WHAT A WEEK!!!
Never in my life have I ever had so much happen to me in so little time! After a jam-packed week when Lee's family first arrived - filled with working full time and then seeing his family every spare minute we had - with trips to Taipei and other such fun places, we then ventured on a week-long tour of Taiwan! We looped the island, hitting every major spot along the way, both planned and unplanned!
The first day we went to Hualien, the city that holds magnificent Taroko Gorge; giant mountains surrounding an enormous gorge filled with rushing water, monstrous rocks and beautiful forests. It was raining here, but we still managed to have a great time! Our tour guide, Eddie, then raced us to a restaurant he knew in order to make it in time for lunch; this, unfortunately, caused a few car members to feel car sick as we sped along windy, twisty mountain roads at full speed. Regardless, everyone still managed to have a great time and at night we all shopped around at a beautiful jade market and watched aboriginal Taiwanese dancers perform!
On the second day, we went to Green Island, a teeny tiny little island that had some of the best snorkelling spots in the world! We took a ferry boat for about an hour to get there (some had to fight through sea sickness but I thought the ride was a lot of fun) and then spent the day exploring the island via a golf cart!! Obviously not everyone in Lee's family could drive a scooter so we rented a golf cart and one scooter for the 6 of us. Man oh man, the stares we got! 6 white people squashed into a golf cart, slooooowly bopping along our way, it was hilarious! It was even MORE hilarious when we attempted to go uphill and the BATTERY DIED!! Stranded on a mountain top on Green Island, we all got separated in an attempt to go get help... it was an adventure! Green Island also has some interesting wildlide, with deer tied to leeshes on sidewalks and giant bulls standing on the side of the road! At night, we enjoyed a relaxing soak in the hot springs and then Lee's family went snorkelling the next morning.
We left that day and stopped at museums and arts 'n crafts shops along the way. We also passed the Tropic of Cancer! We arrived in Kenting that evening, the most beautiful and Southerly point of Taiwan. It was so beautiful, in fact, that we cancelled our next day trip in order to stay there for one more night! The next day there was a high school class trip on the beach and I joined in a ridiculous game of dodgeball involving a beach ball the size of a car! The heat, the sun, the beach, the shopping and night markets and food was all too fabulous to give up! We all got sun burned, but trust me: it was worth it!
On our fourth day we drove North to the middle of the country to see Sun Moon Lake. We stopped along the way at an aquarium which was by fat the most impressive building I'd seen, in both size and content. We walked through tunnels that were in the middle of water; surrounded by fish and rays and coral and sharks and whales and penguins and every colour of the rainbow, it was incredible! Before arriving at the lake, we stopped at a gigantic and lavish Tai monastery, filled with golden statues 4-stories high! At night, we went on a boat ride around the lake and then had a few drinks back on land before dinner!
On our fifth day we went to Taichung, a really cool city that is big and has great shopping but also palm trees and parks, the best of both worlds. We walked and shopped and ate some more! We also saw a GIANT Buddha statue that was 6-stories high and made of gold, quite a sight to see!
On our last day, before making it home, we stopped in two little villages; one specialized in hand-crafted wood carvings and the other in pottery and ceramic figures. A cute touch to end such a wild journey!
Sadly, Lee's parents and aunt left for their long journey home, but at least we got to keep his sister for one more evening of sillyness! She took off today though and left me crying... The family will be greatly missed! Up early every morning, eating and shopping and laughing more than I ever have, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Now I only have 2 weeks until my own family arrives!!
