The Longest Vacation Ever! Part 8 - Nature
Day 8 - Taroko Park, et al
The place that we stayed the night is a homestay (bed and breadfast) run by someone who was decendent of the native tribes. The previous night, the owner described how the rooms were named in the native language.
Our room; I don't know what it means or how to pronounce it. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/GA1Nkw6UuxqTkeah2)
Anyway, Angie and I were up somewhat early and walked around the grounds. It was a really nice area and looked very well maintained. The owner also allowed many of the neighborhood cats and dogs roam around the grounds, which was nice.
A view of where we were going... or where we've been. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/OCX67DcBNcecQWig1)
A balcony that would have been nice to use if it wasn't wet/raining. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/UVMfZ0EAYbA904iz1)
A cat just sleeping by the door. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/v0R9j5Wr6FNuBlaz1)
This one knows how to get out of the rain and stay comfortable! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FGMseI5juZIH0RFk1)
A nice garden area that we walked around. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ok433lmK9WzBOkeL2)
An artificial pond in view of our breakfast area. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/yE9sXcYnq1dBOjx32)
Eventually, we met up with Angie's mom and we had breakfast. It was a small breakfast area, but there was a good selection of food, especially considering we just stayed one night.
Breakfast (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FwoGF0UGNXIzsc1O2)
After breakfast, we departed and headed towards Taroko Gorge Park, which is a drive-thru national park, much like in the mid-West of the US. Basically, Angie plotted our trip to use a scenic road through the park so we could see the mountain and river scenes. We'd stop periodically and walk/take pictures. Also, since it was low season, there were various points where the road would close for 45 minutes or so, so that they could maintain the roads. We joked around that it was forced stops, but it was actually not bad since it gave us different times to walk around and see random things.
A view of the road and tunnels. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/zd1uu7HS92chJUpk1)
The river (https://photos.app.goo.gl/qeGU0l9J6IAtZHqM2)
We'd stop at the side of the road and walk around. This was at the Swallows' Grotto, which apparently birds live in the cave since the rocks have small holes in it. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/HqiK13npn39OQpc92)
You obviously can't tell, but those buses go through quite fast! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/7nwMSxXCyZevbBT22)
Rocks, greens, and water... (https://photos.app.goo.gl/RW6FItma3ocYDLh82)
Moar! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/BpLmaKK64zAVEABI3)
We saw a pagoda and after following the path, we saw this rope bridge. The other side had a sign that basically said the trail was out, but it was nice to walk across (very high over water). (https://photos.app.goo.gl/zrOjFPPmcB341hMh2)
Apparently only 8 people at a time. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sahorCmUbit724z2)
There was also a suspension (foot) bridge to a temple. We walk to the temple, but didn't climb up since Angie's mom was somewhat tired. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FiXgBEzGQWynPRsJ2)
At some point, we drove by a small town/shopping area. Angie's mom wanted to do something at the post office and shop. Angie and I saw a monument that required a ton of stairs, so we split up so we could climb stairs!
These stairs were up a hill from the road. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/UOen8cB41fjBMpzA3)
At the top, there was this statue to this guy who (according to Angie's ability to read Chinese) was apparently so awesome (righteous) and humble that they built him a statue. The white wall behind has a poem. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ShobmsXT0vNgaovu1)
The view down. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ET4kjoTHLdJID6742)
Turning to the left... what?!? monkeys!!! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ytINmCShvgjQuk2D3)
Angie went to take a foolish picture with the monkeys. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/TTiSntY0sq4iQAdz1)
Funny thing, after she went down to a squat (seconds after this photo), one of the monkeys went at her very aggressively. So after that, we kept our distance. To add to the comedy (or potential tragedy), after we went back to the shop area, there were signs outside the bathroom saying to keep away from the monkeys because 40-60% of them carry disease. Moral - don't mock the wildlife!
How did I not notice them running up the stairs??? (https://photos.app.goo.gl/N75CrPOeAo6F9jRy2)
We continued our driving/stopping trip through the park. We probably had about 3-4 mandatory times, each time being between 15 minutes and 45 minutes. We also made a few stop at "famous" locations (mainly trees).
