Hualien for the weekend

 

This weekend we were planning to go to Yilan, so we went to Hualien. The reason being that we couldn’t do the things we planned in Yilan since we had to book that one month in advance. So we changed the plans for Hualien instead. Just like Yilan it is on the east coast and just Like Yilan I havent been there much except for a few trips to Taroko gorge but there is much more to see than that as I found out.

Since we went there with little plans and no bookings we arrived rather late in the night, more or less as soon as we got off the train a guy pick us out and asked if we needed a hotel, we checked out the room he offered and figured it was good so we took it. Just next to the train station too, I have never had such an easy time to find a hotel. anyway, Hualien being a rather lifeless city at night, we went to bed pretty directly and hoped to have some fun in the morning.

On saturday we had some breakfast, went to the tourist office to get a map then rented a scooter – the freedom of driving yourself is nice. We went out to the road by the coast and followed if southward making several stops on the way. The first one was a park streching out along the water and the beach on the other side of it.

Driftwood sculpture

The beach was very stoney and covered by driftwood but the water was beautiful. We only stayed a short time before driving on.  Next we found a more beach like beach, still covered in stones but they were smaller and nicer. I have been here before, when me and some friends rented a car and drove around the island, it was evening then, is is more beautiful in the daylight.

 The beach streching out to the leftLooking at the waves 

Next up we found an old boat high up on land for some reason. Its kind of fun to explore this kind of place.

front view 

Deck, lots of rust 

Inside the bridge From the engine room

Having  explored the boat a bit we drove on and found a REALLY beautiful spot where we could see a small beach, the lush mountain all around and the brilliantly blue sea.

Good enough for a poster!

We went down to check it out but since we didn’t intend to go for a swim we didn’t pay the entrance fee to the beach. Instead we drove on again, the road curved into the mountains for a while then we came out at the next place. It was some kind of beach but it was closed due to some kind of storm warning. We went passed a barrier and climbed up some steep steps to a view point.

sweaty climb, nice view

After that we kept driving for a while until we came to a really nice place called Shitiping. A couple of cool cliffs, similar to Yeliu but without the tourists. It was nice.

I like the way the sky reflects in the pond

This makes you feel like an adventurer, no red line or guard here.

That was possibly the nicest single place, just driving along the coast and exploring however, was great. The raod was nice and every few moments there was something beatiful to se, be it mountain or sea. The east coast is just a fantastic place.

Anyhow, we drove south a bit more then turned into the mountains towards a town called Ruishui. It was a pleasent mountain drive but when we got to Ruishui it was getting dark, we were happy to find a bigger, straighter road back to Hualien. Just then it started raining, and the rain became heavier and heavier. We bought some rain coats at 7-11 and tried to go back in the rain all 60 km or so. It was a horrible drive, the raindrops stung like needles and it was hard to see. With a short break to eat something and get out of the rain for a while it still took some three hours to go back. After that we just stayed inside and watched TV.

Sunday was rainy as well so we headed back home much earlier than first planned.