It is our day to Hualien.

Had wanted to wear our normal jackets out. Thankfully, the people at the hotel reception warned us that the day's weather had turned cold and we had better wear something thicker. Of course. we'd to listen to the locals, we got the keys and headed back to our rooms to change to our thicker coats

Had earlier engaged the services of a taxi guide and he'll meet us at the Hualien station. The train ride to Hualien takes about 2.5 hours. We bought our breakfast at the 7-11 at the station and had it on the train. The rest of the ride was spent sleeping. Good that we brought along those inflatable pillows for this trip...

Arriving at Hualien, we met our taxi guide, Mr Lu Lai Fu. Knowing that he is such a sought-after guide, I had made the booking since September. His schedule is already up till Mar/ Apr.

Mr Lu Lai Fu (吕来福)
Mobile phone: +886-09-2856-9081 (drop the first 0 if calling from Singapore)
Rates: NT$2,200 (up to 4 pax) + NT$500 for Cingshui Cliff

Along the way to Cingshui Cliff, we picked up our boxes of packed lunch from one of the eateries. Coincidentally, we met a troop of people going around from shop to shop to garner votes for the Local elections that will be held on Saturday. A scene we usually see over the news appears right before our eyes. Could not resist taking a few shots of the action...

Places we had covered today include:
Cingshui Cliff (清水断崖)
Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道), also known as Mysterious Valley Trail (神秘谷)
Swallow Grotto (燕子口)
Tunnel Of Nine Turns (九曲洞)
Cihmu Bridge (慈母桥)

A pity that we were unable to reach the Baiyang Trail (白杨步道) and Water Curtain Cave (水帘洞) as they are still under reconstruction; destroyed during the typhoon earlier this year.

Before sending us to the station for our train back to Taipei, Mr Lu brought us to have our dinner of dumplings and wantons and to taste the 葱油饼. Then, we headed to 曾记 near the train station to get some freshly-made muah chee and other local products.

We were real tired after all the walking and trekking today. Planned for a more relaxed day tomorrow.