop called windmill...
...maybe due to a windmill in their garden...
Th
They had some interesting things that spinn in the wind...
Manu in chinese..
And some different locations...however they didnt sell taiwanese coffee...
But they had windmill models...
And a fancy car outside...
I had some caramel latte...
Omg, somce painted micro windmill...
I ended the night by visiting a geocache...
It was a nice road that was some old city wall...
With some chinese characters at the entrance...
Some other geocaching was made here...
Later a visit to this Amis resturant was made...
"happy ending" was the name in local language...
And an image of their traditional dance
...and the aboriginal boat...
I aksed for some local beer, but they suggested xiaomijiu...some sweet wine...like millet wine...
Omg...some images on the wall from seediq bale..
Some local dish...
And banana leaf wrapped rice...I have t in Danline once in a while...
Some table nearby had some party...
They had a famous singer at their table..
After some while drinking I was invited by local people...to theri table...
And got to take a fan pic with the local singer...
More dancing and performance...2017 continues...
A trip to Cueifong lake
I made a trip to Suifeng? Cueifong lake recently
Taking a scooter on road 9....apparently 2 people died on this road the same day i went here...jsut before and after I passed by...
Many bikes...
And many people taking pics of the bikes...
Passing by pingling...the vilalge of tea...
And some view spot...
Far away is the ocea...anbd turle island...we just reached the city of yilan...
Some lonely acvite volcano...turle island...looks pretty cool out in the ocean...
Heading on road 9....it is the longest road in taiwan i think...
Some famous chicken resturant (in yilan and jiaoxi they have many "famous chicken stores"...this is one where the locals go to...
They had allot of taiwanese food...
And some noodles...and the chicken...
I like the atmosphere in yilan and jiaoxi...flat and moutain in the horizon...its an old delta i think...like many cites in taiwan...
After road 9, road 7 was entered...
Many rice field here...
we also passed by Jim and dads...their brewery...as well as kavaln distillery...which is on the same road...
Late on we headed up the mountains on road 7...
Another huge river...
And some aboriginal village...
They also have some huge carport shaped baskedball arena...like many aboriginal villages...
The landscape is mountaines and rivers...
After a while we left road 7 and headed to Taipingshan...
...it was another national forest recreation area...pretty far away form civilsation
They charged people to enter as usual...
And then the road went up up up...for about 30-50km...
Left and right...up up up
Taipingshan national forest recreation area has several scenic sights...
There are allot of pine trees here...
After some hours of scooter driving we reached our destination
The Cueifong lake...
With some information signs in english
and a trail that are 3km...we arrived pretty late..not sure if the sun will be up for us to walk around the lake...
But some kilometer was doable...
This lake was one that is larger in rainy season...probably in autumn...
Some foggy lake pic
And some flowers...
Seme signs...the one to the bottom left asks people not to bring their own fish...which might kill the local ecosystem...
Later on we headed to the other side of the lake
From here the lake was larger
Omg...a drone...
many people taking pics
It was the largest forest lake in taiwan...which has no river entering it...
And i saw some strange floating thing in the middle...not sure what that was...
No fish in this lake...
...but many animals...
Some reference to a movie...
It is 1840 meters above sea level...and taiwanes "largest alpine lake"...
No butterfly catching...or carving..
...still allot of pine trees...
And some toilet...
the forest was soo green..andn the sky was soo blue...
...it felt like i was not in taiwan for a while...
Back to the long road back to civilisation
We also passed by a tree that was very old...
Very high up I bet there are many old trees...
...tjhis one were about 2500 years old...
We also passed by many aborignal villages on the way back...
And some atayal museum..which just closed...pretty disapointing...
Very cool statues...
I which I knew people from this area of taiwan...
...omg...another accident....
And many queues...
I returned to yilan and bought some IPAs...
...at Jim and dads...expensive...but a little exclusive...
We also passed by a "famous" bread store in jiaoxi...
They had awesome bread...for being taiwan...
I bought 5-6 kinds...
And had some on the way back to taipei...thinking about some latest research...
Then the road 9 was waiting again...with the night view of yilan...
...And somewhere out there...also turtle island...
Next stop was Xindian...they had some water activity with lights...
It was some special show...
And today was the last day...
Many locals came here to watch...
Also a walk at the night market was done...
This was the name of the light show...
Xindians lake Bitan is a nice place to chill at....
Their toilet is made from the brand Falcon...same name as a swedish beer company...such a nice match...
A hike on road 14
I made a toadtrip on road 14 recently
Starting from the heights of road 8...
It was a clear morning, but as usual in taiwan it gets often more foggy in the afternoon
And allot of reconstructions on the mountain roads, especially road 20, 8, 9, and 21
We also visited a mountain gas station...
The staff were very good in english...pretty impressive...
After hitting road 14, we were pretty close to the highest road on taiwan...here shotgun Kris just passed 3000m above sea level
Here one could see the north peak of mountian hehuan, it is higher than the main peak but takes some hour to climb...
Many local people like to wear full hiking gear even for small walks...
We chosed to park at the highest road...it is sometimes closed due to snow fall...or the police checks that each car has snow chains...
To save time, we made a shortcut from the parking to the main peak trail
It was rather steep path but we couldnt park near the trail entrance...one can see the east peak in the background
After some 15 minutes...we reached the peak...
It was a great view of the nearby area...but not as good as last times i went here...
It was acctually the first +3000 mountain i climbed in taiwan
...then it was better view...
and in particular I could then see Zhongyangjian shan (central range point), which is such a cool mountain)...
...but now robin was focusing on helping some locals to memorize this event...than to imagine the horizon...
We also had some peak time...
And also felt the high alltitude...
We also visited taiwans highest toilet...
Robing was enjoying the view...
They also have busses going up here...from Puli area
After continung cruising road 14...we reached the highest 7-11 in taiwan...
They boys wasnt sure it was that high...since we drove more than 1000 meters downhill to reach it...but it was more a good way to realize how high 3400 meters actually is...
....some posing, while suffering from high altitude...
All bags in here were all blown up due to the low air pressure...
...we later on continued passing Qingjing sheep farm
We also passeb by suiss and brittish architecutre on these mountain road....
But we were heading to a Seediq restaurant which I had seen some years ago....we had 2 options...
From our resturant we could see the old suiss houses and the sheep farm....
The seediq restaurant also had some indian interiors...
...im not sure if everything were purely seediq...
I asked for as indigenous food as posisble...and got omellete and some cabbage...
we also got rice and a chicken...
Later on when we paid...I used my 20nt coins...since they have Mona Rudao on them...he was a very famous seediq guy...
who was fighting the japanese long time ago...
its also the story plot of the fmous movie Seediq Bale
We didnt see any sediq chaise japanese..but atleast I tried some local food from here...I might try some other seediq restaurant next time i pass by here again...
Atleast they said they were aboriginal....
Some restaurant info...
We continued road 14 closer ot Puli...and found this very north european strucutre of a conveinent stopre + gas staion solution....
I remember this place, since they have a shower in their toilet...pretty useful when backpacking on taiwan...
And it is free...
After some other minutes the raod 14 road trip was over...
We headed back to northern taiwan...and dropped Kris....who knows where next adventure will take place...
