Hey there!
I'm down with chicken pox, and have to be home ground for the coming week, so I might as well do some blogging.
These few days are all just food, sleep, meds and TV.
Time to be a little productive.
This trip is the most remarkable one in my life, because this is my very first solo trip.
If you know me, it has always been a bucket list for me to travel alone, and I aimed to do it by this year, but definitely not this soon or this country.
Okay, maybe I should keep the story for another post.
A little background story...
Why Hualien?
I've been to Taiwan 6 years ago, to Taipei mainly, and a few famous places around it. Hence, Taipei is out of my choice. I wanted to be by the sea (the only thing that treats me no matter what) and chose Green Island first (via KaoShiung). Unfortunately the flights to Taipei were much cheaper. The accommodation in Green Island was also very, very expensive.A personal friend then recommended Hualien for me. I googled and found out that there is whale watching in Hualien and immediately got sold. After the whole trip, I actually fell in love with Hualien. Such a beautiful place, yet undisturbed.
For transit purposes, I had to stay a night in Taipei (also Hualien was running out of place for me to stay).
1. Accommodation
- Hualien On My Way - NTD 1300 (MYR 173)
- 4.5/5 facilities was tip top, staffs are really friendly
- I personally love this hostel, but location wise it's not very near to the night market or anything which I find a little troublesome since there isn't MRT in Hualien. To the city center, it would take you around 20-30 minutes walk
- BUT! Really near to the Hualien train station
- Flip Flop Hostel, Taipei - NTD 522 (MYR 70)
- 4.9/5 Amazing facilities and environment
- They have a separate building for laundry, kitchen area, and best of all really huge reading spaces, also very near to ZhongShan MRT.
- Downside was staffs weren't really friendly.
2. Itinerary
DAY 1
- Arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, move to Taipei Main station via Airport MRT (NTD 160)
- Get the SIM card from here as I didn't see much outside, I pick the cheapest plan available (NTD 300 6 days)
- Arrival at Taipei Main Station, bento lunch (NTD 99)
- Leave for Hualien Station (NTD 427)
- Booked online for the train tickets and SO GLAD I did because it was nearing their national holidays which was for 5 days and I met tourists from HL that didn't get their tickets, and they needed to book a private taxi to send them all the way back to Taipei
- Here's a really good website that teaches you how to get the tickets online! Click away!
- Hualien Station, bus to Dong Dae Men Night Market (NTD 25)
- I really recommend to take the bus if you're on schedule, check the schedule at the tourist information counter, at your right after you exit the station. Because taxi charges 10 times higher! And I was alone, so the better choice is to take the bus. Just ask the driver to update you where to alight.
- Dinner @ Dong Dae Men Night Market (NTD 130)
- Try : Bei Gang Spring Roll, Jiang Jia Guan Cai Ban, Cheng Ji Mua Chi
- I only managed to try one and to me it was just okay~
- The market is split into a few junction, do venture each corner! I personally loved the layout because its so spacious. I am not a night market fan because I really don't fancy the crowd nor the limited space. So this was perfect for me!
- Taxi back to On My Way Hostel (NTD 150)
- I was with my backpack, and figured the fastest way is to get into a cab.
- Be smart about it! Taiwan taxis are yellow
Total Day 1: NTD 1291/MYR 172
DAY 2
- Breakfast @ 7-E (NTD 84)
- Taroko National Park + Qixing Tan (NTD 700)
- Booked with my hostel, which had collaborations with local tour company, and mine is really good! The guide was a very friendly Taiwanese Uncle that explained a lot about the history of Hualien along our way to Taroko
- There are many trails in Taroko, which I did 4-5 (subject to weather and traffic) but didn't exactly complete them.
- Those who enjoy hiking might wanna skip the ground tour as we only stop for pictures, do some brief hiking. But doing the trails without a local guide MAY be dangerous, and the buses in Taroko will only arrive once an hour. I didn't like the idea of hiking alone (possibly) so that's the only option I am left with.
- I personally loved the national park, as the views were so remarkable. The limestone were really pretty to look at!
- Lunch @ Taroko National Park Restaurant (NTD 266)
- You have no choice but this if you follow the ground tour.
- I am unsure if they have other restaurants here, but you can pack your lunch if you plan to hike anyway
- Dinner @ Hualien Town Center (NTD 75)
- Zhoujia Dumplings - really good!
- Exploding Chong You Bing - this is one food that I'd totally miss from here. I'm sorry I forgot the name, but it's the stall in the alley with a lot of people queuing for it. Eat with proper care as the eggs would explode. Hahaha. My shirt was dirty after eating it, although warned!
Total Day 2: NTD 1125/ MYR 150
DAY 3
- Whale Watching (NTD 800)
- Also booked with my hostel as it was really convenient. There is only one company operating for the whale watching, which IMO really great. At least the place will not be overwhelmed by people. There's only one ship going out to watch for every three hours.
