Train Ride Surprise

This morning started off the same as the last.  The night before, my dad said that we had to wake up early to catch a train that would take us south for a four day excursion.  By “early”, he meant, the “same time you’ve been waking up”.  Just in case, I set my alarm for 6:30, and woke up at 6:15.  At least I slept in 15 minutes.  After a quick traditional breakfast, which I’m finding can really sustain you, we packed up out carry-on bags and headed out. 

Just a side note:  The bag I’ve been using as an every day carry/camera bag is proving to be a slight hindrance.  I used it during the summer for fishing since it’s convenient to swing around and retrieve items from, but it’s beginning to show wear at the seams on the strap.   Also, ergonomically, it’s not great for carrying heavier loads.  My camera a three lenses put too much fatigue on my shoulder to carry around all day.  Hopefully when we get back from this jaunt, I can look around the local stores for something that can suit my needs.

   Carrying my overnight bag and EDC bag wasn’t the greatest of events, but I didn’t have a smaller bag.  Thankfully, there was more standing around on a train, than there was walking.  My Dad, Uncle, and Lao Shi Shin took the local rail to the central station and hooked up with a actual passenger train in one of the lower levels.  This train had assigned seats and luggage racks, for long distance travel.  The train system follows the entire perimeter of the island, but we were just using a quarter of it. Our scenic route took us almost half way down the east coast to a place called Hualien City.  The plan, as my dad tells it, is to stay here in a hotel for two days and see the local sights, including Toroko Gorge.  To my surprise, my dad was really underplaying the trip, as Lao Shi Shin actually planned out a package tour.  A driver was waiting for us at the train station and spirited us to the Classic City Resort, which seems like the most impressive place in town..

The rooms are incredibly comfortable on the 10th floor and it has a soft bed and fantastic bathroom.  Hualien City is known for its marble, so it’s no surprise that the whole bathroom is tiled with, and every counter top is made of, this stuff.  The room was so tempting to stay in, but rest could only be rewarded with work.  But before work, food… really good food.

My next surprise was lunch.  Part of the package deal was breakfasts and lunches for the duration of our stay in the restaurant on the second floor.  Much to my delight, not only was the menu in English, but they served only western cuisine.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been having a great time trying all the great foods so far, but it’s nice to take a break and have something familiar.  Lunch started off with a Caesar salad, followed by a light cream soup, with the my choice of the main course being pork le cordon bleu and potato medallions, followed by some fruit.  One of the best parts of the meal was having something cool to drink with it.  One of the differences I’ve noticed about meals in Taiwan, and my friend Tommy said he had the same experience in when he visited China, is that meals aren’t normally served with a drink.  Some times, you’ll get some hot tea, but most of the times, there will be a soup to accompany the meal.  The soup and tea do enough to slake the thirst, but growing up in a western culture, my mouth is used to something cool and cleansing during the meal.  After absolutely filling myself (voluntarily this time) we headed out on a guided tour of what I thought was Toroko gorge, but was actually some other gorge in the Taiwanese aboriginal area.

The tour guide was waiting for us in the lobby after lunch and he swiftly drove us out to our destination.  As we were heading up the pass, I could tell that he was giving descriptions of the different sights, but since it was raining, he wasn’t stopping at what I thought were some of the best photo opportunities.  My fears were alleviated as we finally reached the end of the road.  He handed us some umbrellas and said that he would be waiting with the car a little bit down the road.  Luckily I was wearing my rain coat, so I could keep my hands free to perform my job.  The scenery didn’t disappoint.  In fact, it seems like the rain made the mountains more picturesque, framed in low clouds, and the rocks more vibrant.  Most of the boulders and walls are made of a striated rock that’s pushed to the surface from the nearby fault line.  There’s so much variation in color, contrasted with the blue water and lush greenery.  It was very beautiful.  Some of the road was covered or carved into the mountain side which themselves create a striking contrast in the landscape while offering some protection from the rain.

After the scenic walk the drive took us to a roadside souvenir shop that was populated with things both odd and interesting.  First, for some reason, there was a little pot bellied pig, which I had to pet since it reminded me of my French Bulldog, Chloe.  I can see why some people keep these as pets.  The shop had some Mochi, a ground and pounded, chewy form of rice, and some very bitter herbal tea, which I sipped once and politely refused any more of.  For some reason, it also sold a collection of skulls.  I identified boar, goat, and monkey and was really tempted to purchase one, but decided it would be better not having to explain to Tanja where we were going to put it.  A fluffy white cat rounded out the odd menagerie, thus ending the chronicle of the skull stand. 

After the tour, we returned to town to walk around a bit and partake of some dumpling soup.  Apparently, this shop only made this one soup, with good reason.  I was a warm and energizing meal for the end of a damp day.  Tomorrow is the Toroko Gorge.

Since there are way too many pictures for me to link here, I’m just going to start posting a link to the online album at the end of my posts.  If you’re bored enough to read my blog, maybe you’ll be bored enough to look at more pictures. I’ve enabled commenting, so if you want to leave me a message, or call me mean names, go ahead.