My family portrait, was shot by my driver-guide, Ah Hui at Chi Shing Tan, a very popular beach at Hualien.

 Sunrise at Hehuanshan

 

In the previous blog, we got to experience the sunset at Hehuanshan. Now, we get to enjoy the awesome sunrise. This required us waking up at 3.00am, check out of our accommodation at 4.00am and endure a 2 hours drive to the vantage point for photography. It took absolute determination as we had to overcome fatigue from the previous day’s activities, leaving the warm cosy bed and brave the -5ºC morning freeze. But our reward was gazing at stars-filled skies and mesmerizing colours of dawn, which was just beyond description.

Here comes the sun, bringing some slight relief from the sub-zero chill. At the right of the picture, you can see Songshue Lodge, the sole government-run and highest hotel in Taiwan at 3,150m. It has a long waiting list if you intend to book a stay there.

Taroko Gorge

 

 The spectacular Taroko Gorge is a huge national park that spans Taichung, Nantou and Hualien and a big portion of those the rocks are natural marble, which Taiwanese call “Da li shi”. You will realise why many of Taiwan parks have benches, walkways, buildings, etc built with marble. Talk about a gift from nature! And each time after an earthquake, part of Taroko gets a “free restructuring” as new rocks are pushed up the earth surface.

 

 

Taroko National Park’s famed “Toad Prince” Pavilion. Can you spot the toad prince?

 The immense scale of the Taroko Gorge humbles all that visited her.

 

With all of her natural beauty, Taroko is not without risk at times. This was the site of a major landslide in May 2013 that cut off overland routes from east to west. At the time of our visit, ongoing debris and clearance work using explosives were still in progress.

Chi Shing Tan Beach (Hualien) 

 

This is one of the most beautiful beaches in Taiwan, translated literally, it means “Seven Stars Bay”. The entire bay is filled with pebbles so you don’t get sand between your feet or inside your footwear. Hualien is a laid-back seaside town in the east of Taiwan. To visit Hualien, it is highly recommended that it be part of a round trip from Taichung and not an end destination by itself as very few drivers/guides will undertake the 4 hours drive (1 way) from Taichung to Hualien just for a day trip. Taiwanese have this joke about Hualien – “Hao-Shan, Hao Sui Hao Wu Liao -Nice mountains, nice beaches but very boring”. The key setback of Hualien is its “awkward” distance from Taichung and Taipei.

 

The wide expanse and awesome blueness of the Pacific Ocean. You will want to stay here longer than usual.

Enjoying the simple pleasures of life at the beach with our guide, Ah Hui, trying to form the highest pebbles stack with my family.

 

Preparing to launch our own fireworks at a beach in Hualien. Yes, our personal fireworks. No approval is needed. Generally, fireworks are sold openly in the street market and can be released in parks and open areas. Just be mindful of the safety of people in the vicinity.

 

Just 20 seconds of fireworks with 20 types of flare patterns. The cost is NT250 (S$9.90) per pack of 20 launches. We launched 2 rounds of fireworks with some sparklers given compliments by the shop owner. It was pure “liberation” that evening – no paperwork, no authorisation needed.

Street food moment at Hualien City

Handmade dumplings, steamed buns, and soya bean milk are some of the specialties of these 2 stalls. Looks the same but the one on the left is the original and most famous in Hualien.

Each bamboo basket of 10 steamed dumplings is just NT30 (S$1.26). We ordered 7 baskets that evening with 3 bowls of big fish-ball soup. A basket of 10 pork buns (xiao long bao) is just NT50 (S$2.15). Our group of 5 spent just about S$10 for a sumptuous full dinner. You can’t miss these stalls located at the main street junction where the night market is located.

Hualien is a great place for beef lovers. I did not pay attention to the name of this eatery as our guide eased our way to a nondescript roadside eatery. You will love the food at Hualien – honest, simple, and affordable.

One of the most delicious beef dishes you will find in Taiwan, right here in Hualien.

Zi Qiang Night Market

A BBQ food stall in ZhiQiang Night Market. This stall proclaims itself as the No.1 BBQ food stall in Hualien. Looking at the wide range of food items and the healthy queue, it’s not an empty boast.

