Our Taiwan 🇹🇼 Route: from Taipei to Jiufen~ Jiaoxi~ Hualien~ Taitung~ Hengchun~ Kenting National Park~ Sun Moon Lake~ Taipei

There is a separate post about the first days in the capital Taipei.

♦️JIUFEN

On March 5th, we left Taipei by train and headed towards Jiufen on the northeast coast. In Keelung, we switched to a regional bus. It took us to our destination: Jiufen. At 4 o'clock, we checked in to our accommodation and were pleasantly surprised. We got a room upgrade! We had booked a small room with a shared bathroom, but we got a larger room with a private bathroom. We were very happy about that. And to top it off, we had this great view from the balcony. The accommodation was fantastic, it was cleaned every day, there was a water dispenser with tea bags and instant coffee, and a common room with seating and a microwave. By the way, the accommodation is called Corner Inn. The Jiufen Old Street (famous shopping street) is nearby, as well as two supermarkets (7eleven and FamilyMart). Jiufen is a tourist magnet, we noticed that when we arrived. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and the traffic on the only, partly narrow street through Jiufen with a view of the coast was enormous. Buses, cars, scooters, taxis, even cyclists made their way. We stayed until March 8th, the number of tourists decreased during the week, but it didn't stop. Even in the evenings, buses brought day tourists to the Old Street.

We put on our hiking shoes again and climbed Mount Keelung. The trail starts right in Jiufen. There are two paths leading to the top. We took the steep steps up to the highest point. It was challenging, yes, but it was worth it! Once at the top, you can enjoy a great view of the Pacific, the coast, and the mountains. On a clear day, you can even see the 101 Tower in Taipei. We sat up there for quite some time. On the way down, we turned right at one of the two pavilions and took the 2nd path (without stairs and with more shade) down. On our last evening, we also visited the bustling Old Street with its shops, food stands, and souvenir shops.

On March 8th, we took the bus to the train station and then the train to Jiaoxi.

♦️JIAOXI

Jiaoxi is known for its hot spring parks, which are mainly used by locals. They gather at the hot springs and bathe in them, either their whole bodies or just their legs and feet. The parks are beautifully designed, especially in spring when everything starts to bloom. We stayed at Champagne Hotel, which is located between two hot spring parks and offers warm pools in the basement for relaxation. Although the facilities are a bit outdated, it was still worth it. Especially after exercising.

We hiked the Jiaoxi Paoma Historic Trail to the highest point. It's definitely worth wearing hiking shoes. The ascent is demanding, but the higher you go, the more beautiful the view becomes. It literally goes over rocks and stones, only the last section is on a road to the observation deck, which invites you to linger. From the top, you can see the sea. The signage along the hiking trail is only in Chinese, which means we had to ask for directions from time to time, as there is also a trail leading to a campground, which we didn't want to go to. But the locals were helpful and always there when we had questions. It was a successful day. In total, it was 13km and it took us 3:17h for the entire route.

On March 11th, the train took us to our next stop, which was

♦️HUALIEN

on the east coast. We stayed at Earth Village B&B. It was another room with a private bathroom. The city of Hualien and the Pacific coast are about 3 kilometers away from our accommodation. We used the time for sightseeing, jogging, and walks. Our highlight came on the last and sunniest day of the week: Taroko National Park. In the town, we rented bicycles (27.70€ for a mountain bike and a road bike with helmets) and set off. We cycled along the coast to the entrance of the national park. Before that, we had a snack at 7eleven. Then it started: until we turned back, we cycled about 15km through the Taroko Gorge, mostly uphill, and were treated to impressive nature. What an experience! Cycling through a national park is probably one of the most spectacular things we have ever done. Along the way, we were overtaken by cars, scooters, and tour buses. At some stretches, it was a bit difficult, but everything went well. For safety reasons, it is also recommended to wear a helmet on some sections of the road. On the road, you can also see stones and rubble lying around. Then suddenly, the sky became cloudy and the sun disappeared. However, it stayed dry for the rest of the way and we left the gray clouds behind. Fortunately, we shortened the way back a bit. Our butts were already sore, and my 👩🏼 knee was hurting. At the end of the day, we had covered 70km! We were totally exhausted but happy. We left Hualien on March 16th by train. We made a stop in

♦️TAITUNG

and stayed for two nights at Taitung Garden Cabin near the train station. We slept on rock-hard mattresses. In the rooms next door, there was a baseball team staying overnight, who had a game the next day and became champions. The young team had parents with them to cheer them on, and they celebrated their victory. Chris couldn't resist having a beer with them :) a funny group. On the same evening, another team arrived. Otherwise, the city was unspectacular, and there wasn't much to do. We put on our running shoes and jogged to the coast and back. On March 18th, we continued towards Kenting National Park, but before that, we made a stop in

♦️HENGCHUN

Hengchun is known for its old town and historic city walls. We stayed two nights in the old town and went on a sightseeing tour. We can highly recommend our hostel: Sun Good Hostel. Every Sunday, there is a night market here, and luckily we were in town over the weekend. We tasted the most delicious dumplings and had crispy flatbread with egg. We visited the "Paradise Deer" Park, a park with water pigs and sika deer. Well, what can I say, it's always necessary to be cautious in such situations. It was like a petting zoo. Free-roaming deer were fed and petted, and of course, people wanted to take pictures with them. Other deer were in an enclosed area and could only be fed through the fence. But the park wasn't big, on the contrary, it was incredibly small and cramped, and there was animal feces everywhere. We also noticed that some of the deer were not in good condition. In our opinion, their fur and their condition didn't look healthy. We left after less than ten minutes. In the future, we will think twice about where we spend our money. (By the way, the entrance fee is 200 NTD per person). In general, animals in the Asian region are not always treated well, but this case particularly upset us.

We continue our journey on March 20th. The bus takes us to

♦️KENTING NATIONAL PARK

we have arrived at the southernmost tip of Taiwan by the sea. It's warm, and we can walk around in shorts and t-shirts all day (that wasn't always the case😅). The further south we went, the warmer it got. We enjoy the familiar feeling of sand under our feet. On the first evening, after sunset, we saw turtles in and around a pond by the sea 🐢 I was delighted like a little child. We have accommodation nearby, the first time with breakfast included: Kenting Hostel. From the balcony, we can see the Pacific Ocean. During the day, the streets are empty, only a few shops and restaurants are open. (We were there during the week). Every evening, there is the "Kenting Street Night Market" just around the corner. Contrasting program: the streets are filled with locals and tourists. Many young people are in groups, some stalls serve alcohol, and loud music is playing. There are plenty of street food stalls and souvenirs. We have a few relaxing days, enjoying the sun, warmth, and the sea, and we book our next flight because after 4 weeks, we will leave Taiwan. But first, on March 24th, we will leave the national park and travel to Sun Moon Lake, which is only a few kilometers west of Hualien.

♦️SUN MOON LAKE

On this day, we spend over eight hours on public transportation. We take two buses, two trains, and one taxi. When we arrive at the lake in the evening, unfortunately, there are no more buses to take us to the town 3km away where our accommodation is located. (Sunmoonlake nalu house in Yuchi). The transfer costs us around €70 in total. Quite expensive! But we consciously decided to make a stop at Sun Moon Lake before returning to Taipei. And it was really worth it. The next day, we rented bikes again (200 NTD per bike) and cycled around the lake. We covered about 30km, up and down. The route was beautiful, the weather was good, and there weren't many people. Although it's the dry season at the moment and in some places you can see a lot of land because the water has receded significantly, it didn't diminish our excursion.

But suddenly, it started raining in the evening, and during the night, we had heavy thunderstorms with torrential rain. The weather gods had mercy on us. Even when we packed our things on Sunday morning, March 26th, it was still raining. The participants of the Sun Moon Lake Marathon, which started quite early in the morning, got completely soaked. We got ourselves a coffee, put on our rain jackets, and cheered on the athletes. Some of them were clearly having fun and enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was great. But we had to leave and catch a bus...

♦️BACK TO TAIPEI

We took a bus and a fairly long train ride until we arrived in Taipei again after a few hours. This time we had a really nice hostel: Owl Stay Flip Flop Hostel, once again perfectly located near the Main Station. We had a small room with a shared bathroom and a breakfast snack. Everything was clean, modern, and nicely furnished. On Tuesday morning, March 28th, we took the metro to Taoyuan Airport (TPE), Borneo, finally, here we come!!!!!!!!!🥳✈️💜

Fun fact: because we had so much time, we treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast at the airport and ordered coffee and sandwiches with tomato/mozzarella to get rid of the rest of our cash. As we sit in the café and enjoy our meal, we suddenly realize that German Schlager songs are playing through the speakers 😄👯‍♀️🎶🎶 can you believe it?! 😄👯‍♀️🎶🎶