A trip to Hualien
I made a trip to hualien recently
Taking the car from Taipei towards Suao
After some tunnels, the longest were more than 13km, we ended up in suao...and some random restaurant
There werent manhy people there...so they had many places available
...Still they assigned us a table...
We had some fish, it said "sweet and sour sauce"....but was more or less tomato sauce...
We later took the caron raod 9 towards Hualien...
After checking in at a hostel...we tried a bar called "pub"....it was on the way to the central Mcdonalds, where i spotted some other bars before...
The beers were pretty expensive...for beeing hualien...atleast the taiwan beer...maybe thats why all the other people were drinking budweiser...
Some blur pic of the entrace...it was hard to say that it was a pub else...
Place no 2 were near this bar...some 500m more towards the city Mcdonalds....
I met up with Philipp there...who I use to chill with once in a while in taoyuan...
I also saw some drink bottles looking like perfume glasses...
I had a local yilan beer from Jim and Dads...
Philipp wre saying funny things...we also took some selfie
And went out for some serious conversations...
This was the name of the second bar
The bartender has a pic of himself on their logo
We also had some conversations with the locals...
Philipp were sitting inside with his german friend
They also had a book inside....
...about bars in taiwan...and hits place was in that book...pretty nice...ihe posed before we were headding closer to the city Mconalds
Omg....we also saw a pink car...very rare in taiwan, where all other cars are black, white or metallic...
Next stop was a KTV...but it looked like a strange bar from outside
Some local girls birhtday..
There were allot of aboriginals there...
Kristoffer were listening to many languages that he didnt understand
Robin wa posing with a birthday girl, she booked the whole place this night
Robin also insisted in singing KTV...
He picked mostly scandinavian songs...like Barbie Girl, Dancin Queen...etc
More drunk locals posing
After some hours we decided to leave...there is a day tomorrow to...and our time on this trip was pretty scarce...
Some final pose...
And we were on the road again...it was 4am, and we probably didnt even made it a forth of the distance to the city Mcdonalds...life sux when there are too many local bars on the way to the destination :(
The popular Bar where I met the intern was still open...but no intern inside
After some 5-6 hours we were on the road again...or atleast at the entrance of the hostel....Kristoffer had some private music session with the hostel host...
Robin was chillin at the entrance sipping coffee...
And off we were...heading west, on the cross country road 8...
Omg...my old favorite beer bar in Hualien which has shut down...it was yilan beer...sad...
Up on raod 8, we saw allot of reconstruction work...
Kristoffer took pics or the gorge...one of the rolds largest...
Pic no 2....or was he filming?
Robin was driving...pretty stable...I got the honour to pic songs...it was fun...
Some stop was made at the Zhuilu old trail and the swallow grotto...
Many tourists were he...
The entrance to the old trail...i was here some year ago...its pretty amazing...built by the japanese some 100 years ago
Some 10 up the gorge qe passed by some Taroko aboriginal village...with some cool temple...
We met some locals, I asked for local food but got mostly normal taiwanese food...
We also met some friends from the hostel here...
Rob n Kris eating Taroko food...
Omg...coolest image...some Taroko close with nintendo 8bit graphic...
Paiwan Harvest festival
I spent some days in Pingdong with my Paiwan friends...
It was raining some, so some activites were postponed
Cloudy skies
Some ducks in trucks
And people without helmet; yep im at the south eastern part of taiwan
Some aboriginal patterna
Geai and his binlang chewing cousin
We were treated some sweet milk
They painted some bricks on the wall
We also had some tried taro, which was said to be aboriginal candies
They have plenty of churches here...so the villages looks like the alps (atleast some of them), in asia they separate christianity and catolism...
We also passed by a paiwan resturant wher ethey had paiwan traditional outfit
I might buy some of these one day...Im still waiting for my mom (since i was 18) to give me a traditional swedish outfit...seems like this takes time
Johan with paiwan hat 1
Some paiwan statues
Johan with Paiwan hat 2
And some barbie Paiwan dress
We had some tea
and some onion meat stew...I was asked to cook, which I said I could, given that I get the right ingredients, my paiwan friend Geai seen my cook before
Omg...Skarsgård in Tarzan...
Just like the Bunun museum in Ruishui, they have many statues of aboriginals here too
More locals without helmet
We later headed to some festival activites...tribes compeding...
Masalut...is like "thanx"...
Some traditional dress i guess
And some tug of war between clans...
Another traditional dress
Next sport was to fill a cylinder with water and with this fill a bucket, first in time
It got really slippery on the floor
Later people started the archery fight
Some aboriginal pics on an open house...similar they have on the east coast...
more competitions
And some locals driving without helmet
And some small turtles...very cute...
Later on we took the car again...no seatbelts on...the southern style
Geai didnt use one either
We passed by some aboriginal paintings...
And headed to the second longest suspension bridge in taiwan.
The rain was in the air...(literary)
Geai and his cousin were guiding us...
We also inspected some aboriginal pattern in graffiti
And some art wall...
Omg...a temple for dogs?
Mr Bubba and Geai...Bubba was from new jersey, but lived in Hawaii for almost his whole life, except 5 years in taiwan
The bridge was 305 meters...
And had some holes in it...
We also passed by a village with many statues...
And had some beer later on...
The locals also put up some fly paper...where the flies got stuck
and geai started to play...they are catholic...and their church encourage music...so many people here knows how to play instruments...almost like home...but there we learn it in school...
Local herbs
Another cousin of geai was good in painting...and made some tattoos...
This are snails...a local speciality
I made donald duck on my arm...
Scooter with no helmet: we are in the south of taiwan....
We also had rat(?) i was told...interesting....
The whole family gathered...even though people keep coming and leaving...
Some wall paintings...i guess this is traditional dress
Local church visit was made later on...
Some catholic...
And the music...
And all the priests...from the 1950:ies...
The priest was from south of italy...
He gave bread to the catholic people
Geai got...
And the main purpose of the night?...the wine...a.k.a blood of god?
Later on we danced some aboriginal dance...
Omg...the guy in the middle worked heree for 40 years...
Wuwu were preparing a mattress while we returned home...
And the cousins were singing karaoke...the main thing here in Danlin...
Others were siting and listening...
Later on i brought my swedish drinks, which I was asked to bring...the jäger i brought from holland...
They seem to drink alot here...but im not sure if it was only when they had visitors...
Some red labelled ricewine...
A table full of drinks...
Geai was drinking water once in a while...
After some hour Geai wasnt drinking anymore...
The locals thought it was fun...
This is Geais "real" brother...the others were cousins..
People having fun of sleeping Geai..
Later on the locals showed some local dance...I joined up...
Tradictional dance...just like I dances in sun moon lake and with the Amis at the east coast
Many of these people dance in clubs...
Pose with locals
Wuwu got up early...
The youngsters went to bed late...
Some planning of what to do the day after...
Wuwu liked to give the guests food...since I like to eat alot. I think me and wuwu is a good match...
Some milk and bread...
I think the locals ate some baozi similar thing
Selfie with Wuwu
Geai was sleeping
Day 2 it was equally hot...
Some paiwan breakfast
And the locals were already u
Some aboriginal paintings...not traditional i think
We went for a walk...
It ended up wit a mountian clumb..