The popular morbidly named “Coffin Bread” – a thick slice of bread is deep fried/toasted and can be ordered with options of stuffing in the bread’s hollowed centre. We had black peppered pork.

The Taiwan version of what we called “popiah”. Not bad but the Singapore version can hold its own place in the popiah race if there is one.

 

Taiwan’s most BBQ sweet corn snack company – Ling Ji. Farm-fresh sweet corns are charcoal grilled with its husks till cooked, then de-husked and further barbecued, with your preferred choice of sauces.

Our ming su (homestay) in Hualien was a spacious intermediate terrace house. We did not meet the owner, who stayed elsewhere. Upon arrival, my guide retrieved the gate password from the owner and punched in the code at the auto gate. The owner dropped by to do housekeeping the next day when we leave for the day’s activities. The house comes fully furnished with a TV, WiFi, washer/dryer, fridge, water dispenser, etc. Upon checking out, we just leave the payment on the table. The owner even left 2 bags of famous local snacks on the door as gifts. The charges are based on per head, which in our case was a reasonable NT500 (S$21.25)per pax/night.

A last look at Hualien as we travel up north via the Ching Shui Cliff coastal highway. In the picture above, you can observe camouflaged military aircraft bunkers in the background, just beside ChiShingTan beach. Military buffs can spot warplanes taking off and landing at certain time.

Ching Sui Cliff (Su Hua Highway)

A picturesque drive on the Su Hua highway as we make our way to the seaport of Keelung.

The whitish portion of the sea comes from run-off in the streams or groundwater that traverse the marble quarries that dominate the inland.

Keelung City

Keelung, officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. A compact city which you can explore on foot with a few cool attractions like a nice food market and fish market. Keelung is ideal for a half-day trip if you have 2-3 hours to spare.

Hobbyist anglers along the port of Keelung. It’s the leisurely pace of life that city dwellers would like.

Dorado fish spotted for sale at the Keelung fish market. In some parts of the world, it’s called ‘Mahe Mahe’.

Many fishball vendors shops dot the Keelung fish market fringe. One of the most popular is that of Ah Rong Fishballs. The fish balls are made from Dorado fish (see the signboard how what the fish looked like), handmade, cooked on the spot, and served piping hot.

Certainly a tasty and healthy snack, just NT30 (S$1.26) for a bowl of 5. Slightly firm, chewy, and served in a hot clear MSG-free broth.

Taiwan’s famous ice cream roll dessert with shaved peanut brittles. According to my guide, this lady was Taiwan’s no.1 “La Mei” (hot beautiful girl) who pioneered this type of ice cream dessert during her younger days many decades ago.

What? Cilantro herbs added to ice cream? Yes, it’s this that adds the unique flavour to the ice cream, served wrapped with rice paper.

Chilling out at the Keelung beach. When a family plays together, they stay together.

Suao Cold Spring (Yilan County)

The Su’ao cold springs have a temperature of less than 22°C and the water from these springs is clear, odorless, and colourless. This rare type of cold spring is only found in a few places around the world, like Italy and Japan and it is suitable for bathing and consumption. You can see a layer of “fizzles” on the skin of our feet as we placed them in the water. The spa looks somewhat run down and was quiet during our visit (we were the only visitors). It is most popular in the hot summer season when the whole spa is swarmed with visitors escaping the heat.

A typical mobile roadside BBQ stall. The place of business is fixed, legally registered and the owner pays taxes.

Fruits stalls in Taiwan are typically brightly lit, attracting customers like bees to a flower.

Ping Xi Branch Rail Line (Shi Fen)

Ping Xi Railway with it Wishing (Sky) Lanterns will endear itself in visitors’ hearts as a fun and memorable venue. Just choose from one of the many shops selling the lanterns (NT200/S$8.50) for all types of wishes – 4 coloured sides lanterns or NT150/S$6.40, for the 1 coloured lantern). Write in all your wishes, light the lantern, and send it to the skies. The further and higher the lanterns go, the better the chances your dreams will come true.

