BACKPACKING TAIWAN PT 2

Week 2: The East

Taiwan has yet to become the tourist destination that it will likely be soon (and deserves to be), so there are parts of the island that still feel new and mysterious in a way that few places I have ever traveled to do. The east coast is the best example of this. It’s less developed than the island’s western half, with smaller cities and slower trains, and it is remarkable because of that. The hidden gems of Taiwan’s eastern coastline are endless, but you have to put in the work and look for them.

Make Hualien your hub. The city doesn’t seem like much when you arrive, because it isn’t. What it is is a jumping off point for outdoor adventures. Public buses can take you to the sprawling Taroko National Gorge, a protected area with over fifty hiking trails in deep green forest. You can spend days just in this park (and to hike certain trails, you’ll need to wait to receive a permit), exploring caves and cliffs and waterfalls. My new backpacker family and I brought a mascot with us, Brutus the balloon brontosaurus, and took Taroko by storm. Brutus lived for only one day, but boy did he live.

Make Hualien your hub. The city doesn’t seem like much when you arrive, because it isn’t. What it is is a jumping off point for outdoor adventures. Public buses can take you to the sprawling Taroko National Gorge, a protected area with over fifty hiking trails in deep green forest. You can spend days just in this park (and to hike certain trails, you’ll need to wait to receive a permit), exploring caves and cliffs and waterfalls. My new backpacker family and I brought a mascot with us, Brutus the balloon brontosaurus, and took Taroko by storm. Brutus lived for only one day, but boy did he live.

Some travelers only go to Taroko when they visit Hualien, but I urge you not to stop there. Find a way to see the area’s other treasures, too. We rented motorized scooters to bike to the Qingshui Cliffs, the got lost on dirt roads, swam in the jade colored waters of Mugumu Creek, and were soaked by afternoon thunderstorms. The craziest thing we did—which I wouldn’t recommend doing solo or with anybody not of high physical fitness and ability—was go on a 20 kilometer river trek to find “The Golden Grotto.” Neither words nor photos can do justice to this day, where six of us battled the elements, mystery, and hunger to make it all the way upstream and see what very few travelers have ever made it to: a string of cave pools with translucent, warm water that sparkles when you touch it. We returned from that day bruised, bonded, and nearly bested. It was the hardest day and also the highlight of my three weeks in Taiwan.

After a few days in and around Hualien, my pub crawl trio headed south along the coast to Dulan, a surfing town. On the way we stayed overnight in a locals-only town called Chenggong because it was close to a famous site we wanted to see at sunrise: the Sanxiantai “Dragon Bridge,” a walking bridge of domed staircases all connected to lead to a small fishing island. Sanxiantai is a photographer’s wonderland, but unless you camp right beside it, it isn’t easy to get to (especially at 5AM). The bed and breakfast we stayed in forgot that they had promised to drive us there in the morning, so we used their shotty (read: half broken) bikes to get there instead. This was an adventure in of itself, but the destination was awe-inspiring.

Dulan is only a short bus ride from the bridge, and we spent a couple days there surfing, chatting with the local hostel-owner (a 24 year-old named Nick who had made his childhood dreams come true), and found a fourth traveler to add to our little family. Dulan is small and, depending on the season, the surf is only average, so you’ll run out of things to do quickly, but it’s a great spot to unwind and recharge. Try to pass through on a weekend, because on Saturdays the old sugar factory opens its bar and plays live music.

My favorite…

·      Lodging: Travel Bug Hostel in Dulan

·      Site: Sanxiantai “Dragon Bridge”

·      Adventure: The Golden Grotto outside Hualien

·      Food: Koi Vietnamese Restaurant in Dulan

And what I missed that I wish I’d seen: Zhuilu Old Trail in Taroko Gorge, or Ali Shan, a mountain in Central Taiwan

Week 3: The South

No matter which direction you go, you’ll probably only head along the east coast once and speed back to Taipei using an express train on the west. This allows the northern and southern tips of the island to form respective bases at the beginning and end of any good backpacking trip through Taiwan. With my adventure buddies still in tow, I slowly made it to the south, first taking a slew of trains and buses to the Kenting National Park area.

Kenting is the Venice Beach of Taiwan, a beach town with a main strip that acts as a mediocre food market at night. To make the most of this tourist trap, we rented scooters again, searching for better food, speeding down winding roads in the wind, and chasing sunsets. Kenting was a disappointment after the magic of the east coast, but we found a way to enjoy it that worked for us.

Slightly north of Kenting is Taiwan’s second largest city, Kaohsiung. It’s here that you can fly out of Taiwan, or catch a high-speed train back to Taipei in only three hours. That said, Kaohsiung is a destination in its own right. Less international and more walkable than Taipei, Kaohsiung is built around the gorgeous Lotus Lake and is famous for its “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” pagodas. I lovingly dubbed it “The Orange City” because of its bright colors, and I was stunned by the beauty of the nearby Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery, which felt practically empty of other tourists.

My favorite…

·      Lodging: Kenting Busk Hostel, which has capsule beds and an exceptional rooftop lounge

·      Site: Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery

·      Adventure: Singing karaoke in a hostel bar all to ourselves

·      Food: Steamed buns outside Kenting and Din Tai Fung in Kaohsiung

And what I missed that I wish I’d seen: Taichung and other cities on the west coast that we whizzed right by

I cannot recommend Taiwan enough for just about any type of traveler, but especially a backpacker. Its diversity unlike anywhere else I’ve been, even in the rest of Asia, and it was almost painful to leave. Taiwan gave me three weeks packed full of adventure and a family that I’ve stayed in touch with many months after leaving. In short, go to Taiwan! Don’t hesitate and don’t plan too much. Just let this island’s magic find you and then swim in it as long as you possibly can. I know I did.