Day 23 - Hualien & Taroko Gorge

The next morning we woke up bright and early and took the MRT to Taipei Main Station to catch a train to Hualien. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were told that there was no room on the trains until after noon! We bought tickets for the first train we could and killed time by wandering through the multiple malls all around the station - including one fancy mall that we waited inside for it to open so we could check out their food street. When it opened all the shopclerks came and stood in front of their stores and this crazy music played and they all bowed and welcomed us, all the way through the mall. Then, when the music stopped they all went inside and resumed their normal activities. It was very strange. Finally the time came to head back to the train station and board our train.

After less than two hours of a beautiful train ride through the mountains and down the coast, passing rice paddies all the way, we arrived in Hualien. Taroko does not have much in the way of accommodation, with the only options being the Silks Palace (way, way out of our budget) or the Catholic Youth Hostel (with two of us, getting a double at a hotel is actually cheaper than 2x dorm rates),  so I decided to stay at Hualien which has a myriad of hotel options and a pretty frequent, hour-long bus service to Taroko.

Our hotel was a 40 minute walk from the train station, but since we are cheap, we hiked it instead of taking a taxi. Stopping for bubble tea on the way gave us the energy we needed, and only sorta tired, we finally arrived at our adorable little hotel. When we checked in, the desk clerk informed us worriedly that because of another booking she had needed to change our room to a king size instead of a double. We told her it was fine and we would manage somehow :) This hotel room, while again not the hugest was far, far nicer then any I have stayed in for awhile. The bed was huge and very comfortable, and there was even a heat pump in the room, and truly hot water in the shower!

Because of our late start, we were unable to head to Taroko Visitor Center to pick up maps and plan the next day like I had wanted. Instead we decided to explore Hualien, and maybe eat something. We had spotted what looked like a little night market on our trek to the hotel so we headed there.

It ended up being quite cool, with lots of young-people owned unique stalls and shops and a free concert put on by the youth guitar group! There was even an American-style hamburger place, but I chose to get squid balls instead. They were so good I forgot to take a picture, but they are basically a gooey calamari omelet sorta texture that is fried in round molds then doused in mayo, fried onions, wasabi, and soy sauce. After we downed those we continued wandering, and I window shopped, until Sonny spotted this place that sold a Taiwanese pork rib soup he wanted to try. We also got the century egg tofu. Its an egg that has been left to ferment wrapped in sawdust until it turns brown and green. Its one of those foods that I just can't look at while I eat, as I like the taste but the appearance is - lets face it - quite gross. This dish was nice because you could eat the tofu, which looks much more pleasant, and dredge it in the sauce from the egg to get the taste. The serving staff were very surprised and pleased that I, a white girl, seemed to enjoy the century egg. Sonny says I am a weird American :)

People lining up for food

Century egg tofu

Not sure why I look so furrowed - probably cause Sonny is sticking the camera in my face again

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and relaxed in our warm room and watched some television on our flat screen tv. We also ate an entire bag (ooops!) of the moochi Hualien is famous for. Oh living the high life!