Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 8. Taroko National Park

One of Asia’s most dramatic canyons was our ultimate destination on Taiwan’s rugged east coast, supremely photogenic yet easily accessible even for novice hikers like ourselves on Day 7 of our round-island journey by train.


Featuring the deepest marble canyon in the world carved through by raging white waters, Taroko is widely acclaimed as the most scenic corner -- as well as one of the most dangerous tourist destinations -- on the island of Taiwan. The geology is extremely unstable: recurrent landslides strike especially in monsoon season, and deadly rock falls are common with Taiwan’s frequent earthquakes, one of which (magnitude 5.5 at Chiayi) occurred 8 hours after our trek through a hard-hat-recommended tunnel.


This would be a bonafide UNESCO World Heritage Site if Taiwan were a member of the United Nations, except for the decades-long political standoff between Beijing and Taipei that has kept this natural wonder from becoming a household name outside of the island. You won’t read this in tourism brochures, but I highly recommend visiting while the pro-independence DPP is in power as the national park gets easily overwhelmed by Mainland Chinese tourists whenever diplomatic relations with Beijing warms up.


Spectacular sceneries abound from white marble rock faces polished by crystal blue streams to snow-covered peaks soaring nearly 4000m straight from sea level. Established as Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park by the colonial Japanese before WWII, Taiwan’s first ever national park actually boasts a summit taller than Mount Fuji.


Public transport to the national park was simple enough. We stayed at the local transportation hub of Hualien the previous night, bought our day pass for the Taroko Line Bus from 7-Eleven, hopped on Bus 1133A in front of Hualien Station in the morning and reached Taroko within 45 minutes.


Our first stop was the national park’s most popular trail, scenic yet evidently gentle enough for these elementary school children on their annual field trip. The only caveat about the Shakadang Trail was the lack of washrooms for a few kilometres, and that the only refreshments available came in the form of bottled water and grilled sausages from the local aboriginal tribe.


The trail head starts from the bottom of the unmistakable red bridge where the untamed Shakadang Stream merges with the larger Liwu River, a kilometre upstream from the Tourist Info Centre. Instead of completing the full 8.2 km round-trip to Three Huts, we decided to turn back halfway at Five Huts to strategically catch the hourly bus to our next stop of Buluowan.


This pristine utopia is the ancestral homeland of a toughened and once-feared tribe of aboriginals, known as the Truku and bastardized as Taroko by the invading Japanese in the 1910s. No longer known for their impressive facial tattoos and head-hunting rituals, the modern day tribesmen subsist on agriculture and supplement their income by offering refreshments to visiting tourists.


Signages of Indigenous Reserve Land mark the territory of a people once powerful enough to take on the Imperial Japanese Army, 2,000 tribesmen against the impossible odds of 20,000 soldiers armed with machine guns and artillery in the bloodiest conflict between aboriginals and Japanese colonists during the so-called Taroko Wars.


After subduing the Truku, the Japanese conceptualized a hydroelectric dam upstream along the Shakadang and proceeded to dynamite this path out of sheer rock cliffs as an intended service road. Well the Japanese lost WWII and retreated from Taiwan, the dam never materialized and the service road became Shakadang Trail in the expanded national park.


Within 40 minutes we reached the crystalline waters of Five Huts where the Truku tribesmen just started kindling their charcoal grill for some homemade wild boar sausages, available around noon for a reasonable TWD40 (CAD$1.7). Luckily we already picked up some sandwiches and tea-flavored eggs from Hualien, not wasting any time in returning to the trail head to catch the next bus to Buluowan.

But the National Park’s website lied.


Our original plan of picking up a recommended hard hat en route to Swallow Grotto was thwarted by 1) the fact that hard hats were no longer offered at Buluowan and 2) the closure of the footpath from Buluowan to Swallow Grotto due to recent landslides. Our blessing in disguise was the pictured panorama over the Liwu River valley taken from the Meander Cove Trail, a worthwhile diversion while we awaited the next hourly bus to Swallow Grotto.


The problem with Swallow Grotto was that the official bus stop was located at the eastern end of the grotto near the Zhuilu Suspension Bridge, requiring visitors to double-back along the stunning yet perilous cavern where fist- (and occasionally coconut-) sized rocks routinely drop from above with potentially fatal consequences. With safety in mind our friendly bus driver advised everyone -- mainly in Chinese but partially in broken English -- to remain on the bus at the official stop and dropped off at the far end of the grotto, at his own unofficial stop coined Yanzikou Middle in English.