Better school results, health, happiness, more holidays, more iPad time, Strike Toto, Strike 4D, buy a condo, get COE, etc. You can tell who the Singaporeans are by the wishes written on the lanterns. But ours are just simple wishes, for great health, and happiness.

A single lady wishing for the stars and everything great in life. All written on the lantern.

Airborne! The lanterns are lit up with joss papers soaked in kerosene and stuck into the receptacle within the lantern. If the lanterns did not get airborne, the shop owner will replace them with another one till your lantern ascends the skies, at no extra charge.

You can also pen your wishes on bamboo stems and hang them on the line along the railway.

 

A 15-min walk from the railway brings you to the scenic Shi Fen Waterfall.  Do note entry charges (80NT) apply.

Houtong Cat Village

Houtong, a small town in New Taipei City that has become famous for its large feline population in recent years. The town encircled by hills was once a Taiwan major coal mine and now houses a museum to showcase its mining heritage. But visitors come mainly to photograph the 120 or so cats, which laze around “their village” and get all the treats (some even pick and chose treats!). In the pic above, a couple of cats were squaring each other in an “alpha male or hierarchy rite” purring and staring into each other’s eyes.

 

 

 

During cold wintry spells or nights, the village cats will gather together on the “Cats” bridge. Since it was fairly cool and sunny when we visited, we spotted only 1 at the bridge.

 

Cat lovers will appreciate this visit to the village. Remember – the cat biscuits are not as well received by the cats. So buy the canned food instead, if you want more cats to come to you.

Golden Waterfall (Jiu Fen)

 

Jinguashi is located in the Ruifang Township of Taipei County, the area became famous for its gold mines. Situated between the mountains and the coastline, the local scenery is exceptionally beautiful plus the abundance of historical relics from the mining day. At the right moment during sunset, this waterfall will be bathed in the golden hue of dusk, hence its name.

Evening came to the beautiful town of Jiu Fen, where the quaint old alleys along the hill, with many tea houses and eateries that will excite any visitor. Indeed, my guide commented that all visitors to Taiwan seemed to converge on Jiu Fen at some point in their itinerary.

Shuinandong Smelter, located above Liandong Bay on the Coastal Highway, was the ore sorting and smelting plant for the Taiwan Metals Mining Corp. It is built into the hillside and old miners and local people usually call it “13 stories.” Built in 1933, the Shuinandong Smelter (13 stories) is a landmark bearing the passing of a bygone era of the gold rush. Looks quite spooky really.

Lao Jie (Old Street), Jiu Fen

Dusk comes to Jiu Fen. From this path at the highest point of the Old Street, is where we began an adventure in the quaint old street. Those with old folks or who have weak knees should commence their walk from here by descending the street.

 Jiu Fen is one of the most interesting places to visit in northern Taiwan. Its old streets are filled with exotic eateries, tea houses, local produce, etc. But be forewarned, since most tourists converged on Jiu Fen, as part of their itineraries, you may experience claustrophobia and definitely frustration.

Visiting during early weekday evenings would be a wiser option and even better during wintry months from Nov-Jan. The hot summer months are best avoided, at all costs. This is the venue that inspired the winning 2003 Academy Award animated movie – “Spirited Away“, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Custom-made clogs for my daughter, ready in just 5-7 minutes.

 

Delicious red-wine fermented meat pudding in a chewy dough. I love it!

Cute figurines and memorabilia to buy home.

Peanut vendor at Jiu Fen – one of the tastiest peanuts I tasted ever! Bought a few bags. But was told by my wife it’s available in Singapore Chinatown (but only during Chinese New Year).

Addiction Aquatic Development

This amazing eatery warrants special mention and is definitely worth a visit when in Taipei. Located at the Taipei Fish Market on Minzu East Road near Songshan Airport, a section of the traditional fish market was revamped by Mitsui Food and Beverage Enterprise Group and transformed into one of Taipei’s most memorable places to eat.  Many of the older traditional market stalls are still around and they are a great sightseeing spot before heading on to the chic Addiction Aquatic Development to enjoy the freshest sashimi and sushi.