Up in the mountains! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/bpdwtbmyTeU61Agn1)
One of the mandatory stops; people just stop their cars and walk around until the worker gets word that you can go. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/eaYasVAKY1S001hD2)
The fog really came in! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZoFJOQndMHllxgPE3)
At various parts of this trip (not just this park), there were "points of interest" that turned out to be really old or really big or really interesting (?) trees. I kind of felt like an elf but some were quite cool. Anyway, during our drive through Taroko, we stopped to check out a really old and big tree. It probably had some interesting name like 1000 year oak or ancient tree or something, but I can't remember now.
Pretty darn big. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/p6ZwwvYV3ev6zZxW2)
The sunset over mountains. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/dF9dt5SYUMVxXA6W2)
Driving in the clouds (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9tnsqCngXpvk56N2)
Since we had so many mandatory stops, it took much longer to get through the park than was estimated. Our next stop was our hotel by Sun Moon Lake. The drive was interesting because our directions brought us through very unoccupied areas. Angie said it was supposedly a big tourist attraction, so it was odd that we were driving on one lane, unlit roads that seemed to go through farms. But after following various laterns paths, we made it to our destination, which was more populated (although it was the less popular side of the lake).
Our room had a nice balcony that overlooked the lake. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/LXVsNaPNbXBPMsJv1)
After checking it, we wandered around area to find food both to eat immediately and to hang out together and eat in the room. On many nights during the trip, we'd have "dessert" in my mother-in-law's room with some sort of tea and fruit and snacks. And that was another day down.
I'm not even sure what it's called, but it's like ground pork belly stewed with eggs. It claims to have won some sort of local award for best in the region. It wasn't that good (not that it was bad). (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Prub5CPnjho0ybQ62)
More buns, always buns... (https://photos.app.goo.gl/xerdOvO7BjoYHzwc2)
And they still had a Christmas tree up. I'm not sure if Taiwan has pine trees, probably not, since I never saw a "real" Christmas tree during our trip. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/a51Ju4oeOjFZukGp2)
The place that we stayed the night is a homestay (bed and breadfast) run by someone who was decendent of the native tribes. The previous night, the owner described how the rooms were named in the native language.
Our room; I don't know what it means or how to pronounce it. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/GA1Nkw6UuxqTkeah2)
Anyway, Angie and I were up somewhat early and walked around the grounds. It was a really nice area and looked very well maintained. The owner also allowed many of the neighborhood cats and dogs roam around the grounds, which was nice.
A view of where we were going... or where we've been. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/OCX67DcBNcecQWig1)
A balcony that would have been nice to use if it wasn't wet/raining. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/UVMfZ0EAYbA904iz1)
A cat just sleeping by the door. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/v0R9j5Wr6FNuBlaz1)
This one knows how to get out of the rain and stay comfortable! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FGMseI5juZIH0RFk1)
A nice garden area that we walked around. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ok433lmK9WzBOkeL2)
An artificial pond in view of our breakfast area. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/yE9sXcYnq1dBOjx32)
Eventually, we met up with Angie's mom and we had breakfast. It was a small breakfast area, but there was a good selection of food, especially considering we just stayed one night.
Breakfast (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FwoGF0UGNXIzsc1O2)
After breakfast, we departed and headed towards Taroko Gorge Park, which is a drive-thru national park, much like in the mid-West of the US. Basically, Angie plotted our trip to use a scenic road through the park so we could see the mountain and river scenes. We'd stop periodically and walk/take pictures. Also, since it was low season, there were various points where the road would close for 45 minutes or so, so that they could maintain the roads. We joked around that it was forced stops, but it was actually not bad since it gave us different times to walk around and see random things.