Here we witnessed one of the narrowest sections of the Taroko Gorge, barely a few metres wide at places and several hundred metres deep. Seasonal waterfalls emerged magically out of vertical marble cliffs inhabited by swooping swallows, in landscapes right out of Chinese ink paintings.


Our pedestrian path was originally part of the Central Cross-Island Highway, ordered by Chiang Kai-shek in the 1950s to connect Hualien with Taichung on the west coast at the cost of 200+ lives. The grotto itself was tunneled out of the area’s highly unstable rocks, and entire slabs still sporadically come down to smother the unfortunate hiker, or an entire car in the case of the new vehicular road adjacent.


Which brings us to the fact that we still had no hard hat, certainly nerve-racking considering that rock falls at the nearby Tunnel of Nine Turns had become so epidemic that the trail was closed during our visit. Nobody got hurt that afternoon, and the next significant earthquake in the area would strike at 22:20 that evening.


At last we reached the official bus stop at Zhuilu Suspension Bridge, the dramatic entrance to an ancient footpath used by the aboriginals since time immemorial and now hailed by Taiwanese hikers as the nation’s most breathtaking and treacherous hike, accessible only with a permit from the national park office.


Our only regret on this day was that the Cave of Water Curtain, considered by the locals as the crown jewel of the national park, remained closed due to severe earthquake damages several years back. From the suspension bridge we returned to Hualien for a late lunch of noodles and some hard-to-find edible souvenirs, before continuing our counter-clockwise circuit of Taiwan.

IF YOU GO

Taroko National Park is easily accessible by the convenient Taroko Line tourist shuttle, also known as Bus 1133A connecting the national park with Hualien Station as well as the closer but smaller Xincheng Station. Day passes for the tourist shuttle can be purchased from the Hualien Bus kiosk next to Hualien Station or from any convenient store. Hualien Station is 2 hours from Taipei by express trains. If you're on a round-island trip like us, heavy luggages can be stored at the luggage room at Hualien Station.

Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 7. Hualien

Three months before the great Hualien earthquake of 2018 we arrived at this laid-back prefecture capital on Taiwan's east coast, best known to travelers as the launch point to the spectacular Taroko National Park. Within 24 hours this became my wife’s favorite Taiwanese city, which later made the horrific earthquake footages even tougher to stomach.


Part of our fond memory had to do with the gracious owner at Ziteng Hua Homestay who offered her own flu medicine to this sick traveler, thousands of miles from home on foreign land. We could not have found a better homebase in Hualien, 5 minutes’ walk from the train station and hosted by a parently couple who took time to drive us to the city centre and introduce us to the best attractions and local eats.

Restaurant Review: YEXIANG WONTON (Hualien) (Location Map)

This is THE absolutely unmissible gastronomic experience in Hualien, a 90-year-old institution and the undisputed Taiwanese mecca for wonton, testified by the prized photo of President Chiang Ching-kuo visiting the second generation owner. Forget your preconceptions of the Cantonese variant bursting with shrimps or the Sichuanese variant with its mouth-watering spiciness -- just arrive in anticipation for great homemade food.


Now operated by the fourth generation descendent, Yexiang has never shifted focus from its one legendary menu item, a local form of wonton known as Bianshi after the great grandfather’s Hokkienese roots. Each bowl comes with 10 balls of feathery wonton floating in a slow-simmered pork bone soup, topped simply with the time-honoured combination of fried shallots and chopped Chinese celery.


Start without any condiments to fully appreciate the silky smooth wrapping and an intensely meaty filling derived from the rear ham of a local pig breed. Scoop the wontons to a separate bowl then gradually mix in your choice of rice vinegar, soy sauce or powdered white pepper according to taste, and you’ll thank my host for his excellent recommendation like I did.

Bill for Two Persons

Bianshi x 2	TWD 140
TOTAL	TWD 140 (CAD$6.1)

My host’s next recommendation stood 3 minutes north of Yexiang in the form of a century-old former rice wine brewery, now reincarnated as the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park featuring artist studios and venues for flea markets and performance spaces for indie musicians.


The artisan ware was gorgeously creative, and I would have bought a whole installation of organically sinuous lamps hand-carved from gourd shells if shipping them back to Canada wasn’t such a headache. The food offerings at its cafes were expensive and somewhat pretentious however, and instead we chose to walk two minutes east to another locally recommended eatery.

Restaurant Review: HAIPU OYSTER OMELETTES (Hualien) (Location Map)

Another beloved gastronomic institution to Hualien’s blue-collar masses, Haipu Oyster Omelettes is your classic hole-in-the-wall eatery in old-fashioned Taiwanese authenticity. Sanitary conditions are somewhat suspect, the chairs wobbly and the folding tables smeared with droplets of sauce from the previous client.


