Day 3 in Taiwan: Taroko Natinoal Park (Gorge)

Taiwan Trip Day Three

After spending two days in Taipei, we decided that it was about time to take a day-trip out to the renowned beautiful mountains of Taiwan. We took the high-speed train from Taipei to Hualien which costs us 440 Taiwanese Dollars (15 USD)

 Taipei to Hualien* Tai Lu Ge or Zi Qiang(express train): The price is NTD 441 / person one way. It takes 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs according to different train types. * Ju Kuang: The price is NTD 340 / person one way. It takes about 3.5 to 4.5 hrs according to different train types.

After arriving at Hulien, we borrowed a scooter for a mere 400 NTD for the whole day! They didn't even ask us for a license... (which was a tad sketchy) but they did check ask for our Passport?
There are many stores/guys on the streets asking you to rent a scooter and i'm not sure if the price actually varies a lot or not... but we followed the advice posted on the Internet and went to the  Pony Scooter Rental, and although im no expert on scooters, It worked fine and the guy was really helpful and friendly!

It takes roughly an hour from Hualien to the National Park by Scooter (although we did get lost couple of times)... you can get a map from the Tourist Information Center next to the Hualien Station! After arriving at the National Park, there's maps along the road.. and we basically just went around the National Park on our scooter, checking out the key sights along the way! :)

As afternoon appraoched, the temperature began to drop and it got actually rather chilly! We soon regretted not packing anything lighter than a sweater as we found ourselves freezing against the wind.. It was a painful lesson learnt! 

Our self-made wind blocker in a desperate attempt to block the wind out.... Not sure if it worked or not but it did leave us with some hilarious photos!

Before we headed back to Hualien, upon exiting the park.. we took a little further drive up to see the cliffs by the Sea! It's not too much of a detour so it was definitely worth the time (even if we were slightly frozen by then.. )

Although many suggested that the Day-Trip is a little tough.. (in fact it was), I thought it was a nice day trip to be done in Taiwan (especially if you don't have too many days in Taiwan). 

I'd definitely be more interested in coming back to Taiwan for its beautiful coastlines and mountain side next time rather than the capital itself! Reading the tourist-guidebook of the region left me wishing that I had a little more time to spare to go on another scooter trip... But I guess that's a good enough incentive to come back to Taiwan some other time :)