Taiwan 2.4: Taroko Gorge and the Baiyang Trail

When I first looked at Taiwan, the Taroko Gorge immediately went to the top of my list of things to see.  Unfortunately, I just couldn't make it work during my first trip.  For this second trip, I had to decide between east coast or west coast.  It would just take too long to go first to one and then to the other.  I decided on the west.  About two weeks before the trip, I changed my mind and made the Taroko Gorge a focus.

We went to Taipei Main Station and then took a two hour normal speed train to Xuilin Station.  While planning, I had to decide between staying just on the outside of the park, within walking distance of the entrance, and a small town a thirty minute drive inside the Gorge.  I decided this because I really wanted to feel like I was in the middle of things.  It is a cute little town within walking distance of two hikes and has a small hike to a temple inside town.  Unfortunately, a negative of staying here is that they do not flush toilet paper.  I've tried to avoid having to deal with something like this in my travels, but I could avoid it no longer.  Luckily, we could just use the hotel restrooms if I end up using the bathroom too often.

By the time we got settled, I decided that we would just do the nearest hike, the Baiyang Trail.  We packed up our camera gear and just outside, we encountered monkeys.  Back inside I went, to get my longer lens.  I brought it with me on the hike, but I did not find any use for it there.  Luckily, we again saw monkeys as we neared town.

On the trail we encountered quite a few tunnels, though none as long as the starting tunnel.  It is nice to have cell phone flashlights.  At the end of the trail was a shaky bridge and a set of waterfalls.  I carefully read the sign and it said that the bridge had a maximum capacity of merely ten people.  This did not inspire confidence to me.

We ended the day by picking up food at the town's 7-11.  We learned from Andrew that the 7-11s here actually heat up your food if you end up buying one of their meals.  We ended up doing so and they threw it into a set of dual microwaves.  It ended up being surprisingly good!