Prior to arrival we had been repeatedly forewarned -- lastly by a sales lady at the patisserie around the corner -- of infamous 45-minute queues which fortunately did not materialize on this breezy Tuesday evening. The minimalist menu featured only two items, the peasant favorite of Oyster Omelette and a peppery Clam Broth, as suggested by the heaps of fresh molluscs resting on the ice.


Sizzling on the hotplate in view of every customer was the prototypical Taiwanese Oa-jian with shucked baby oysters, baby Chinese cabbages and green scallions, eggs and of course a gooey roux of yam starch for that characteristic chewiness.


Every oyster omelette stand claims its own secret recipe sauce, and Haipu’s version turned out distinctly sweeter than most places I’ve tried. The expertly charred edges and chewy batter were nicely done, though I would have preferred if they charged more instead of skimming on the amount of oysters.

Bill for Two Persons

Oyster Omelette	TWD 60
TOTAL	TWD 60 (CAD$2.6)

Two of Hualien’s most popular cheap eats made up just the first half of our dinner. An 8 minute walk south of Haipu brought us to our ultimate destination for the evening and our 5th night market visit (Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Kenting then Hualien) in 6 nights.

Restaurant Review: DONGDAMEN NIGHT MARKET (Hualien) (Location Map)

Arguably the cleanest and best-organized among tens of major night markets in Taiwan, Dongdamen Night Market is a massive 21st century amalgamation of several markets formerly scattered around the city, now collectively occupying a dozen city blocks every evening.


Every night market boasts its prominent local specialties, and Dongdamen’s most popular ranged from Deep-Fried Crabs to Chive Pancakes with Fried Eggs to this ominously named nibble known as Guancaiban, or Coffin Bread.


This Taiwanese adaptation of the bread bowl starts with a thick slice of deep-fried French toast, hollowed out and filled with mind-bending toppings from Kungpao Chicken to Stir-Fried Lamb with Black Pepper to Shrimp in Cream Sauce, all for a cheap TWD 55 (CAD$2.4).


Our choice of Stir-Fried Crab in Cream Sauce -- a slightly sugary topping in Southern Taiwanese tradition -- turned out surprisingly harmonious with the fluffy French toast. The shucked crab claws were reasonably fresh, and it’s easy to see why the Hualienese have embraced this cheap and filling bite as their own, across the island from its original birthplace of Tainan.


A night market crawl would hardly be complete without fruit smoothies, in our case the local favorite of bitter melon juice and the standard papaya milk. Despite arriving with a half-full stomach I really enjoyed Dongdamen Night Market, not just for cheap eats but also its outstanding cleanliness, as well as the family-friendly entertainment of live Taiwanese pop and aboriginal dance performances.

Bill for Two Persons

Coffin Bread with Crab Meat in Cream	TWD 55
Bitter Melon Juice	TWD 40
Papaya Milk	TWD 45
TOTAL	TWD 140 (CAD$6.1)

Last but not least, we came across some of the best edible Taiwanese souvenirs here at Hualien.


After sampling numerous brands and flavors of Pineapple Cakes at various shops across Taiwan, our favorite was this creation by Fengliwan selected by the Presidential Office (i.e. Taiwan’s equivalence of the White House) as official souvenirs for diplomatic functions. Two varieties of pineapples were available, and we picked the fruitier and more acidic Native Pineapples (TWD315 for a box of 9 cakes) over the sweeter Diamond Pineapples. Drop by their shop at downtown Hualien (see location map) for some free samples and you’ll snub Taipei’s pricier brands as well.

Hualien was a pleasant surprise -- we stopped for Taroko National Park and ended up discovering an underrated small city with terrific local eats and the friendliest people. To fellow travelers / hikers planning on visiting Taroko, I highly recommend spending a couple more days on the east coast for Hualien and Taitung.

Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 6. Taitung

Taitung's famously thick rice noodles and luscious sugar-apples awaited as our aged diesel carriage rumbled through the sparsely populated eastern coast of Taiwan, on Day 6 of our round-island journey by train.


Outside our train window was some of the most spectacular sceneries of Taiwan, the deep turquoise of the Pacific and its deceivingly gentle waves crashing upon endless sandy beaches. The dense groves of lush palm trees could be mistaken for Hawaii, or perhaps Okinawa, except neither boasts a comprehensive round-island rail network like Taiwan.


