Taiwan 2011 – Cingjing, Mt HeHuan, Taroko Gorge, Yilan (Day 8)

Date: Fri 1 Apr 2011
Stay: Country Grange, Yilan 庄脚所在，宜兰

Started the day with a buffet breakfast. Was enthralled by the ever-changing clouds. The weather looked very promising!

Dramatic clouds

View from our room window

Our first stop was a small market – Mum and aunt bought some local dried food and fruits. The big juicy pears were so tempting! Mum was contemplating on bringing one back to Singapore. We ended up buying one and had the auntie slice it up for us to eat on the journey.

Shopping for local food stuffs

We headed to QingQing Grassland 青青草原 (entrance NT160) – a large green area with good views of the mountains, sheeps, horses and other farm animals. Made it just in time for the sheep show. We tried some goat’s dairy products – ice cream and milk. I couldn’t accept the taste of fresh goat’s milk!

QingQing Grassland 青青草原

Anson decided to take the mountain route today because of the great weather. He emphasised that this route would be tough and most drivers would not want to take this route. The good thing is tour buses would not be taking this path because of the narrow and hazardous condition.

View along the way to Mt He Huan

What a ride! As we ascended the highest part of mountain, we could see snow along the road. It was quite extraordinary to experience tropical and wintry weather within a span of two hours! We stopped at the top of the mountain – everyone was thrilled to walk precariously on the icy roads.

Top of Mt HeHuan 合欢山顶

3275m above sea level

Anson shared that this same road is extremely slippery and icy during bad weather days. It takes a skilful driver to manoeuvre the road and it is really bad on the car tyres and engines. We saw an abandoned car in the snow – apparently stuck after the engine stalled in the cold. Anson said it was better to just abandon the car than get someone up the mountain to tow it away!

Icy road - few drivers would want to tackle the difficult route

We went around mountains after mountains – I was getting lulled to sleep. The soundtrack in the vehicle was great – featured a lot of my favourite and familiar tunes! I couldn’t help but wonder how the locals manage to live within such an inaccessible area. After about two hours’ drive, we arrived near the entrance of Tarako Gorge　太鲁阁 for a quick simple lunch and toilet break.

The next two hours’ drive was quite dangerous as we had to keep a look-out for falling rocks. Anson made a few stops along the way and pointed out the watermarks that powerful floods would make during heavy downpour. It was scary to hear of bridges washed away even at such high points. The tunnels we drive through were all hand-chiselled. I was awed by both the beauty and danger of nature. Most of all, I left with strong admiration for the pioneers who created this road with nothing more than simple tools and bare hands.

Taroko Gorge - stone edges smoothened by strong waves

In awe of nature

This bridge was previously at the broken road below but was washed down the river by floods. The park people picked it up and fixed it back up on higher ground this time.

We exited Taroko Gorge and reached the eastern side of Taiwan. There is only 1 road linking the north and south of East Taiwan. The coastal highway is narrow and being the one road servicing both ends, traffic was heavier and much faster. The forests we see here were much denser and undeveloped.

We could see the endless Pacific Ocean where the line between sky and ocean was undefined. Surprisingly, the ocean did not have a salty scent like what we have back in Singapore. There was no sight of ships or boats, only buoys indicating fishing nets.

Coastal road along Pacific Ocean to Yilan

Mesmerized by the Pacific Ocean

We drove past Su-Ao　苏奥, a fishing harbour town. Most people on the east coast pray to the Mazhou goddess　妈祖, who is the protector of the fishermen. There is a Mazhou goddess statue covered in pure gold in one of the temples here. There is also the well-known cold spring spa nearby – unlike hotspring, the water here is about 15 deg C.

We finally reached our last minsu, Country Grange　庄脚所在. It is located in a nice quaint neighbourhood. Over the years, several minsu have sprung up in Yilan but Country Grange can be considered one of the early pioneers in the area. The minsu is run by a friendly senior couple, Wu Papa and Wu Mama.

Country Grange - our triple-sharing room and common areas

Anson drove us to town to have dinner at a fishball stall that he recommended. The fishballs turned out to be meatballs! But they were tasty! We also added some dishes that Anson recommended – shark’s meat, liver, hotspring eggs, smoked duck…. The shop was strangely decorated with retro toys collectibles and old Chinese vinyl record covers – the owner’s collections. Next door, the owner’s father, a former fireman, collected giant beehives and strange jars of herbal honey concoction, some with wasps soaked in them.

Yilan Fishball Noodles

Interesting shop decor

This day, we crossed hundreds of mountains. After today, it would be all flat land.