A pretty steep and sweaty walk
But we retured after a while...seems that this was a very local path
Atleast 1 climbing club has been here...(they use to put up ribbons)
Some paiwan statue at the village entrance...was next place to pass by
We also mingeled with some local kids
And the family prepared BBQ
Omg....Geais brother had some cool hand tattoos...
We later on went ot a local river
Seems like many people in the hood goes here...
It was rather deep at one place...
So the locals jumped into the water
I prefered swimming...even if i dont have any upcoming swimming race in schedule...
It was perfect temperature in the water..around 25....i think
After some hour the swimming session was over
And we were heading back....I wonder if there is any trail from here to the east coast...along the river...that would b interesting...
Geai lingering on the street back at Danlin
And the BBQ started
They filled some beer in a beer cooler
Some locals joining up...but the guy to the left livedin Sanxia taipei
Wuwu was also ready to party...she didnt speak mandarin, only Paiwan language and Japanese...I tried to say "aregato"...I hoped she understood
Geai opened the millet wine jar later
It is very sweet...i tried it in the himalayas..when I walked at the Mt Everest base camp trail...
Locals coming and going
And more millet wine
Geai doesnt like to drink near his parents...but he make a "small exception" today...
Bubba always drinks...
I like geais hairdo...it looks very "warrior"
Family feast
Pingdong skyline from Danlin...
We were heading to the archery court
Trying out to shoot before it became too dark
Some professional archery guy in action
It seems like the hardest thing it to tense it enough...
Then u also need to aim high enough...
We missed all our tried...except one...
The others said that the bulls eye shoot was the profeesional guys atempt...I chose to believe it was my lucky shot...
Mr Archer went homt after some time looking for the arrows...
Another Pingdong skyline pic
And some paiwan dinner...pretty nice
Time to head back to the north...c u next time Danlin!
What to do in Taiwan?
My friend recently asked me what one can do in Taiwan, as a tourist. Below is what I
spontaneously recommended (for a 1-2-3 weeks visit). If you are a student, or have some card looking like a student ID, or driver license, bring it where ever u go, since student discounts often are offered (some people even manage to rent scooters by showing a library card!?!).
I also advice you to rent a car, for this you need a international driver license (Taiwanese companies became more strict since 2011 with car rentals for some reason), and then you can drive around the island. it´s about 1200:ish kilometers in total.
The price level differ at the north compare to the south and east (taipei is most expensive) of the island, but cheapest hostels are around 300-500NTD per night, and hotels are probably around 500-1000NTD.
Else remember that Buses, Trains and High Speed Rail, Scooter and Car are ways to travel on the west part of Taiwan. Car and Scooter and Train are usable on the East part. In the mountain area, cars and scooters are needed. (If you don´t choose to cycle).
Johan´s traveling suggestions in Taiwan (for people whos staying for some week) are:
Taipei & "Taipei New City"
National Palace Museum:
Why? All the treasures from the forbidden city in Beijing is taken here…mostly jade and some old pottery. They have 12 exhibitions that they switch every 6 month...so it takes some years to see all of them...The museum is in Taipei City, but still some 40 minutes by MRT and bus from Taipei main station.More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Palace_Museum
Longshan Night Market “Snake alley”
Why? Its one of the oldest and coolest night markets (most of them look the same all over Taiwan, but this one is a little special) (other night markets that’s “famous” in Taipei are “Shilin” night market and “Guting” night market. (the MRT station has the same names as the markets))
Info: Take MRT (it’s the name of the metro), to Longshan station (one station from Taipei main station), and ask how to go, its about 2-3 minutes from the station. The Taiwanese movie Monga, which deals with some mafia gang members was partly made here. You can also try some Snake and Turtle here.
More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Alley_(Taipei)
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/taipei/sights/markets-bazaars/snake-alley
Taipei 101
Why? Its one of the highest buildings in the world (508 meters high)
Info: Take the MRT to the Taipei 101 station (it´s on the east part of the city)…
It use to be the highest building in the world, however a little bit over rated… look further down how to better experience Taipei 101 (in the hikes). But it has the worlds fastest elevator… They also have some hiking trails near here (walk south from Taipei 101, until you reach the jungle, one famous trail is “the 4 beasts” starting with the “elephant mountain”. More info about these hikes are found on Google.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101
#6 in Tallest buildings in the world 2015 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_world
#9 in free standing structures 2015 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures_in_the_world
Maokong Gongola
Why? A nice place to visit, up in the mountains, not far from Taipei zoo, its famous for the tea houses and its great view over Taipei city…It is also a spot to relax at any of the tea houses, or go for a hike. If you are brave and want somthing extra you may take the special cabin that has a glass floor.
Info: (take the MRT (Neihu line towards the end station Taipei Zoo, and you will find the gondola station, you can use the MRT-card or MRT-badge to enter).
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maokong_Gondola
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/june/a-trip-to-maokong.html
Taipei Zoo
Why? Only a few zoos in the world has pandas. I think Taipei zoo is one of the biggest in Asia (or so I heard). The names of the pandas are in Chinese something like "Re-unite" and has been a political discussion, since China claims preservation fees for all the worlds pandas, except the ones in China (and then they didn´t ask for the fee from Taiwan, which was considered provocative).
Info: The brown Neihu line (south bound) takes you all the way to the zoo.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_Zoo
Yangming Mountain
Why? Taiwanese people loves mountains, and this is the highest near Taipei. It also has a lot of hot springs and hotspring activities. Yangming shan also has wild hot springs. The most popular season to go here is during early spring "cherry blossom" season. Just remember that Taiwanese locals like to go here during weekends, Thus its super looooong queues, I recommend people to take scooter, bike or bus here, especially if you want to go on holidays and Saturday/Sundays.
Info: Take MRT (red line north) to Beitou station, from there you take bus (you can ask at the station).
More info at:
Partly related blog post:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/august/a-saturday-trip-in-northern-taipei.html
Wulai
Why? Taiwan has 14 aboriginal tribes, most of them lives in the south and east part of Taiwan, but here in the mountain south of Taipei there are a lot of aboriginal traces. “Wulai” (originally "Urai") means “hot spring” in the Atayal language. They have plenty of hot springs in this area, some are public others you rent a room, and you can even swim for free in the hot river (if you walk pass the little village. You can also try aboriginal food, and take some hikes here. Free foot bath in the city center. In general Beitou hot springs are a little cheaper, however the Wulai hot springs are carbonated hot springs, while Beitou is sulphur, so for people who don´t like the "egg smell", come to Wulai´s hot spring.
Info: Take MRT south to Xindian, ask for the bus to Wulai, it should be “green 3”, but might have changed.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/june/another-trip-to-wulai.html
Pingxi and Shifen
Why? A place up in the jungle/mountains, famous for its flying lanterns. Easiest to get here is by Train (north) from Taipei, tickets can be bought at Taipei main station. And ask them how to go. They have a connection train to Pingxi, which is very small and cute., or take taxi, or bus is to go here. Personally I went by scooter most of the time. However it can be tricky to rent a scooter in Taipei without a driver licence (in the south and eastern parts of Taiwan it´s easier).. Near Pingxi Taiwan´s largest waterfall can be found in Shifen. However they charge you money to see the waterfall, and thus I think it is over rated, most people I know turn at the entrance.Hiking-wise they have some really nice hikes here, just ask some locals and they will show you some 1-2 hour trails.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pingxi_District
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifen_waterfall
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/august/a-day-at-northeastern-taiwan.html
Most waterfalls in taiwan listed:
Juifen & Gold museum
Why? Seen the anime movie Spirited away? It was inspired by Juifen, which makes you feel like in an Italian coastal village, try the local food and enjoy the tea bar. If you continue some kilometers south along the road, you can visit old Japanese village that was big during the gold rush some 50 years ago. They also have a hike to “tea pot mountain”, you can see signs near the museum (the museum has the largest gold bar in the world, which you can touch, security is not that important in Taiwan). They also have plenty or trails in the area. Teapot mountain is close to the gold museum, just follow the trail signs that are found nearby.
