My big aunt lives in Hualien which is a solid 2 hour train ride from Taipei and that's if you take the more direct train. Other trains can take anywhere from 4-6 hours. My big aunt is my dad's oldest sister. She has always been a somewhat scary/intimidating person in my memories. She's a very take-charge type of person who usually gets her way and I wouldn't dare dishonor her by not going to visit. Besides that, Hualien is beautiful and quite a fun place to visit.
So, I had made plans and decided to go down to Hualien for Day 5 and 6 of my stay in Taiwan. My grandma came with me. Our train was at 7:20am so once again we got up early and went out the door by 6:50am. Unfortunately I didn't get a train lunchbox this trip. It was kind-of early and when I came back it was kind-of late. Train lunch boxes are so tasty, but once again, I'll have to do that next time I visit.
Anyway, my aunt had booked a car/van for us that day and wanted to take us to see the sights as soon as we arrived. The Taroko National Park is located in Hualien and it's beautiful. That was our first destination. Apparently it's really important that you get there first thing in the morning because, honestly, by about noon time there were so many tour buses traveling on the roads in the mountains it was a huge pain to get around and find parking.
Here are some sights. There are a lot more pictures so I think I'll go ahead and do another post on this park.
You use to be able to go all the way down and play in the water, but the driver/guide told me that a while ago they blocked it off to prevent accidents and also to preserve the water's purity. I had to admit, when he was telling me that, I was thinking, Luke would find a way down there and if he got in trouble he'd just play ignorant. :o)
These little Lions carved in marble lined a bridge on the road on both sides. Every single lion is different! It was amazing.
Can you see the head/faces on the side of these mountains?
Can you see the frog shape in the stone on this one? The structure is on top of the frog head if that helps.
I love this picture of my grandma. She's so cute and so happy.
Wow, that's beautiful. Your grandma is so cute, and I think she looks a lot like your dad! Wish you would have got the train lunchbox so you could tell me about some more food :).
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