A view of the road and tunnels. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/zd1uu7HS92chJUpk1)
The river (https://photos.app.goo.gl/qeGU0l9J6IAtZHqM2)
We'd stop at the side of the road and walk around. This was at the Swallows' Grotto, which apparently birds live in the cave since the rocks have small holes in it. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/HqiK13npn39OQpc92)
You obviously can't tell, but those buses go through quite fast! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/7nwMSxXCyZevbBT22)
Rocks, greens, and water... (https://photos.app.goo.gl/RW6FItma3ocYDLh82)
Moar! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/BpLmaKK64zAVEABI3)
We saw a pagoda and after following the path, we saw this rope bridge. The other side had a sign that basically said the trail was out, but it was nice to walk across (very high over water). (https://photos.app.goo.gl/zrOjFPPmcB341hMh2)
Apparently only 8 people at a time. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sahorCmUbit724z2)
There was also a suspension (foot) bridge to a temple. We walk to the temple, but didn't climb up since Angie's mom was somewhat tired. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/FiXgBEzGQWynPRsJ2)
At some point, we drove by a small town/shopping area. Angie's mom wanted to do something at the post office and shop. Angie and I saw a monument that required a ton of stairs, so we split up so we could climb stairs!
These stairs were up a hill from the road. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/UOen8cB41fjBMpzA3)
At the top, there was this statue to this guy who (according to Angie's ability to read Chinese) was apparently so awesome (righteous) and humble that they built him a statue. The white wall behind has a poem. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ShobmsXT0vNgaovu1)
The view down. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ET4kjoTHLdJID6742)
Turning to the left... what?!? monkeys!!! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ytINmCShvgjQuk2D3)
Angie went to take a foolish picture with the monkeys. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/TTiSntY0sq4iQAdz1)
Funny thing, after she went down to a squat (seconds after this photo), one of the monkeys went at her very aggressively. So after that, we kept our distance. To add to the comedy (or potential tragedy), after we went back to the shop area, there were signs outside the bathroom saying to keep away from the monkeys because 40-60% of them carry disease. Moral - don't mock the wildlife!
How did I not notice them running up the stairs??? (https://photos.app.goo.gl/N75CrPOeAo6F9jRy2)
We continued our driving/stopping trip through the park. We probably had about 3-4 mandatory times, each time being between 15 minutes and 45 minutes. We also made a few stop at "famous" locations (mainly trees).
Up in the mountains! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/bpdwtbmyTeU61Agn1)
One of the mandatory stops; people just stop their cars and walk around until the worker gets word that you can go. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/eaYasVAKY1S001hD2)
The fog really came in! (https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZoFJOQndMHllxgPE3)
At various parts of this trip (not just this park), there were "points of interest" that turned out to be really old or really big or really interesting (?) trees. I kind of felt like an elf but some were quite cool. Anyway, during our drive through Taroko, we stopped to check out a really old and big tree. It probably had some interesting name like 1000 year oak or ancient tree or something, but I can't remember now.
Pretty darn big. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/p6ZwwvYV3ev6zZxW2)
The sunset over mountains. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/dF9dt5SYUMVxXA6W2)
Driving in the clouds (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9tnsqCngXpvk56N2)
Since we had so many mandatory stops, it took much longer to get through the park than was estimated. Our next stop was our hotel by Sun Moon Lake. The drive was interesting because our directions brought us through very unoccupied areas. Angie said it was supposedly a big tourist attraction, so it was odd that we were driving on one lane, unlit roads that seemed to go through farms. But after following various laterns paths, we made it to our destination, which was more populated (although it was the less popular side of the lake).
Our room had a nice balcony that overlooked the lake. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/LXVsNaPNbXBPMsJv1)
After checking it, we wandered around area to find food both to eat immediately and to hang out together and eat in the room. On many nights during the trip, we'd have "dessert" in my mother-in-law's room with some sort of tea and fruit and snacks. And that was another day down.
I'm not even sure what it's called, but it's like ground pork belly stewed with eggs. It claims to have won some sort of local award for best in the region. It wasn't that good (not that it was bad). (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Prub5CPnjho0ybQ62)
More buns, always buns... (https://photos.app.goo.gl/xerdOvO7BjoYHzwc2)
And they still had a Christmas tree up. I'm not sure if Taiwan has pine trees, probably not, since I never saw a "real" Christmas tree during our trip. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/a51Ju4oeOjFZukGp2)