Blond-E in Asia: Hualien, Day Two

So, Monday was our second and final day in Hualian. We wanted to make the most of it and see the major sites, so we booked a tour guide. For about $27 US each, Well (tour guide's name) took us around the Taroko National Park area for about 6 or 7 hours. Amazing deal!

First we headed to the Shakadang Trail, where we hiked along the gorge for about 1.5 hours. This trail passes through aborigine reserve land. Some areas are still farmed by the people of the Taroko tribe. They make a living by transporting goods along the trail on motorcycles. Along the trail, we actually came upon their souvenir stands. The guy below was making (weaving) bracelets and other similar items to sell to those tourists hiking along the trail.

If I could describe in words the beauty of this place, I would. The pictures below can only give you a small glimpse of what we experienced.

The start of the trail

Lindsey and me posing for a pic

SO BLUE!

There was a path that led us down to the river, so of course we
had to go dip our toes in the crystal blue water

Zen Lindsey

Eventually we had to get back onto the main path
and continue our hike. Well was waiting for us.

So pretty

I was really close to bringing this little one home with me

We did site a view forest residents along the way (see image below). I was a little freaked out after seeing this guy and a number of his friends.

I would never make it in the wild

After the hike, we headed to the next stop on the Taroko Park tour, which was another part of the gorge. Here, they gave us mandatory hard hats to wear, as protection against falling rocks. It was weird how we were the only ones wearing them though.

Hard hats, they're so in this season.

The splintered rail wasn't a dead giveaway

Gorge: a deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides
Yep, I would categorize this as a gorge.

The next stop was a temple, built in the 1950s (I believe). Yes, a quick Google search confirmed that the Buddhist Xiangde Temple was completed in 1968, after the Central Cross-Island Highway was completed. Below are the pics.