Taroko—the B&B (Part I)

Having written something rather negative about Taiwan, I feel like I have to do some justice. Because after all, I had a tremendous good time in Taiwan and here’s one big highlight—our trip to Taroko. Coincidentally many people are asking us where to go in Taiwan, and both Paul and I would say "Taroko" without any hesitation.

Since we only had 7 days in Taiwan with so many relatives and friends to visit, I was creating a bit of a trouble for myself to go to Taroko. I think this is what most people fear whenever they think about East Coast Taiwan. But it's only a 3-hour train ride from Taipei. Plus it's a pleasant journey with a lunch box, some gossip magazine and an iPod. So the distance shouldn't be an excuse from not going.

Before I jump right in on Taroko, first let me introduce the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at. Actually it was a place my parents just randomly bumped into.… Since I don't believe in random luck, I really didn’t expect much. And Paul was even more skeptical and had bombarded me with all these questions—“So, about the B&B, is it a big family whom we’re staying with?” “So, will I open the bathroom and see the grandpa peeing?” “Would it be rude to turn on the light? What if I step on to his pee in the darkness? ”…

So I’m thrilled to please this sometimes difficult Hong Kongnese. To be fair, this is not the most luxurious hotel you'll ever come across. But I was very impressed with its thoughtfulness behind every little detail--the spacious "zen" shower stool instead of a jam-packed bath tub, the cup noodle and cookies in case you got hungry in the middle of the night…

I have to first make myself clear I'm just like most young folks, I hate all-inclusive packaged tour. But this trip has really changed my mind. First, they pick you up from the Hualien train station as "part of the service". Seriously, who really enjoys learning how to drive in a pitch dark foreign place? Since we were the only guests there the first night, the owners took us to this tiny unassuming place for a quick chow… Anyone who’s been to Taiwan knows that these tiny unassuming places usually cook the most delicious dishes so I was pretty excited… But have to say it was quite a disappointment considering I only have 14 meals (breakfast excluded) in Taiwan!! I'd suggest you go to the Hualien night market instead. But the disappointment was quickly washed down by a freshly brewed coffee after meal at the B&B.

We got up super early the second day as the owner promised to take us biking to the nearest beach. Besides crossing a major state highway, the ride is very safe as it mostly goes through back country roads. It was such a refreshing experience—the air fresh and the birds chirping, and you can see the ocean just steps away.

Just as I was embracing this whole scenery with all my senses, I heard a very loud and long cry with echoes. I stopped my bike, looked around, and saw this deserted cottage on the farmland not far away. The cottage looked so abandoned, the windows with no glass but just black holes that suck you into complete darkness. I stood there with horror: did I really hear someone crying? Was it from that deserted cottage? And the echoes? I was so scared it took me a while to realize it was some woman singing off-tune with a karaoke machine! While I got up early for my morning bike ride, she was still long into a very happy night… it was just bizarre.
After biking and before we headed to Taroko, we had breakfast before we head out to Taroko. We had the Asian style breakfast—but you can ask for the "western" style if you want to. After breakfast, we made sure to ask for two freshly brewed coffee before we hit the road.

After we got back from Taroko (which I’ll write in more detail), we headed out to have some traditional Taroko cuisine for dinner. Mum told me the Taroko cuisine is very "different"—that means she didn't really like the food. But quite to the contrary to what she'd described, it was quite delicious but really not that different from regular food you'd have in Taiwan! The boar was so juicy and chewy (just like pork), and the wild fern didn’t taste as exotic as I thought either.

To end our trip with another highlight, before boarding our train, the owner took us to a little bit north of Taroko, called "Clear Water Cliff". I had never imagined there still exists ocean this blue and this unspoiled in Taiwan. I hope the last photo here gives you a glimpse of how pure and beautiful this place is. In fact, that's how I felt about Hualein in whole. I hope my plain description of this trip entices you all to go see Hualien soon.

My Youth

Paul and I went back to Taiwan (and Hong Kong) during Christmas/ New Year. This is my first trip back to Taiwan with Paul, a (sometimes irritatingly) proud Hong Kongese, so as childish as it may sound, I felt like I have to show him the best side of Taiwan.

Since we stayed with my brother Alvis, who now lives in this rural part of Taoyuan, I felt like this is no way going to do justice to represent who I am—a modern, chic and metropolitan girl from the East District of Taipei (東區). So I couldn’t wait to show him my ‘turf’ and my equally chic friends back in high school. Soon as we got out of the subway and resurfaced to the ground level at the intersection of 忠孝/敦化, the epitome of chic metropolis back in the days, I couldn’t help but to exhaled with passion: “THIS!! IS MY YOUTH!!” Paul, having lived in Taiwan for two years and also heard quite a lot about the East District, looked around and gushed “Your youth has definitely rusted with age.” Ouch! What a blow! And that was (and probably still is) the best corner of the East District! But the East District, it's as if I'm taking a good look for the first time in years, indeed is aged and definitely needs a face-lift. The bakery 順成蛋糕 has been there for the last 25 years or so. All other stores have come and gone, but it looked the same for as long as my memory goes. I just couldn't remember whether it has aged or it was never that glorious even at its heydays?

And the same goes with much of the places we’ve seen in Taiwan. I did not see any sign of progress. Did Taiwan really have no progress over the last decade? Taiwan's GDP growth has been around 5%, which isn't bad at all. But it's all relative. When your neighbor has been growing more like 10%, suddenly it is worrisome. And I think after all, the infrastructure lies in the hand of the government. Maybe the government has been busy doing all other things?! I don't want to be all political because I think politics is overly quarreled (it's not a debate, there are not much fresh points made) in Taiwan, but all I'm saying is that it was a bit shocking for me to learn that China has caught up so much Paul is saying the rural side pretty much looks the same across the strait now (another blow!!)

I have never been to China so I cannot make that judgment myself. But here’s a reference point. I went to Tijuana Mexico last June for the first time on a business trip. While my colleagues were shocked and disgusted by the backwardness “just across the border”, I couldn’t help but see the resemblance of rural Taiwan—the signboard, the dusty roads, the lack of urban planning, and the windows with iron grating. I tried to keep it to myself because I definitely didn’t want people to get the wrong impression that Taiwan is this backward Third World country and have them mistakenly applaud my achievement of having come such a long way here. I am (proudly) the "rich middle-class Taiwanese" so how could I even think there is any resemblance of the two nations?

At the end of the trip, our big boss asked me what I think of Tijuana, I hesitated a bit but decided to tell him my observation, he chimed in passionately “that’s exactly what I say! It looks very much like rural China.” “No, no, rural Taiwan, I mean”, I thought to myself, “it’s a lot better than China, it HAS to be”

… or is it?

Here’s another reference point. Mum told me when she visited Hong Kong roughly 30 years ago, it wasn’t much different from Taiwan back in the days. Then she went back roughly 15 years ago. She was shocked how HK had progressed. I wasn’t there to see it for myself, but today? I would be kidding myself to compare Taipei to Hong Kong. That is just a ridiculous thought. And very sadly so.

I forgot who I was sharing this finding with. I think many people would have defended Taipei “But have you seen Shin-Yi Development District? Have you seen Taipei 101?” True, it has the tallest building in the world (soon to be past tense though so really what's the point?), surrounded by the most luxurious apartments and department stores. But that is just several blocks in the whole Taipei City, and the glory is not a resemblance of the whole nation’s progress. I wonder how many roads or other infrastructures we could have built or renovated had we used the money we spent on the 101 Building elsewhere.