Taroko Gorge

I wake up at 5.30am, have breakfast at the train station and set off to Hualien, a medium-sized city about 2-3 hours south of Taipei. There I rent a scooter and drive up to Taroko Gorge. Spectacular scenery! And driving there on a scooter makes it so much better. This might have been the best experience of the vacation. It was supposed to be light rain and overcast today, but luckily the weather report was wrong; it's a sunny 23°C (73°F). I drive up to about 1000m altitude (~25km into the gorge) before turning back, stopping for lunch, photos and several small hikes on the way. I return back to Hualien at 6pm, and Taipei at around 9.30pm. Then I go to Shida night market. It is very busy. It's funny, whereas in Philippines, almost every woman was pregnant, here I don't see any pregnant women. And whereas in Philippines, almost no-one wore glasses, here it seems to be stylish to wear them. Many girls even wear glasses without any glass in them! It is a strange place, Taiwan.

Me, my scooter and my stylish helmet.

House and waterfall.

Inside a pagoda.

Me (bottom) and Buddha (top).

Blue river.

Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園, Taiwan