- There will be an educational introduction before you board the ship at the HQ office of the tour company
- Keep in mind although it says whale watching - its actually more of dolphins.
- I saw a type of dolphins - Spinner dolphins and crossed a bucket list (:
- Pine Garden (NTD 50)
- I asked the ground tour driver to drop me here :)) Taiwanese are very, very nice people, so when you ask for help you usually get it!
- The Japanese HQ when they were in Taiwan, great for the gram.
- Super pretty with pine trees all around, overlooking the sea.
- Nothing too cultural inside, more of a hipster market now
- Lunch @ Lai Cheng Paigu Mian (NTD 90)
- 10-15 minutes walk from Pine Garden
- Not bad!
- Reading Time Second hand book store (FREE)
- Super cute, looks like a scene that would appear in Miyazaki's films.
- They open at 1 PM so be aware!
- Cab back to On My Way (NTD150)
- I walked for more than 90 minutes to search for two cafes where 1. was closed due to PH 2. was closed for temporary renovations LOL
- With that kind of luck I just gave up and hailed a cab back cos my legs were breaking
- Vegetarian Buffet (NTD220)
- Just did one of the bravest thing I thought I could do - which is eating a buffet all by myself
- LOL When I was eating the buffet at the KL tower, I saw a lady doing it alone and I was so in awe and wow fast forward four months later, look who's talking
- Mini music show @ On My Way Hostel (FOC)
- Super duper nice. I was so lucky as this was the first time they held this.
DAY 3 Total: NTD 1310/MYR 175
DAY 4
- Breakfast @ Good Morning MACC (NTD 150)
- Taiwan has a really cute culture of breakfast cafe which I would LOVE if they have it in Malaysia.
- It has a menu that provides west+east fusion for breakfast where I absolutely love
- Train from Hualien to Taipei (NTD440)
- Also booked online!
- Lunch @ 7-E (NTD 54)
- Travel 1 DAY Pass (NTD 150)
- Please find for the poster that explains the differences between all these passes: Tourist 1 day, 24 hours pass. When I asked this to the crew, I said what's the difference? And after she explained I was still so blurred, I took the 1 day pass to realize the difference is it can only be used today while 24 hours is legit for 24 hours from now.
- So noob. I purchased the 1 day one because I saw the poster of explanation after
- Treasure Hill Artist Village (FREE)
- This is a really nice place! They have exhibitions and quaint cafes/shops for souvenirs which is my kind of place.
- Instagrammable!
- Dinner @ Ximending (NTD90)
- Wanted to go for this ruroufan raved by my friend but it was closed (what luck!)
- So I just simply picked one and ate
- Red House @ Ximending
- Artsy fartsy markets indoor and outdoor
DAY 4 TOTAL: NTD 884/ MYR 118
DAY 5
- MOCA Taipei (NTD 50)
- This was a contemporary arts museum that was just opposite my hostel, so I went to visit. During my time there was a photography exhibition
- Lunch @ Jinfeng Ruroufan (NTD 120)
- Not too bad!
- MRT to Airport (NTD160)
3. Total Expenses
Flight (KUL-TPE-KUL) = MYR 755
Accomodation = MYR 243
Expenses = MYR 659
Grand Total = MYR 1657
4. What to pay attention to in HuaLien
- Taiwanese in general speaks Mandarin and Hokkien dialect, where they call it "Minan" Language. They use the traditional characters in their writing, where some people may find it hard to understand, but fear not as most of the young people can speak brief English. Although I'm Chinese, I did not undergo formal Chinese education, BUT I did read from I was very young, especially from Taiwanese authors so I don't have problem reading the signs, but sometimes they do speak too well for me to fathom. But no worries, they're very nice people.
- Hualien is a relatively quiet place if you compare to other parts of Taiwan, it's considered a country side - I heard from an uncle that it's the biggest county in Taiwan, but with the less amount of people. Hence, it's very empty - at least I thought so.
- There's no MRT in Hualien, so the only mode of transports are either renting a scooter/bike or you take the cab. You can take the bus, but it's definitely 10 times more complicated. I mostly walk.
- If you want to take the cab, be sure they follow the meter. They're suppose to.
BONUS! Taiwan 7-E Postcards Hack
If you are an avid photography fan, you should want to print the scenery photos and change them into postcards right? Well, Taiwan's 7-E actually provide this service and the quality of paper is crazy amazing. Love it! AND! It's only NTD 6/ piece which is like 80 cents per piece - WORTH IT!
Of course you have to pay for the stamps. But yes, do it! You only need to download an app which is free, it's called "ibon", register your TW mobile number/e-mail and you're good to go! Don't worry about asking the staffs, they'll teach you step by step.
Thank you for reading guys!
I hope you enjoy or somehow find my travelling posts helpful, in any way!
Maybe I'll do a solo travel tips I find helpful during this trip?