Day 16: Down the East Coast

“Getting there is half the fun.” As a frequent road tripper, this has always been one of my favourite phrases – and I strive to maintain its philosophy. While each of our destinations is unique and beautiful in its own way, the view from the highway highlights Taiwan’s diversity and nature, and the eastern coast is home to some of the country’s most majestic sights. And what's nicer than seeing these sights right out the window as the bus winds southbound through the mountains and along the post, listening to your favourite playlists? =P

Bus Pictures.

The path from Hualien to Taitung, two of the main cities on the East coast, is labelled the East Coast National Scenic Area. We had two stops there today, during a drive totalling about four hours. First, we departed from our hotel in downtown Hualien, after one of our nicest breakfasts so far. We headed south to Basiandong (“Caves of Eight Immortals”), passing the Tropic of Cancer on the way. Yes, we’re finally in the tropics.

mmmm... finally a nice breakfast =)

The caves are important geologically, showing evidence of tectonic plates causing the area’s uplifting. The indentations were formed by coastal water, but now, the rocks have been pushed up over 150 meters. We were greeted with lots of stairs, climbing up to see cave after cave; many of the caves have been turned into small shrines. We “hiked up” about 500-600 steps, before coming to a closed path due to a high risk of rock slides.

Left: The walk up. Centre: View from the top. Right: Many of the caves are small shrines.

We walked back down and had lunch at a restaurant at the foot of the hill. The food wasn’t great though, so we followed the meal with some mango-milk shaved ice. It wasn’t good compared to what we’ve been eating at Taipei, but definitely refreshing after the hike.

Another hour south, we reached Sansiantai, one of eastern Taiwan’s most famous views. We were given quite a bit of free time to explore the area: three large rocky islands aligned towards the Pacific Ocean, connected by bridges and boardwalks. The first bridge was the “eight arch bridge”, connecting the beach-like landscape to the first rocky island. We walked along the boardwalk to the second island, but the path to the third was closed for maintenance.

From the beach.

From the Bridge.

From the island. Kenting (Taiwan's southernmost point) is on the other side.

Lots of good pictures were taken throughout our walk: along the arch, from the beach, and from both the first and second islands. A refreshing drizzle accompanied us on the way back, and soon we got back onto our bus and headed south to Jhihben, a hot spring town.

I’ve stayed at Jhihben before, a treat from relatives at one of the nicest hotels in the area (Royal Chihben Hotel). A general rule of thumb: once you get to Jhihben, there’s a single road of hotels that go slowly uphill. The higher uphill, the nicer the hotel. We didn’t drive very far to get to our hotel today. The room wasn’t very clean, and the air conditioning wasn’t working very well, but overall liveable. There were “hot springs” in the back, though the three pools, each at different temperatures, didn’t seem too inviting.

Hot spring pools at our hotel.

Interestingly, many hot spring places also include a specific area called “boil egg hot spring”, with water so hot one can literally boil eggs. Of course, it’s not for soothing in – containers are actually provided for one to boil eggs. Anyways, we walked in the nearby areas, through some tourist stores, passing by street vendors, and at the 7-11 (where some counsellors were keeping watch for a period of time for alcohol buyers =P). Later in the evening, I did go for a dip, but as expected, they were nothing special. I am very glad that I had come to Jhihben a few years ago to experience the area’s hot springs, as many others left with a negative view of Taiwan’s hot springs. The program is overall a great way to get to know Taiwan, but I hope many people will explore the beautiful island on their own time to fully experience what Taiwan has to offer =).