Info: Bus from Taipei, or train with connection bus.
More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiufen
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/august/a-trip-to-teapot-mountain-and-the-gold-muesum.html
Ximen
Why? Ximen is the “times square” of Taipei. I love the gay street which is one of the few spots where you can sit outside in Taipei. "Ximen" means West gate" in Chinese, and its actually possible to see a monument of a "gate" both south and north of the MRT station.
Info: Take MRT to Ximen station (blue bannan line). The gay street is behind the red building near exit 6.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ximending
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/october/a-night-in-ximen.html
Lin Family Garden
In the south western parts of Taipei, near Banqiao, there is a hidden garden which design and architecture reminds a lot of the ancient Chinese houses. Almost like the Hutongs in Beijing, but here its more peaceful and more focus on quality of the real estate. Just walk around and feel the Asian spirits dancing around. Perhaps also enjoy a tea from a local tea store.
The easiest way to go here it to take MRT from Taipei Main station, and leave one MRT station after Banqiao, then walk west. Both Google maps and the links below has further information about the address.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Family_Mansion_and_Garden
http://www.linfamily.ntpc.gov.tw
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/august/a-visit-to-the-lin-family-mansion-and-garden.html
Fulong beach
Why? If you like the beach, you should go here. Just take the train (you can even use your MRT card of badge) north towards Yilan/Hualien etc (in Taipei there are more or less only 1 north bound and 1 south bound line). The stations name is Fulong, and just ask how to go to the ocean, it’s a 5-10 minutes walk. They also have nice festivals here occasionally.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulong_Beach
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/july/a-visit-to-fulong.html
Caoling Trail
Why? Some people say it’s the easiest hiking trail near Taipei, and its an 2-3 hour walk (maybe). You go to Fulong station (just as above) and ask your way, of follow the signs). Most hiking trails are found online if you Google.
Info: its mostly roads initially, bring some food etc, it becomes a nice picnic. The trail ends further south, near another train station. Which will take you back to Taipei.
More info at:
http://www.taiwan-adventures.com/trips-and-tours/day-trips/caoling-historic-trail
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/august/caoling-historical-trail.html
Waiao Surfing
Why? Yes Taiwanese people surf! From Taipei you take the train north, towards Yilan/Hualian etc. And leave at the station Waiao. Locals say that the best surfing is in the morning, but I arrived many times after lunch, for some hours surf. At the train station, walk to the coastline, along the path south. After some 2 kilometers you will see the surf shops. They speak English and u can rent board and clothes for like 500NTD, they will also offer you food chairs etc, at the beach and sometimes free teaching course. For advanced surfers I would recommend to surf down in Taidong or Green island. Waiao is partly protected by Turtle Island, and thus the waves are more suitable for beginners. And its a perfect 1 day trip from the north western part or Taiwan.
Info: Train north, leave at Waiao station, walk south along the coast for some kilometers.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/march/a-surf-trip-to-waiao.html
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/category/surfing-in-taiwan.html
Shiding 20cm ridge
Why? Interesting cliffs and jungle some 30 minutes from Taipei. Its a perfect 1 day hike, when you actually can spot the top of Taipei 101 in the horizon. Some peaks on this trail has temples. It is a good chance that you meet other Taiwanese hikers, who probably can give you some recommendations for other nice hikes.
Info: Take MRT south to Muzha station, and transfer to bus 666, leave at Shiding (or Shiting) station, pass the village and look for stairs and a sign for the trail. You will return to the same spot after the trail is done.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/july/searching-for-the-20cm-ridge-at-shijing.html
Shiding oldstreet:
http://taiwan-photography-blog.com/2010/08/03/must-see-taiwan-shiding-and-shenkeng
Also lonely planet explains how to reach this trail.
Tamsui
Why? Nice market and walk, tea bars and hang out, where Taipei meets the ocean. Perfect to be around sunset. It also has on of the oldest houses in Taiwan from 1623, build by the Spanish people.
Info: Take red line north to the end station (Tamsui) and you will find the place directly. It takes 40-50 minutes by MRT, just be aware. Usually the last MRT leaves the end station around midnight!
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamsui_District
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/july/a-trip-to-danshui.html
ShiDa night market
Why? Its actually more like a student block, but the night market and the restaurant here are nice. Check my blog post below, for some restaurants that many people say "are famous" (which in Taiwan means are good?!?!)
You take the MRT to Technology building station, and ask for “Shida road”, from there you walk north, and ask people where the night market is.
More info at:
https://guidetotaipei.com/visit/shi-da-night-market-師大夜市
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/january/exploring-shidaagain.html
Guting Riverside park
Why? Actually not that special for a tourist. But for people who lived in Taipei for 5 years and are sick of scooters, scooters, scooters…Guting riverside part is a nice escape. From Guting MRT station you walk south, until you reach the river. Only accessible by walking or biking. You can use the public bike system, if u register. It’s a nice tour to enjoy the sun set, they also have some tea bars. This park is also perfect if you just want to go for a run in the city without inhaling fumes from the scooters.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/august/a-sunday-evening-in-august.html
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/april/guting-riverside-park-hang-out.html
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Why? Just makes you feel like you are in the “Republic of China”. Chiang Kai-Shek was a friend of Chinas chairman Mao, but they later on got enemies, and Chiang Kai-Shek escaped to Taiwan, (with treasures form the forbidden city), his plan was that when the communist regime collapsed, Taiwan and China would reunite. However this hasn’t been the case. And in 1970 united nations kicked Taiwan out, and as new generation Taiwanese kids grow up they are not keen to join a communist China, when they can have democracy (however Chiang Kai-Shek is not that popular in these days, people prefer to call Sen Yat Sen the father of Taiwan, who formed the country already in 1911 (from when they start to count their years). This also split the country in 2 parts, “China friendly” (blue political party) and “less China friendly” (green party). Whatever you do, don’t talk to much about the political situation with Taiwanese people, especially if there is more than one person nearby, since they might start to argue.
Info: take the MRT to the station “Chiang Kai-She Memorial Hall Station” (its south of Taipei main station)
Hostels in Taipei:
I think the cheapest ones can be found on hostels.com, like Happy family hostel and Elephant hostel But also my friends hostel is “Three little birds Taipei” is found at:
More info at:
https://www.facebook.com/threelittlebirdstpe?fref=ts
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek_Memorial_Hall
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek_Memorial_Hall_Station
Sanxia Trail
On the road 7 connection in southern Taipei, a place called Sanxia is places just where the mountain starts.Its a perfect place for 1 day hikes. An easy way to get there is by scooter or bike (it is like 20-30km south of Taipei city, taking road 3 south), when it connects with Road 7 a convenient store, take left and continue another 2-3 km for this hike, else continue further (many hikes are marked with signs at the trail entrances). If you want a wild hot spring, you need to continue anohter 40-50 kilometers (Sileng hot spring, which is pretty cool)..