 

The freshest abalones at very reasonable prices. During off-peak hours, diners get to enjoy great discounts!

My family and Ah Hui, tucked in the fresh salmon and abalone sashimi. You can choose to dine on at the standing counters upon paying and checking out (cheaper if self-serve) or feast within the eatery (also on a standing pedestal, with service).

For non-seafood lovers, you can feast on roasted meat dishes in an al fresco setting or steamboat within the aircon-enclosed dining section. Certainly an unbelievable set-up. There’s also a wine section, interior decor, supermart, etc. You will be “addicted” to this place.

As a parting shot with our guide, Ah Hui brought us to this “secret” location near Songshan Airport, where we could observe landing commercial airliners, just 30m directly above us… truly an awesome finale to our guided trip.

Yehliu GeoPark

For all who have not visited Taiwan, I am sure will not be strangers to the following picture of the Queen’s Head, a naturally formed rock structure. An awesome venue to visit, especially when you are in Taipei City.

 

 

All hail the Queen! But alas! The rock has developed a crack at the base. And time is ticking as in a matter of time, it will collapse, if the Taiwanese vote in favour of not meddling with nature, in a national referendum.

The long queue just to take a picture with the Queen’s Head, expect at least 30 minutes!

Tamsui (New Taipei City)

 

The Lovers’ Bridge at Tamsui. A nice peaceful venue for all other than lovers, of course. Accessible by an MRT ride, bus, or ferry to the vicinity.

 

Tamsui Old Street (Lao Jie). Another night market to fire up a night of street food and shopping. Plenty of opportunities for you to part with your NTs.

Shihlin Night Market. Many reviews decried this night market as touristy and more expensive compared to most night markets. It was indeed so (the other night market snack is an average NT30 per order, but it is NT35-40 here) but just be ‘price-alert’ when you are at this venue.  And stay away from the fruit stalls which sell fruits at exorbitant prices. Overall, it’s still a fun venue.

Ladies’ Delight venue- bags, bags, bags.

BBQ stinky tofu, an awesome dish not to be missed snack. So tuck in if you go there.

 

Traditional food is also available, like steamed meat pudding.

Ai Yu Iced Jelly- a refreshing dessert to cool down your throat after all that street food which is mostly deep-fried, roasted, or BBQ.

Taipei 101

 

 The new landmark of Taiwan. It cost NT500 (S$21.25) to visit the observation deck. A great time to go would be in the late afternoon so that you take in the day and evening view. 2 for the price of 1.

 

The trick to take in the whole building is shooting at least 4 streets away.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

 

A landmark not to be missed for its scale and historical significance. Entry is free.

 

The hourly change of guards is an interesting event to observe Taiwanese military protocol and discipline.

View from atop the CKS Memorial Hall. An awesome view of scale and grandeur.

Scoot Airline, is a popular choice to visit Taiwan with reasonable flight tickets, B787 Dreamliner aircraft, and flight schedule. 

I hope that readers had a great time getting reference points for future Taiwan trips if you have not been there. After my 10 days in Taiwan, my guide estimated that we have covered only about 5% of the island’s attractions. That means we have to return for more of this fabulously beautiful island.

Thank you for coming along with me for the pixels journey. For other vacation inspiration, please feel free to check my other travelogues. 

The post Taiwan Travelogue 2013 – Hualien, Keelung & Taipei appeared first on Jensen Chua Photography.

In the previous Taiwan Travelogue (part 1/3)  we explored Taiwan’s Da Hu Strawberry Farms, Central Market, Sheng Xing Old Railway, the Gao Mei  Wetland and Feng Jia Night Market.  In this segment,  I’ll like to share with you Miyaharu, Sinshe, Rainbow Village, Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village, Wen Wu Temple  and finally the ascent to the mountains of He Hehuan Shan in the Taroko National Park.  We also had  a great meal at Chun Sui Tang, where the original Bubble Tea was founded .

