15/6 Taipei → Hualien （台北→花莲）
花莲市区（小吃、午餐）→公正包子→京湘排骨面→庙口红茶→蓮城蓮花池→慕谷慕魚→花莲糖厂→芊草园（晚餐）→瑞穗溫泉住宿：東岡秀川
Taking the 0820hrs 自强号 train from Taipei Main Station, we arrived at Hualien at 1050hrs.
Tip 1: Purchase your tickets early! Hualien is also a popular destination for a weekend getaway for the locals. I was lucky to purchase the tickets for the earlier train as someone cancelled his booking. Some trains will pass by mountains while some will pass by the coastline. Select the one with the shortest travelling time. :)
Tip 2: One can only purchase up to 4 tickets per day. If you need to buy return tickets, you will have to do so the next day, if not, use your travelling mate's passport number. The system went haywire when I purchased mine. Even though I used my parents' passport number to inquire availability of tickets, somehow the system recognized the number thinking I had already purchased tickets using the number. As a result, I could only buy the return tickets the next day. :S
To purchase train tickets : http://railway.hinet.net/ (交通部台湾铁路管理局）
Remember to print out the receipt and exchange your tickets at the TRA station at least 30 minutes before departure. Queues can get quite long, so it will be good to buffer time for this.
Tip 1: Purchase your tickets early! Hualien is also a popular destination for a weekend getaway for the locals. I was lucky to purchase the tickets for the earlier train as someone cancelled his booking. Some trains will pass by mountains while some will pass by the coastline. Select the one with the shortest travelling time. :)
Tip 2: One can only purchase up to 4 tickets per day. If you need to buy return tickets, you will have to do so the next day, if not, use your travelling mate's passport number. The system went haywire when I purchased mine. Even though I used my parents' passport number to inquire availability of tickets, somehow the system recognized the number thinking I had already purchased tickets using the number. As a result, I could only buy the return tickets the next day. :S
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| Grab some food for the train ride to complete your train experience :) |
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| Some trains are smaller - Lack of space to store luggage |
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| View from the train...approaching the countryside :) |
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| Crops...A harvest is coming? |
Remember to print out the receipt and exchange your tickets at the TRA station at least 30 minutes before departure. Queues can get quite long, so it will be good to buffer time for this.
After meeting up with our guideY 铭 at the Hualien Train Station, we headed to Hualien city for our lunch. We tried the 公正包子, sold at NT$5 per bun or NT$50 per basket of 10. Very small but comes with a big taste. Worth trying!
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| 皮很Q |
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| 新鲜的猪肉～多汁 |
公正包子
地址：花蓮縣花蓮市中山路199號之2
電話：(03) 834-2933
營業時間：24
Next up was lunch at 京湘排骨面。Popular with the locals. Did not see any tourists around. :) Handmade noodles was good. Very fresh vegetables too!
京湘排骨面
地址：花蓮縣花蓮市中山路145號
電話：(03) 832-2625
營業時間：10:30~22:00
A few mins drive down the road brought us to 庙口红茶。This shop serves excellent peanut soup and other dessert and beverages. It was interesting to see tea flowing down from 3 different pipes. :) Definitely a 古早味 shop.
廟口紅茶
花蓮市成功街216號
電話：(03)-832-384
營業時間：24小時
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| 花莲古早味 |
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| 新鲜的空心菜 |
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| 招牌排骨拉面 |
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| 手工面 |
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| 中间：龙须菜 |
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| 当地人也爱 |
京湘排骨面
地址：花蓮縣花蓮市中山路145號
營業時間：10:30~22:00
A few mins drive down the road brought us to 庙口红茶。This shop serves excellent peanut soup and other dessert and beverages. It was interesting to see tea flowing down from 3 different pipes. :) Definitely a 古早味 shop.
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| 各式点心饮料 |
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| 强力推荐～入口即化的花生汤 |
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| 古早店 |
廟口紅茶
花蓮市成功街216號
電話：(03)-832-384
營業時間：24小時
After a heavy lunch, we went on to 莲城莲花园, a private establishment at the countryside. Visitors are welcomed at no admission charges. Had 莲花茶, courtesy of the owner. We had a fun time dipping our arms and legs in a cooling stream and also fed some fishes. A very relaxing place.
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| Some crops nearby |
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| 莲花茶 |
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| 干杯！ |
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| 玉米 |
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| 为了饲料，暂时游到水面 |
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| 抢啊！ |
One of the places I was looking forward to was 慕谷慕鱼 (Mukumugi)。Thanks to Y 铭 who collected the passes for us early in the morning. We were among the 300 people given entry to the scenic place in the afternoon. Due to narrow roads, the numbers of visitors are controlled at 300 in the morning and another 300 in the afternoon. Driving along a narrow road was not easy. Without Y 铭, we probably would not have been able to make it there ourselves. The rocks and stream composed such a beautiful picture which my camera could not do justice to. It was definitely well worth the effort!
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| 美～ |
Saw some young and adventurous people donning wetsuits and exploring the streams and rocks on foot. An interesting activity called 溯溪 in Hualien!
Caught a glimpse of the van they took. Check out 溯 溪 王 (The River King) and 花莲好野人(Wilds) for more adventurous experience in Hualien. They offer 溯溪、夜间抓虾、百岳登山、潜水教学、夏令营 etc. The hubs was so excited when we chanced upon this. Definitely something we would like to do the next time we come back!
Caught a glimpse of the van they took. Check out 溯 溪 王 (The River King) and 花莲好野人(Wilds) for more adventurous experience in Hualien. They offer 溯溪、夜间抓虾、百岳登山、潜水教学、夏令营 etc. The hubs was so excited when we chanced upon this. Definitely something we would like to do the next time we come back!
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| The Adventurous! |
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| The rope to get down to the stream |
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| Portable changing stations |
Leaving 慕谷慕鱼, we drove down to 鲤鱼潭，where Y Ming showed us a different view of what we have seen before. Somehow it looks like some scenic place in Japan or Europe. :D
The weather was really hot and humid. We decided to drop by 花莲糖厂 after missing out on the ice dessert at 丰春冰果店, a very famous shop. The last bowl of ice was sold out before we reached. Sobs.
The yam ice cream I had was not bad. Loved its texture!
Our last stop was dinner at 芊草园 enroute 瑞穗溫泉 ，a very cosy restaurant located at 瑞穗。I had 药膳小火锅 and was seriously stuffed at the end.
After a short drive, we checked in at 東岡秀川. Had a wonderful time relaxing in my private outdoor hot spring tub despite having some big black beetle on the wall.
東岡秀川 (Higashi Oka Hide Kawa)
地址：花蓮縣瑞穗鄉溫泉路3段2巷31-6号
订房专线：03-887-6896
http://higashi.hlbnb.com.tw/
東岡秀川 (Higashi Oka Hide Kawa)
地址：花蓮縣瑞穗鄉溫泉路3段2巷31-6号
订房专线：03-887-6896
http://higashi.hlbnb.com.tw/