They have several trails in the area, this one is probably the closest from Taipei, and has easy parts.If you don´t want to go this far south, one can find many other trails along road 3 between Tucheng and Sanxia.
More info at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_JEUhXWYkY
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/february/2-hikes-in-1-day.html
https://hikingtaiwan.wordpress.com/tag/sanxia
Similar Sanxia hikes:
http://hikingintaiwan.blogspot.se/2007/12/wulai-to-sanxia.html
Kavalan Whisky Destillery
It is highly ranked and awarded with many prizes. It is even available at the Swedish Systembolaget. Kavalan Whisky. They have several kind of whisky, and have since some years offered guided tours and whisky courses at the factory in Yilan. Preferably visited when visiting Yilan city, which is said to be the most rainy place in Taiwan. 2015 Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique a number of prizes including a gold awards from the Beverage Tasting Institute (World Whiskies Awards) (see links below).More info at:
Yehliu Geopark
Just some hour from Taipei City, there is geological park just at the coast line at the very north of Taiwan, named Yehlui ( 野柳 ) (just along road 2). The "Queen's Head" (女王頭), is a very famous landmark in Taiwan (seen on the picture). It is a geological park where the rocks formed shapes that looks very interesting, and the most spectacular shape. While visiting the park, one can also take a ride to two of the northern most island of Taiwan. Heping island and Keelung island, the later one might be hard to get to, but ask at the harbour east of Keelung, they offer some random rides.
Turtle island
This island on the north east of Taiwan was a military area until 2001 something. After that it became a tourist island, however, the requirement for permit remains "never ask why" locals often say. You need to apply for a permit, and bring your passport. But this island near Yilan in the north of Taiwan has an “under water hot spring” (There are only 4 of these in the world! (that we know about)). Its also the only active volcano in Taiwan, even if it doesn’t look much as a volcano in the 1970:ies more than 600 people lived on the island, which had its own school and stores. Today its pretty empty.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2012/october/a-visit-to-turtle-island.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guishan_Island_(Yilan)
Middle of Taiwan
DaJia Mazu Temple (north of Taichung)
Famous for being the tampe for the “most powerful goddess” and that the temple owner is in the mafia (which most temple owners are in Taiwan). Fun to see is a 250 kilo large gold statue, and a white jade statue, in the basement, thus: the richest temple in Taiwan) (north of Taichung). And pay attention to that the door is always open, without guards and barely any cameras...but i guess a 250 kilo statue is easy to smash but hard to grab...
More info at:
http://www.rtaiwanr.com/dajia-mazu-temple
http://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/taichung/da-jia-zhen-lan-temple.html
Alishan
Overrated place for many reasons, but a nice forest recreation area and they also have nice aboriginal artefacts. Their hiking possibilities use to be good, where you more or less could cross some larger mountains to get to Nantou and a lake created by an earthquake, but they are closed due to landslides. Most Chinese people go here to see the view (sun rise), its pretty nice and sometimes cold (elevation over 2000 meters), you can also see Taiwan´s highest mountain Jade mountain" from the top if Alishan. They have some easy hikes nearby that are open.
More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alishan_National_Scenic_Area
http://wikitravel.org/en/Alishan
Sunmoon lake
The largest lake in Taiwan, made by the Japanese, also a little over rated, but still interesting to see a lake in Taiwan. They also have some theme park near by. It is popular to rent a bike and cycle around the lake or take a tour on the lake, they have plenty of boat rides. It is not OK to swim there, except during a race held in the summer. But they have some hiking trails in the area. Recommended is to watch the aboriginal activities, the tribe living here are rather small compare to other groups.
More info at:
www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/English
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Moon_Lake
wikitravel.org/en/Sun_Moon_Lake
Lugang
One of the oldest cities in Taiwan, near Taichung, it has a nice red brick path that you can walk ,and many nice houses in the old city. Many cities in Taiwan has "old roads" like this one, mostly made by red bricks. However this might be one of the oldest. And a unique history. Don't forget to check the "half well" and visit the temples in the area.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukang,_Changhua
http://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/taiwanoldstreets/lukang-old-street.html
Taiwan Times Village
What is Taiwan? History-wise, culture and retro-culture? This recently opened arena is a great way to explore the Taiwanese peoples own view of Taiwan´s recent History. Stands about comics, great entertainment, aboriginal artefacts and old train stations and police stations are possible to visit. Classic soft porn and actors walking around. Kind of touristic but that's why we are here...See more info about how to find the place and when its open below, (location wise its rather middle-southern parts of Taiwan, in Nantou).
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/march/jiayi-marathon.html
http://www.rtaiwanr.com/taiwan-times-village
921 Earthquake Museum Of Taiwan (Nantou)
A huge earthquake happened some decade ago, and demolished many parts of Taiwan Most spectacular area due to this is the Nantou region, which a lake created from the earthquake, and a school that was totally destroyed. This school is now a museum, and is worth a visit, showing what causes earthquakes and how to build houses and skyscrapers that are earthquake safe.
More info at:
Hehuan mountain
The highest road in Taiwan, above 3000 meters was built for the military, however now its a public road. Where road 7 from north, 8 from east to west and road 14 from the south all meets. You need car or scooter preferably to get here. Taking road 7 from Yilan (in the north) or road 14 from Nantou (from the middle of Taiwan). It’s a nice view, where you (during sunny day) can see 200 km away. The highest toilet in Taiwan is said to be here. Amazing for people who barely seen mountains, nor seen snow. It is also a easy place to get to, compare to other mountains, and a great way to see the "real Taiwan" since Taiwan mainly is a mountain island.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2010/december/mountain-climbing-in-taiwan.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hehuanshan
Other mountains above 3000 meters
Officially there are about 100 peaks above 3000 meters in Taiwan, and you often need to apply for permit to enter the trail, you do this on the national park´s home page. You can, if you are a foreigners, apply at the spot (for non popular mountains) the popular ones are “Jade mountain” and “Snow mountain” (the highest and second highest ones). Ask Johan for more info.
More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_Taiwan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_Taiwan
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/category/mountain-climbing-taiwan.html
Southern Taiwan
Tainan
Also, one of the oldest cities in Taiwan. Houses from the Dutch occupation are worth a visit a.k.a. “the Dutch tree house”. They also have a salt mountain; u can find information about this at the local tourist bureau. And some Portuguese fortress. Many people consider Tainan as a nice city, personally I think it’s a little over rated. Taiwanese people appreciate the food here. Not far from the Dutch tree house and the Portugese Fortress you will find a special cafe that everyone always take me to called "Anping Bean Jelly", when visiting here (with the common argument "its famous). Tainan also has a famous university N.C.K.U, and in their campus they have a nice coffee ship sponsored by the TV company Chimei, that I can recommend. Their pineapple cake is very good.