Lai Lai Soya Bean Milk Shop

Our guide Ah Hui, always ensure we get a good start to the day through our stomach. Although most ming su (homestay) does not provide breakfast,  it turned out perfect for us as we get to enjoy popular local eateries. This always enhances the novelty experience and pleasant memories in any vacation, especially if you are a foodie.

Lai Lai Soya Bean Milk Shop, at No. 91-2, Section 3, Wenxin Road is a popular local eatery, famed for it’s salty soya bean milk.  The consistency is thinner than Japanese chawen mushi (steamed egg) and served with you tiao (deep fried flour fritters), chives and drizzled with soya sauce.

The 1st mouthful tasted “weird” but after my taste buds adjusted to the 1st mouthful, it tasted pretty good! .  The shop menu is quite extensive so diners are not restricted to their signature item.

Miyaharu (Gong Yuan Yan Ke)

Housed in a former eye hospital, Miyaharu (Gong Yuan Yan Ke) is opened by Dawncake – an established store in Taichung that sells pineapple tarts and other pastries packaged in nice boxes.  It has become so popular that it is listed on most travel guides to Taichung. Miyaharu is worth visiting even if you have no intention of buying anything.  But it take the most disciplined of shoppers not to let the purse strings loose as the packaging are simply beautiful.

Not many visitors to Miyaharu (Gong Yuan Yan Ke) can leave without tasting their wide range of ice cream flavours or siping on their bubble teas. You can either have it as takeaway at their main branch or at another outlet nearby, where you can dine-in.

Mushroom Garden, Sinshe.

Enroute to the famous Lavender Cottage in Sinshe, we stopped by the Mushroom Garden. Sinshe produces 60% of all Taiwan’s mushrooms, so there are many mushroom farms and restaurants. But Mushroom Garden is one of the most popular and it has a casual eatery with mushroom-based menus. It also has a pick-your-own mushroom farm.

Most mushrooms are planted in growth packs under a cool humid conditions. During our visit, there were several mushrooms available for picking: Shiitake and Coral. These fresh mushrooms have to be preserved in the refrigerator within 8-12 hours, so it’s not quite suitable to take home for us visitors. Dried mushrooms would be the way to go.

A beautiful Coral Mushroom seen in it’s “original packing”. Not in the wrapped grocery mart style.

Tasty mushrooms based menus. Delicious and healthy. And really reasonably priced at the farm eatery.

Lavender Cottage, Sinshe.

 

The Lavender Cottage was founded by two bosom friends – a music teacher and a banker who both had the dream of having their very own lavender farm. The two girls love coffee and herbs, and they drew their life story and recorded their feelings into music while traveling. After years working in Taipei and Kaohsiung, they quit their jobs and went to live out their dream by being farmers. They tried to cultivate lavenders and bought a hill in a remote place, where there was no network connectivity. It was very difficult but after years of determination, they fulfilled their dream. These two girls are the hosts of Lavender Cottage. The ladies are the two purple drawing figures that are placed outside their shops.

Lovely and soothing lavender plants abound the farm. The best season to visit is between cool November to April, when the bloom is at it’s peak. Hot summer stunts the growth of lavender, so do factor this in your visitation plan.

Our visit in November saw just the beginning of the blooming season. Somewhere towards December onwards will see a denser field of lovely purple bloom.

Make your own bookmarks at the farm booth. No charges applies, a sweet touch.

The farm entrance fee comes with vouchers that you use to redeem drinks and ice cream – lavender flavoured, of course!

Retail shops sell a wide variety of lavender scented products like soaps, perfumes,etc. The soap fragrances are so appealing, even my daughters, who don’t usually use soaps, can’t resist using them.  But being of high-grade and organically produced, it’s quite pricey.

Ding Wang – Premium Spicy Hot Pot

 

The menu offers a wide variety of hotpot ingredients, including sliced white pork, prime beef, squid, fish balls, mushrooms and fried dough sticks, as well as handmade dumplings. Ding Wang Spicy Hotpot Restaurant also offers free refills of the soup, pickled cabbage, bean curds and duck’s blood. Even their complimentary white rice (which you can help yourself to) is nicely cooked.  After the meal, the leftovers in the hotpot are packed for takeaway (upon your request). They even top up the pack with complimentary  fresh bean curds and duck blood.  Tip: you MUST make an advance appointment or be prepared to queue up to 2 hours on a busy night.

