Taiwan was incredible. The food was awesome, the people are friendly, and the countryside was simply amazing. At times Taiwan and Hong Kong can seem very similar but its the little things in Taiwan that make it such an amazing place. For instance, the way people treat each other in Taiwan is so much more friendlier. This never occurred to me until my friend pointed out how rough this old couple were talking to each other on the bus right after we came back. It was kind of funny actually. There were plenty of times where we were completely lost in Taiwan, and we were only able to find our way with the help of random strangers coming up to us. I dont think I've ever had a random stranger come up and help me find directions in Hong Kong. Dont get me wrong, I love Hong Kong. If I had to choose where to live for the rest of my life between the two, it would definitely be HK. Maybe its the fast paced life style that people are accustomed to in HK that make them so cold. >.< One other thing that I prefer over in Taiwan is the way store employees react to customers. They greet you and mind their business and only come to help you when you ask. That's the way it should be IMO. In HK, the moment you step into a store you will be suffocated by at least two associates pestering you the entire time. I understand they're just doing their job and all that, but trust me, it gets really annoying. Listen, I dont need you to tell me these pink skinny jeans look good on me, I already know that. /rant.

There's so many beautiful areas of Taiwan I'm kind of disappointed we didn't spend more time sight seeing. However, the one place that we did end up going to was amazing. We had to wake up at 5 a.m in order to catch a two hour train ride to Hua Lien which is on the outskirts of Taiwan. From there we attempted to rent scooters - which should have been very simple because everyone else seems to be able to rent them w/o any licenses or anything - but for some strange reason she wouldn't let us. I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to riding the scooters the entire time. We ended up settling for this mini tour around the countryside which ended up being a great idea. It was a short drive to Taroko National Park which is where most of the pictures come from. The first area we stopped at which was the Shakadang trail was probably the most impressive. We hiked for a little over an hour and as you can see from the pictures its a narrow trail that takes you along the ledge of the river. We got a little adventurous and decided to hop over the rail and climb down to the river to take pictures. That was probably the highlight of the trip.

If you look closely at the middle of this picture, there is a face of an Indian guy. The moss is his tribal hat.

We stopped at several other areas inside the park and walked around but nothing too special. The driver took us to this beautiful beach at the end of the day. It was a much needed rest for all of us as we just sat there and watched the waves crash onto the shore.  

It was a great trip. Although we didnt get to go to as many places as I wanted to, we were able to do a little bit of everything and get a taste of Taiwanese culture. It really is an amazing place with great people and even greater food.