More info at:
www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g293912-Tainan-Vacations.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Tainan
Kaohsiung
The second largest city in Taiwan, it has a nice atmosphere which barely makes it feel that big, and the roads are like in Manhattan, like a chess board, so its very easy to navigate. I would recommend you to take a evening walk along the Love river and enjoy the lights. Also near the wharf, they have some nice sub-culture art places and interesting tea bars near Pier 2. To get here from Taipei, the fastest way it by “High speed rail” (HSR). But bus and normal train is cheaper. Also pay a visit to the 85 building, which is the highest building in Kaohsiung, they have a nice sky bar. Also one can take the ferry to the island just outside Kaohsiung harbour, and try to local seafood (taste the same as at other places, but its still "local food".
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaohsiung
www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297908-Kaohsiung-Vacations.html
Art center Pier 2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier-2_Art_Center
Kenting
Party! Beach! The most famous tourist spot when it comes to beach in Taiwan, preferably take taxi from Kaohisung, or bus. They have wild parties here in April (spring scream), but the whole year around they offer nice night market, and places to chill at. I can recommend the mobile bar at the very south stand in the road in Kenting. A funny guy has it, and he also offers people challenges like cycling on his small bikes (see the Youtube clip below). If its full at the hostels, in Taiwan its OK to put up a tent at almost any elementary school, they also offer free toilets. Which makes city camping very useful.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenting_National_Park
Bike clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhsXuLGfZ9Y
Festival info:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Scream
Penghu island
Also known as Pescadores Islands?!, are a group of islands mostly connected with bridges between Taiwan and China. It was ranked as "#6 The world´s best secret island" by lonely planet (see link below). A little over rated, but famous for seafood and diving and some Dutch occupation houses. Boat from Tainan or fly from Taipei are the ways to go here. They have plenty of beaches.
More info at:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/76176
http://go2taiwan.net/taiwan_map_penghu.php
The great Buddha statue (Kaohsiung)
Taiwan has one of the largest Buddha statues in Asia (Which actually Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan and China also claims to have?!?!)... This one is north on Kaohsiung, and even has one of the three teeth that is left from Buddha. Not far from this monastery there is a temple for the munks. I heard that its possible to mingle and sleep there, if you are nice. (There are several Big Buddha statues at other places in Taiwan to, one can be found in Hsinchu country, and one in Taizhong county).
More infor at:
XiaoluiQui
A small island in the south of Taiwan, and the most Temple crowded island in the world. Long time ago the weather here was very unstable, so the fishermen never knew when they could reach Main land Taiwan, and thus became dependent on praying to the gods. It is easy to move around on the island. Boat from Pingdong (south of Kaohsiung or road 17) takes you here regularly. Its famous for a mushroom cliff (see the picture). You can easily rent scooter or bike when you are here.
More info at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaoliuqiu
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2012/august/a-weekend-in-kaohsiung-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9.html
http://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/scenery699.html
Eastern Taiwan
East Rift Valley
Rent a car or a scooter and drive on the East Rift valley,It is road 9, between Taidong and Hualian (the two cities on the isolated East coast that it connects), given that you chose not to drive the coastal road 11. On both roads there are plenty of things to see, but the rift valley is something special, like waterfalls, archaeological monuments, nice hikes (like the famous Walami trail (you need a permit, but if u come before 9 in the morning it is OK to apply on spot)), see the blog post below). It’s a 10km hike (one way) with a lot of historical meanings. They also offer rafting in the rivers arranged by the local aboriginal Amei tribe (near Ruishui), just ask at a random 7-11 or hostel and they should know. The valley also offers coffee plantation, milk farms, Aboriginal villages, monkey bridge, and some lakes. The local tourist information will give you detailed information about recent happenings.
More info at:
http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002123&id=5794
Walami trail (ranked as a top 10 trail in taiwan by some websites):
http://www.rtaiwanr.com/walami-yushan-national-park
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/september/a-quick-visit-to-the-walami-trail.html
Green Island
An island 40 minutes by boat from Taidong, not that special but here you can enjoy the flying fish, and swim in the hot spring near the ocean. The place to meet by night is a 7-11 or Family mart convenient store. They have plenty or guiding tours, and some interesting temples. You should try flying fish and deer meat, and do some diving when you visit this place. it´s about 21-21km around the island. Many times it is included a scooter when renting a hotel/hostel.
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2012/may/3km-swimming-at-green-island.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Island,_Taiwan
Orchid Island
The biggest island on the east of Taiwan (but not the largest of Taiwan´s islands, I think Matsu is 3-4 times bigger). To get here you need to take boat from Kaohsiung of fly from Taidong (6 flights per day, but many are cancelled). The island is ranked as the top 10 best diving in the world by New York Times. They also have many aboriginal villages, and old houses from the Japanese occupation. They have guiding tours to see owls. Several hikes, 2 easy to some lakes. I spent 2 days trying to find the path to the highest mountain (more than 500 meters high), but it was hard. I was here during low season (February). The boat on the picture is a common symbol for the aboriginal tribe that lives here. It is around 40-45km around the island, and the road that is, goes around it, with one shortcut in the south. "why do you never build houses in the middle of the island?" I once asked a local. "Why should we?" she replied.
More info at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjrYfIJfIYQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid_Island
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/march/on-a-quick-visit-to-orchid-island.html
Taroko Gorge
A famous gorge on the east coast of Taiwan, near Hualian. Famous for its view, and hikes. The Japanese found this road with help for the Aboriginal Tairuge- tribe, in order to enable transportation of gods from the west coast to the east coast. The military built the roads, and rumour has it that many people died during this dangerous construction project. Today its one of the most spectacular scenic sites in Taiwan. You go here by train to Hualian, and either rent scooter or car/taxi. (from Hualian city go north on road 9, and take road 8 west (just follow the signs to “Taroko gorge”).
More info at:
wikitravel.org/en/Taroko_Gorge
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_National_Park
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/august/hiking-an-old-trail.html
Taidong
My favourite city in Taiwan, they have a very calm atmosphere, many hot springs in the south (in Jiben) and a nice bike path with artists showing their art on the old railroad going around the city. You can come here easiest by train. 3 hours from Taipei with the new fast train (Puyuma). They also have many tourist areas like Badlands, Balloon festival terrace, several Aboriginal villages and art district, and hikes. Ask at the tourist information at the train station when arriving. If you are interested in history I can really recommend the Pre-historic museum in Taidong. There are also great surfing possibilities north of Taodong in Dulan (road 11).
More info at:
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/september/a-quick-visit-to-taidong.html
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2014/august/a-trip-to-taidong.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taitung_City
http://www.tripadvisor.se/Tourism-g304163-Taitung-Vacations.html
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/february/i-saw-some-3000-year-old-tomb.html
http://johansvennung.blogg.se/2013/february/in-taidong.html
All over Taiwan
All you can drink!
Many bars clubs and restaurants have free alcohol in Taiwan. Let me know where you can and I can recommend you some!
Beer bars
Visit my facebook page Taipei Brewing where I listed the addresses in Chinese (usable for google maps). Taiwan has atleast 20 microbreweries and restaurants, most of them are avalabile in Taipei, some in Taichung, Hsinchu and in Tainan
More info on Taipei Brewings facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/taipeibrewing?fref=ts
Additional links about Taiwan:
http://www.veronikasadventure.com/20-pictures-that-will-make-you-want-to-visit-taiwan
https://www.nickkembel.com/things-to-do-in-taiwan
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3081816
https://bigseventravel.com/places/taiwan
http://www.nickkembel.com/category/asia/taiwan
https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2089
https://rtaiwanr.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/top-10-winter-warmer-hot-pots-in-taiwan
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/asia/taiwan/taipei-taiwan-travel-itinerary
http://inbeijing.se/bulletin/2019/03/05/mina-sju-tips-till-turister-som-besoker-taipei
http://www.taiwanoffthebeatentrack.com
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3247203
https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200313-1092804
https://taiwaneverything.cc/2018/03/01/taiwan-offshore-islands
https://www.veronikasadventure.com/10-reasons-to-visit-taiwanHiking Old Jhuilu Road
I went on the Old Jhuilu Road which was made by the japanese some houndred of years ago...