Chun Shui Tang, home of the original Bubble Tea.

 

Our lip-smacking noodles with braised pork.

And of course, at the ground zero of bubble tea.  You will love it, bar none.

Rainbow Village

This is one of the more unique landmarks in Taichung.  This Rainbow Village was built for Nationalist Soldiers in the 1950s and later it became a residential area. It was saved recently from being torn down for redevelopment, by Taiwaneses who petitioned the government to conserve the venue. The sole surviving veteran soldier is Grandpa Huang, who is 96 years old at the moment. He is the face and soul of the village and he still paints at the wall, floor almost everyday. There’s no entry fee but do show your support by buying mementos from his stall or drop some money for his expenses as art materials cost money. Prepare to spend about 20-30min while taking memorable pics there. Have a picture taken with him, if he’s around at the time your visit. A truly special place with it’s time ticking away. Hope it stays as long as possible.

My family with Rainbow Grandpa Huang….healthy and strong at 92 years old.

The whims and artistry of Rainbow Grandpa is reflected in the riot of colours and decor at the Village he created. Occasionally, students drop by to help him clean and maintain the village.

In travel across Taiwan, visitors will invariably come across this scene. Yes, a drive through one of the many tunnels cut through mountain ranges. Taiwan is a mountainous country, with it being divided East and West by mountain ranges from North to South. Certainly lot of engineering ingenuity and effort was used. This pic was taken on our way to our next venue as you will see below.

Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village

This popular huge 62 hectare themed park was opened in 1986. It was famed for introducing Taiwanese aboriginal culture and its lush forest and beautiful European Garden. I remembered visiting this themed park as part of our R+R after our army training. It has grown much bigger since and includes an amusement themed park and cable cars to Sun Moon Lake.  Sort of a bigger version of Genting Highlands but without the casino. It was awarded the “Premium Award theme park”, from the Taiwan tourism bureau. Prepare to spend at least 3-4 “rushed” hours before taking the cable car to Sun Moon Lake. Remember, in winter solstice the days are much shorter. It gets dark from 5:30pm onwards.

Checked out archery (recurved bow) at the range at NT100 for 20 arrows. Instruction from aboriginal instructors are complimentary, of course.

An aboriginal craftsman honing his skill, and as showcase for visitors…

The Wen Wu temple entrance facing the Sun Moon Lake is a focal point for most visitors at this scenic location. It is said that many fought and perished over that piece of rock in the picture.

It was foggy but it lent an air of romance and mystic to the venue.

On a clear day, you can expect to enjoy the scenic Sun Moon Lake, as seen on my guide’s Smartphone.  Enjoyment of Taiwan is subject to the whims and wills of Mother Nature. She gives you some and she takes back some too.

Food vendors, in Taiwan, are generally warm and friendly, even sincere as this elderly cha ye tan (tea leaf eggs) and sausage vendor (at the Wen Wu Temple entrance) showed. Many, especially at night markets, will politely and enthusiastically invite you for a free tasting with “absolutely” NO obligation to buy. But once you are in their “lair”, chances are you will part with some money as their warm and hospitality will bowl you over. It helps that their food is delicious.

Although the fog obstructed our view of the Sun Moon Lake, we were rewarded with a “once a lifetime” event when we chanced upon the Nippon-Taiwan Vintage Car rally. It was Japan’s reciprocal gesture to Taiwan for their huge humanitarian aid in the wake of the Tsunami disaster of 2011. It was an exciting event, especially for car buffs.

An antique Mercedes roadster

Rally start/end point at the Sun Moon Lake visitor centre.

The Sun Moon Lake visitor centre, designed by Japanese architect Norihiko Dan and Associates is an awesome modernistic and Zen-like structure completed in 2006. Certainly worthy of a stop-over whenever you visit Sun Moon Lake, one of Taiwan most famous landmarks.