Our train was heading deep into the ancestral lands of the Taiwanese Aboriginals, to the former capital of the once-powerful Beinan Kingdom, its mini Stonehenge still standing within arrowshot of the new Taitung Station. South of the station is a new thoroughfare named after tribal hero Mahengheng -- who strategically sided with Japanese Imperials against Qing Dynasty China -- which would have been unthinkable just a generation ago. This is now the proud epicentre of Taiwan's indigenous culture, in case anyone hasn't noticed.


We started our morning at tropical Kenting and arrived at dinnertime at Hualien, a long day's travel up two-thirds of the island in preparation of our entrance into Taroko National Park the next day. The fertile land we passed through was the undisputed fruit basket of Taiwan, as pronounced by these wax apple shaped chairs at Fangliao Station.


Along the way I finally encountered Old Taiwan's famous pastime, the addictively messy (and now known to be carcinogenic) betel nuts in its raw form, bundled into a large bag at a street side wholesale stall. Of course I had no idea what those green, acorn-sized nuts were, until the female owner and her shirtless labourer educated us.

Bu Yao Chi. "Don't eat," said the shirtless dude, Kan Wo! "Look at me!" and flashed one of the most horrifying smiles I had ever seen, a mouthful of acid-stained, purplish red teeth and gums of which he was clearly not embarrassed. The owner even asked whether we wanted to take a picture of the man's teeth, to which I politely declined as I didn't want any nightmares.

We arrived at Taitung after a two hour train ride and, like most first-time visitors, headed straight downtown in search of its renowned contribution to Taiwanese gastronomy.

Restaurant Review: RONGSHUXIA RICE NOODLES (Taitung) (Location Map)

We had no idea how incredibly famous this place was until I asked a random person, several blocks away, for directions to Datong Road ... and she immediately asked whether we're going for some Mitaimu, or rice noodles in her local dialect. Apparently this was every local's recommendation, for breakfast or for lunch.


A 60-year-old institution situated at the heart of Taitung, legendary Rongshuxia grew from a shanty street cart into a celebrated landmark for locals and visitors alike, churning out regional favorites for its masses of followers on this typical weekday. Ordering was tricky as my wife had to wait for the next empty table while I joined the long queue at the food counter, still unable to report our future table number. But that's the authentic local experience and, surprisingly for this relatively remote city, I was not the only foreigner in the queue!


While our rice noodles were being prepped, cold appetizers and entrees were self-served from a display case next to the cashier. This was our first encounter with these crispy winged beans as part of our appetizer of stir-fried vegetables in a vinaigrette of sesame oil and dark vinegar.


Curiosity was a definite factor when I picked up this dish of marinated pork slices and gelatinous skin, popular among local women for alleged cosmetic benefits. While flavor was slightly lacking, the texture of the pork skin was sublime as little residual fat remained in the delightfully dense skin, served cold here to maximize its chewiness.


At last, the signature dish of Taitung City.

Similar in appearance and slightly thicker than Southern China's Laifen, our Mitaimu noodles were round, perfectly al dente and served in a soup base of Katsuobushi shavings, influenced by decades of Japanese colonization when Eastern Taiwan was established as a large-scale base for bonito fishing and processing. Topped with minced pork, fresh chives and a housemade chili sauce with serious kicks, its popularity as a breakfast staple is easily understandable.

Bill for Two Persons

Mitaimu Rice Noodles	TWD 50
Pork Slices and Skin	TWD 100
Stir-fried Vegetables in Vinaigrette	TWD 90
Milk Tea with Milk from Chulu Ranch	TWD 35
TOTAL	TWD 275 (CAD$12.0)

The famous rice noodles was nice, but my favorite delicacy in Taitung was something even cheaper and widely available as a locally-grown produce.


Behold my new favorite fruit after visiting Taitung, the soft, succulent and amazingly sweet flesh of the sugar-apple. Previously we had bought these for about TWD100 in Taipei and TWD70 in Kenting, but here in Taitung we chanced upon a farmer-direct stand selling them for TWD30 each, or TWD50 (CAD$2) for two! Too bad I live in Canada where I have to pay ten times the price.


One of the sugar apples didn't even make it to the train station before being peeled and scooped out according to the method we learned from the vendor. At the station we rejoined our heavy suitcases and hopped on the next express train towards Hualien, the site of our 5th night market visit in 6 days.

IF YOU GO

Taitung is 3.5 hours from Taipei via express trains, and serves as a nice stopover between Kenting and Hualien if you're on a round-island trip like us. The train station has an attended luggage room (instead of coin lockers) for storing heavy luggages, and is connected to the city centre by local buses (e.g. Dingdong Bus #8172 or Puyuma Bus) mostly timed to express train arrivals.