But the trip started with a Starbucks visist...
...and me tryting to get rid of 16 free cinema tickets to the movie "the rover"...
Jason, my old friend form NCTU Europe took some...we had a nice cycling session along taipei river side...
Omg...3am on saturday morning, i got the honour to meet a Taroko aboroginal in a 7-11...
before arriving to the trail entrance of the old trail that one needs a permit to walk...in taroko gorge...
High mountains...this is probbly one of the more famous troutist sites in taiwan...
Pretty steep down to the river...
I heard that the military built this road...and many people died when doing it...
its mainly made by semi tunnels on the mountain edge...
...and still heavily trafficed...
Some cool holes in the wall created by water some million years ago..or thousand years ago...
This is the trail entrance...a bridge...
And a ranger guarding the trail...since no too many people can walk on this fragile path each day...
"Swallow Grotto Trail" might be another trail, but it was here that one can find tha entrance...
The ranger checking the permit...(also taroko aboriginal)...
After checking he opened the locked door...
"old Jhuilu road" is the name..
This is a common bridge in taiwan for trails at the east coast...
...but its not made for "whoever" to walk...
The water some 50-100 meters down looks pretty gray...
And some 20km down hills the ocean starts...
The trail was built some 100 years ago...
And went pretty far...to bad that its broken, so after 3 km its closed...
They say "at least four days" to walk...interesting...
"90 cm wide"...we will see about that...
Its cool that it crossed the island...
They had ropes on some paerts for the walkers to hang on to...
And snakes...I heard stores about the snakes in taroko gorge...
Else prtty much of the trail was in shadow...
"cliff outpost" was the place everyone was heading for...
In the horizon one could se high mountains...
Once in a while they had a terrace...it use to be a ploisce station during the japanese occupation...
Another bridge...
And many elder walked this trail...
It was pretty sweaty...since it was pretty low altitude...
As usual the locals walked with full "mountain climbing equipment"...
We were still walking on the edge...but not that steep down yet...
But once in a while they had a tunnel...
And most often they repaired the broken path with a bridge...
It is pretty nice to walk on trails like this...feels like one is in some "lord of the ring movie...(except that the bridge is made on steal)...
After some 2km the one could see the gorge pretty well
Some locals who take a rest...
Once in a while they also had a fence...
But at the steepest parts they didnt... i remember i reaceted to this the first time i came to this area 2008...
The road was down there...far away...
And the path was on the edge...I wonder how the build this 100 years ago...
It was hard to pass by anyone up here...
Some locals carrying a drone...
Omg...better hold on tight...
Some times they also had a tunnel up here...
But most of the time it was just thie 1 meter wide trail and steep down...
I was recommended this trail by a swedish friend who lives in Kaohsiung...
Here the trail was broken long tima ago...so they added a bridge...
After 3km one couldnt walk further...
Just some lines blocking the way...
And many people taking a rest...
Ok...time to walk back...
Same path...same similar pics...
I also met a new Taroko friend who taught me to say "hi" in their language "Madusu"...
After 3km downhill I reached the car road again...
Many people were walking on the big road. also enjoying the gorge...
And the ranger had to open the gate...(its not possible to enter this trail after 11 in the morning, by some reason)...
Many cars were parked here now...
And the visitors could borrow helmets if they wanted to...
Omg...an aboriginal patterned house...
And some totem pole...
Next stop was a "burger bar"...called Salt Lick, in Hualien city...
It was more like a sandiwch and steak house...
...inspired by american wild west...
With nice decoreations...
and free wifi..., however I wonder how they transport their "homemade" apple pie from their home...or maybe they live in the restaurant..
The burger was pretty cheese...it was nice..
But it was nor a real burger patty..more like 2 slices of meat...
And the french fries felt strange...like if they were fried from deep frozed raw potatoes.. that got dry...
The toilet was cool...
Next stop was this water falll...
But it was hard to reach it...even if it was announced from the road, that it was a scenic area...
This is the best shot I got of it...near Ruishui on road 9...
Or this...
Later on, in Ruishui, they had boriginal ceremony...
Many Amis dancing...
And different tribes were wearing different clothes...
I wanted to hear my second favorite Amis song...but they never played it (or i came to late to hear it)...
I think they also had some competition...and they announces which tribe won...
More dancing...
Next stop was these 2 stones (Saoba stone pillars)...which reminded me of a small part of Stone hendge in UK...
It seemed to be a part of some bigger archaeological site...
They dont knwo from where the stones are taken...but think they are about 3000 years old...which puts them on the so far oldest thing one can see, made by man in taiwan...
The highest one was over 6 meters high...amaxing how many earthquakes it standed in this time..and typhoons...
Its always confusing how they spell their characters in pinyin in taiwan...
..."jui sui" or "rui shui"...etc...I try to keep my facts right...
A visit to Taizhong
I paid a short visit to Taizhong some day ago...
Taking high speed rail to save some time...
This is the downtown for taizhong...
My guide telling me which areas are the richest...
And which car thats most common...
Some Taizhong style building...
And some mall that no one wants...(ghost house?)...
...they also have interesting architecture...
This is said to be a nice downtown bar area...
Omg...we also passed the burgerbar I went to last time i was here...
We also passed some random teastore...
It was pretty nice...like in ximen...but up among the roof tops...
We got some green tea...
Omg many kinds of drinks...
And a huge flipflop...
They also had a robot cafe...
And some mall with real bushes on the wall...
And a T-shirt of china...hmm...not that popular here...
More drinks...
And Le ble d´or...awesome...they have 2 stores here in Taizhong...
Tey also had some outside book place...it reminded me ot bockenheim in frankfurt...where they had a shelf for people to take a book and leave another...
And some tetrapack expo...
Not sure why they had this...
And a car expo...
This place was famous for the cheese cake...
Not sure why...
And some cheese ice cream...
Later on we went to this all u can eat...
It was in the very center of taizhong...
We ordered many dishes...but I went all in on sweet and sour sauce and deep fried things...
This was the dessert...corn and sweet potato...
Omg...the standard fee for taxi is 85 here...
This old japanese bank is nowadays an ice cream store...
In the vault they make waffles...
And on th etop floor they sell chocolate...
They had like 60 flavours...atleast...
Hard to chose...
I just picked randomly...
The result...
Many houses here were pretty old (for beeing taiwan)...
I even got a gift...
Next stop was a wine bar...
With a tiger at the entrance...
They tried to keep high class...
But every drink i asked for they said "we dont have"...even he beer..."they dont have":..
Some girl also came to us to sell perfumes...interesting sales tactic...(in the wine bar)...
My friend Rosario hosted me...he had an interesting house...with many paintings...
And nice coffee...
Omg a military...
