Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Let's go to Hualien

Earlier this month, Dad had a one week long vacation and we decided to go on a road trip. This time it is to Hualien (花蓮) which is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan.


The drive took us four and a half hours up the windy mountain roads. I got car sick as usual and poor Dad was exhausted behind the wheel. Along the way, we stopped for a break and lunch.


After lunch, we continued on our journey to White Sun 白陽山莊 (a dog friendly B & B).


We brought Pinky along to enjoy the spacious, clean and comfortable room.


It was almost dinner time and the B & B owner suggested that we go to the night market for some local delights.


The next morning, we woke up early for breakfast.


and we got to know more about the resident dog who is also a golden retriever. His name is Polo and he is a working guide dog.


Ms Ashley says today's itinerary is to visit Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) to see Taiwan's most famous scenic spot, Taroko Gorge.




It was extremely hot when we arrived, but we still had to endure the heat for a photo shoot. Mom the photographer must have had difficulty opening her eyes due to the sun because she did not realized that my big head covered the word "Taroko". Duh!!!


And it was time for lunch again! We ate a simple meal at the visitor center.


Ashley was wearing a new outfit so we had to take more pics of her.


Here's one of our favorite pics of Daddy and Ash.


After lunch, we went on to explore Taroko Gorge, no doubt that the view of the marbled walled canyons, lush mountains and magnificent cliffs are spectacular, but it wasn't much fun under the scorching heat, so we quickly stopped at a few spots, snapped a couple of pics and went back to the air-con comfort of our car.



After that, we drove to Qixingtan Beach (七星潭) for a little stroll.





A fighter jet flew over our heads while we were at the beach.


It was getting late, so we decided to stay an extra night, however White Sun was full that day, so we had to switch to another dog friendly B & B Good Place (好所在).

Ashley and I fooled around in the room before we head out to dinner.


For dinner, we went to a Singaporean restaurant Bak Kut Teh (星爺肉骨茶餐廳).


More silly pics before the food comes.


We had bak kut teh, curry crab, chicken rice and chicken wings.


After a good night sleep, we set off for the long ride back to Taipei. It was a pleasant ride back with beautiful views of the mountains.



As we drove along the coast, we also enjoyed breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.


That's all for my trip report. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we didn't go in summer. Anyway, it is always nice to spend time with my family. Definitely look forward to my next road trip, but no more windy mountain roads please.

8 comments:

Kari in Alaska said...

It sure looks to me like you had a fun vacation :)

Don't forget, we moved to http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Wannie said...

Hua Lien is beautiful! My mom grew up there :) I've been to Taroko National Park before, so some of your pictures look familiar. It looks like you and your family had so much fun! Stay cool for the rest of the summer!!

Emma said...

Superb places, great food and I am sure that you are all so happy for going there! Lovely photos :)

SimplyShirley08 said...

Hi Dino & Family! Thanks for leaving your comment on my blog! I hope that ashley is feeling better. She looks great in these pictures. I know a lot of people must say that she is precious, but she truly is beautiful! So happy for your entire family!
-Love Qori and Family

Raising Addie said...

WOW what an AMAZING trip!

The dog friendly B&B's look really nice. We love the decor.

That night market looked cool too. I bet there were a lot of different flavors to try there.

Ashley, you get cuter and cuter every time we see you! LOVE your little hat. You are the happiest baby!

AND that picture of you with your Dad, you look like a little grown up lady sitting there! Just precious!!!

Those mountain pix... WOW! Did you walk across that long green bridge? It sure looked scary to us. We loved the view of the ocean. OMD it was soooo blue!

Sending you BIG puppy hugs from Texas!

Lots of Luv & Kisses
Addie, Lucie and Hailey

How Sam Sees It said...

How beautiful! Ashley is really turning into a young lady!

Sam

Lucille said...

Hi Dino
sorry you are car sick, that is not nice...
You know I met a doggie in France that had the same problem and their humans sorted the problem out thanks to an omeopatic remedy, I believe the name is something like "cocculine". At least you find it with this name in Italy.
You need to take them for a few weeks before they really have a good effect on you, but they said that their dog no longer had car sick issues... After that initial treatment, they just give the dog a bit of that before the journey.
It is not dangerous as it is not a real medicament...
Ask your vet before of course!!!

By the way, thanks for the lovely pictures about your country...
truly amazing views....
Also food looked very nice I must say....

Thanks for sharing!

Ciao Lucille (the great dane from Italy)

Unknown said...

Hi Dino - what a great trip you had with your family! I just love seeing our posts about places to go in Taiwan and the yummy things you've eaten!

My humans were really sorry not to get the chance to meet up with you and your family when they were in Taipei recently - they said next time they must go for longer - a week is just too short!! But they did manage to eat lots of yummies - I did a post recently on their time in Taipei and all the yummy things they ate. Hsin-Yi says she thinks she gained 2kg in her 1 week there - ha! ha!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane