Just came back from taiwan - Although it's just 1 week, it was a very nice trip.
This is the second time I've been to taiwan, the first time round was only in taipei. This time, I went to Hualien, Kenting and Taipei.
Seriously, taiwan is a under explored, under marketed country - there are many breathtaking scenery and views.
Hualien itself is near to Taroko National Park and this is a very nice national park. In Hualien city itself, they have a very nice beach. I think I sat there for like 1 hour just relaxing and listening to the waves. Just beside the beach, there is a very nice cycling track that for cyclists to enjoy the view and fresh air from the ocean.
Kenting town itself is a very touristy area - just like Taipei. In Kenting, there's also a national park - Kenting National Park. This park is not a popular area for tourists to visit but its quite nice to take a walk. Walk up to the viewing tower and there's breathtaking views with strong winds to relax, listen to your heartbeat and just take it all in. Besides the viewing tower, there are many other interesting sights and species in the national park as well. One interesting feature is that this park has many dead corals - perhaps the whole park was part of the ocean many million years ago.
On the outskirts of Kenting, there are many nice scenery - but mostly inaccessible unless you travel rent your own transport. We rented a scooter and went around which was well worth it. The scenery on the outskirts is just ... woosh~ Especially this cafe at guanshan to view sunset. Peaceful and quiet.
:) It's a nice trip all in all that's comparable to New Zealand - It has sort of rekindled the travel bug in me. Nice.