We went north the second day to pick mushrooms...
At some farm...
Not sure which kind...but it seemed typical taiwanese...
They were growing in bags...
It seemed to be a mushroom area...
Some mushrooms were very expensive...
We also picked some...
Pink mushroom...
Yellow mushroom...
"Tips for picking mushrooms"...
And a mushroom list...
And different mushroom flavours...wasabi, soy, neutral etc...
Nest stop was an organic farm...
They picked some things for us...
We had some tea...
And then it was our turn to pick...
It seemed easy...
Lemons...the new gold of taiwan...many beetlenut farmers change their binlang-trees to lemon trees, due to that they eaern more money from lemons...
Omg...they used extra sleeves to protet from light...not sure why they have lights at home...when they are afraid of it...
A quick stop to a mango stop...
Many houses up here were for sale...
Next stop some old tea club...
But now its a restaurant...
Interesting signs...
...and art...
We got some chicken soup...
And fried chicken...
Omg...many classical asian art artifacts...
And sculptures...
Jade...
Some old painting...
It looked like a museum...
Some classical painting that reminded me of tibet...
And a turning torso miniature...
After this lunsh I returned to taipei...Taizhong is an interesting city...it seems to have many things to offer...
A trip to XIaowulai waterfall, and baibai party with the swedes
I paid a visit to Xiao wulai (little wulai) yesterday (wulai means hotspring in Atayal language (an aboriginal tribe from nothern taiwan))...
Wulai is easily accessable from Taipei, however, Xiaowulai one needs to go some hours to reach...since its on another side of a mountain...(or one can river trace I heard)...
Many people went here this day...
And many places to visit..but many people wanted to see a waterfall...from a transperent bridge...not sure why...
This was the path to the view from the waterfall base...
With some metallic stairs...
And some locals swimming..
Up there somewhere is the waterfall...
It was a 10 minutes walk in 30 degrees...
Omg..there is the waterfall...
Pretty big...
With some old temples that one can see the waterfall from...
It was a pretty small river right now...
And some smaller waterfall over the first one...somethere there the transperent brdge is...
Not sure which waterfall is the biggest in taiwan but this seemed pretty big...
From the road one could also see it...
Later on I went to taipei 101...for some all u can eat...and drink...
Many swedes joine up...
Patric was the one who announced it...
It is one of my favorite ones...
We were 9 people so they gave us 2 tables...I walked between the tables..its fun to mingle around...
Patric has striped shorts, pretty fancy...
Omg, so weird...they had many jars with chocolate etc at the ice cream bar..but only 1 was for eating, the rest was for decoration...how wants forbidden food as decoration?
Later on we went to a nearby bar...where I had this IPA:..
I was told that they also have local beer but it was out of beer this day...
Most beers were about 242 nt (or 220 nt plus 10% service charge)...
This guy was the bartender...Stanley 18 years old...
Later I also had an Hoegarden...
Later Joel insited of visitiing a night club...
We were heading to Club Halo...
But ended up at Club Spark...never have high expectations in taiwan...or anywhere else...
They often encourage people to spend money here...and they try to have a luxurious attitude...
More girls shoing everyone someone who bought champange...
OMg...broken sofa...
Joel was happy..
And drunk...
More sparkling wine bottles in the air...
Joel also bought some champange...but no girls holding up the bottle with a light...
Some picture taking...most people here were celebrating some event...the foreingers went here cus it was saturday...
Some guys who couldnt stand the pressure...
And some numbers sharing...business also on the freetime...
A trip to Teapot mountain and the Gold muesum
I left the scooter crowded taipei today...
Millions of scooters every day...
...I headed east...(ironically not by bike this time...(but by scooter))...
To the touristic place called Juifen...
Omg...taiwan has many ways to spell the same place..."Sijhih" or Xichi...etc
Here the "cliff" teapot mountain can be seen...
Not sure why...but they say it looks like a teapot...
To get here I had to pass by a gold geological park...this house was made by the japanese a long long time ago...
Many tourist were here...
Omg..they used a mini rail to pull and push the gold...
Another view of the teapot mountain...
One of my long term goal in taiwan is to see the boggest gold bar in the world...i think it should be here...
Omg...many people guarding different areas...not sure what they are for...
Its open during daytime...no wonder I often miss the opening hours...
Cool...they had rail going everywhere here to transport the gold...
And a big cave (or gold mine)...cute kids wearing helmets...
Omg...gold has been found here for thousands of years...
An interesting illustration of the gold mine...
And some medals...
Gold art...
And here it is...the biggest gold bar...
So interesting, no guards...
Covered by some plastic glass...
4 meters from the exit that doesnt have any guard either...i remember when I went to a temple north of taizhong and they had a 400kilo gold statue also unsupervised, the taiwanese said that they didnt need to guard it since "no one would steal any religious thing..."...hmm...smash and grab...i wonder how much one would get for this bar...
It was interesting...
I should have strachted some of...
it was pretty heavy though...
And here is the exit...in 20 meters from the exit, one could meet up bu scooter...
...enought security discuttion...here is another mountain opposite to teapot mountain...
And the path from gold museum to the trail entrance for the teapot mountain...
Omg...some japanese style house again...I really like their archititcture...
Signs to find the trail...
And the teapot...
And some tunnel...not sure where it leads...
Here it the trail entrance...I was told...
Stairs...stairs...
And nice view...
Omg..some car road also heading up hill..it felt unnecessary to climb if i could take the car...
They also had many of these small temples...I wanna build one of these back in swedes...its pretty nice with this asian architecture...
Not far now..."chahushan" is teapot mountain in pinyin...
Here is the "real" trail entrance...after some kilometer walk uphill...
or "ear-free teapot"...
900 meters left...
The stairs were partly broken...
But later they were fixed...
So it wasnt much of a climb...more a walk...
Omg...so close...
And some sign...not sure what they mean...
From here I could see juifen...
And keelung...
But I had to walk in some cave...to reach higher...
Here is the path...it looks interesting...
More tunnels...
Asome random guy was here...changing shirt..it was super warm...
Up on the "top"...
But not the real top...some high rope was indicating that its possible to climb higher...
The random guy also suggested me to go higher...to anogher mountain...but i think i could take the car to that mountain another time...comepare to the caoling trail that i did some year ago...this wasnt that spectacular...
just a cliff on a mountain...
Omg, I can also see taipei 101...i always see that building from peaks in northern taiwan...
To reach another peak further up I had to continue to in the caves of teapot mountain...
The ocean is pretty close...its the north coast of taiwan...
To the left one can see the higher ridge passed teapot mountain...
Some interesting field near the gold ecological park...
And the car road heading down...
And some hugh statue near the trail entrance of teapot mountain...
And a cool tree house...
Here is the gold museum...
Many tourists here...(mostly japanese I think)...
More people taking pic of the gold bar...
I had to see it again..so cool...
And the door didnt have any specific lock or anything...so interesting...
Next think on my schedule: geocaching...
I walked back in the gold ecological park...
Closer to Ruifang...a nearby train station I was told that there should be a cache with a trackable...
Near this old tunnel....
It was pretty deep...
I remember the "hint"..but my gps wasnt that accurate...
After a while i found it...now I better head back to taipei...the sun is really strong here...i use to be Mr Shadow man..a day out side in the sun is killing me...
