Slow Sorjourn in Beauty

The three musketeers - ali, jas & choops

I think I'm really an old soul at heart. While this is a little long in the making, here is my little trip to Taiwan in the earlier part of May. This was also the highlight of my trip - the six hour drive from Hualien to CingJing.

This time I went with two good friends - Jas and Choops and I also found two forumers on Trip Advisor to share the cab ride.

We departed Hualien early possibly about 8.30am and arrived at the beautiful marble-slate like Taroko Gorge.

I was spellbound. 

The grooves and lines on the rocks are made
by the river

Have you seen boulders of marble or straight mountain faces of marble? Have you stepped onto a narrow wooden-bridge to see the frothing river at the bottom? Have you seen swallows zipping overhead one moment and darting across at your side next?

River at the bottom of
my feet!!

Choops - anything for
a picture!

Beware of falling rocks!!
Goodbye Taroko!

The scenery changes as we moved further inland and up. Rolling greenery gave way to brownish almost stick-like vegetation. Alright, it was bushes. Just loads of bushes lining the side of the roads. There were gigantic Lalangs and supposedly, Sakura trees. These are quite different from the Japanese ones; flowers are smaller and the colour, a little less vibrant. However, I was told by the gregarious Mr Looi that the Sakura had blossomed and faded. If I were to go Taiwan earlier, I would be able to capture the beauty.

We kept stopping to take pictures and dallied at each stop. Mr Looi was patient and when we reached He Huan Shan, he became our cheerleader.

Our cab-mate Louis
making his way to the top

It was cold - like 4 degrees cold. Choops and Jas didn't want to go up but he urged them on. I cannot stress how important it is to be properly garbed for this journey. The rise in altitude and the lack of proper clothing will dampen your enjoyment of this journey!!

Choops, Maggie & Jas slowly going up

Choops and Jas did mange to go up, hurriedly took some pictures and scuttled down. I lingered a little, trying to take in the view as much as possible.

YAY! We made it!

We were at the apex of the mountain. There were clouds slowly rolling in. It made the backdrop of mountains appear ethereal. Occasionally, the sun's rays would break through and just bathe the fields below in spots of gold.

We reached CingJing, Mr Li's Starry Minsu at about six. Mr Li had his piping hot vege hotpot waiting for us. That was a great curtain drop to an invigorating drive through of Taroko Gorge.

Our fantastic guide - Mr Looi