Cing Jing Highlands

The ascent up the mountainous region of Qing Jing marks one of the highlights of our Taiwan vacation. Stays at this region are usually at one of the cosy ming su (family-run home stay) around 1800m above sea level.  Most offer awesome expansive view of the mountain valleys, plantation and of course, cool clean unpolluted air. Other than the room, bed and breakfast, WiFi connectivity are commonly available too. My only gripe is that most ming su websites are in Mandarin.

Waiting up early for the 7+am sunrise can be difficult and takes commitment, especially in the 5’C to 8’C temperature that we encountered during the trip. My younger daughter refused to wake up, it was too comfy and toasty in her quilt cover. We were “lucky” to encounter such a cold snap as it means we will be able to see snow. That is rare in Taiwan and only possible in Hehuanshan in Taroko National Park.

For a city folk like me, view like this are certainly memorable and enriched the vacation experience.

Another European styled ming su Old England , a very popular with wedding photographers who always use their clock tower as a background for their outdoor shoots. Understand from my guide it’s very expensive to stay there and their bistro serves NT500 high tea (appointment advised).

Green Green Grassland Farm

I finally realised why my wife booked the ming su which you see above. It was just a 10 minute walk downhill to the Green Green Grasslands. This awesome sheep farm holds daily shows with sheep shearers from New Zealands. You can stroll slowly among the green fields, take in the azure skies with the mountains range in the distance and frolic with the grazing sheep.

A rodeo show at the farm. Feel the power of the whip!

Sheep feeding time! A word of caution, these sheep are hungry, in fact, Famished! Little kids might be pushed over if not careful.

A Taiwanese couple doing their wedding shoot at the farm. The farm is a fave wedding photography venue.

Just had to do a picture for my family with the “castle” in the background so we could tell friends we were in “Europe” …

Bees farm at the Cing Jing market further down the mountain, excellent bee pollen and honey products are available for purchase at reasonable prices.

Enroute to Hehuanshan, our guide brought us to Ta Luo Wan, an eatery famed for it’s fish head hotpot and scenic view. He needed to warm us up for the -5 to -8’C temperature at the mountain peak at our next destination.

For a non-fish lover, this delicious and fresh deep fried head hotpot was a gem of a find! It tasted like fried chicken wing with a really tasty broth.

The eatery, nondescript-looking from the outside. But once you step inside, be enthralled with the view, nicely paired with great food. The colourful Taiwan logo is an indication of the standards achieved. It’s also famed for it’s roasted chicken.

HehuanShan (3275m)- Taroko National Park

Words cannot expressed the chills from the -5’C temperature we experienced that day. It’s also the wind that further adds to the chills down your spine. Be prepared. Ear mittens are a must, to prevent frostbite. It helped that our guide prepared hot Milo to warm us up and the spectacular scenery made it worthwhile.

One fringe benefit of the freezing temperature, icicles (no sugar, no artificial flavouring) comes complimentary.

The frozen WC in the men toilet…did someone missed their target? or maybe they couldn’t do zeroing in the freezing temp?

The frozen foliage encrusted with ice. When the wind blows, the plants jingle like wind chimes. An experience beyond description.

The ever-changing mountain scenery in the setting sun… awesome beyond words.

I have friends who saw this picture and asked “is this real ? Photoshopped?”. What do you think ?

A group of Taiwanese photographers snapping away at the sunset. I envy them for the beauty at their “doorstep”.

A great way to end the day would be a session at a Lushan spa hotel. Lushan is one of the famed hot springs area in Taiwan, where  many locals and tourist go to for it’s mineral water hot dip. Our family hot spa package was NT1800 ($76 SGD) for a 2 hours session. The room was stocked with drinking water, a rock-like hot tub, shower & toilet facilities, etc. It was a great way to warm up our body after the chills at the peak. 

Thank you for joining me thus far. In the final segment, you will get to see more food and Taiwanese attractions!

Note: All pictures in this blog are copyrighted to Jensen Chua Photography – all rights reserved and not to be used without permission!

The post Taiwan Travelogue 2013 (Part 2/3) -Taichung attractions appeared first on Jensen Chua Photography.