Eternal Spring Shrine

As our 5 day bus tour draws to a close, we reach the Eternal Spring Shrine, one of the most picturesque sections of Taroko National Park. To reach it, we first have to walk through this suspension bridge.

You can see the shrine on the side of the mountain while on the bridge.

But first, you have to walk a narrow pathway cut through the side of a cliff. Don't worry, it is safe, but don't look down.

The shrine commemorates the 200+ workers who lost their lives while helping to build the Central Cross Island Highway between 1956 to 1960.

The workers' names are listed inside the shrine.

From the shrine, we look back to where our tour bus is parked way off in the distance.
I was sorry to leave this beautiful place and for the tour to end where we met some great friends.

- Karen

Marble Gorge

My last post of the suspension bridge of which you can kind of see here was a preview to Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan. Taroko means "magnificent and beautiful" and one of the seven national parks in the country.
But, before proceeding to the Swallow Grotto Trail not far from the park's entrance, all visitors must wear a helmet due to falling rocks that have injured and even killed tourists.

We stop here to pick up our helmets.

This worker cleans each helmet after they have been returned.
It does not look like a fun job.

The Swallow Grotto Trail begins here. The tunnel to the left is for cars and the tunnel to the right is for pedestrians.
The trail was named as such due to House Swifts and Pacific Swallows that come to nest nearby, but I did not notice any while I was there.

The cliff wall is very close to the the pathway so I assume some people have tried to climb it; thus, the posted warning sign.

Looking back at the tunnel we just exited, you see the narrow trail in-between the gorge.

You can see people walking along the trail at the top and it is a long way down from there. It can give anyone a case of vertigo.

The boulders at the bottom of the Liwu River are marble rocks; hence, the nickname "Marble Gorge". You can now see the abundance of natural marble in this part of the country to build statues and such as seen in some of my previous posts.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Precarious Walk

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Marble Factory

In a few of my previous posts, you might recall I mentioned the abundance of natural marble rocks found in the eastern part of Taiwan.
Here we visit a marble factory with an attached museum and all the statues you see were created there.

This fountain reminds me of something one might see in Europe.

The entrance to the factory is lined with cute statues of the twelve Chinese Zodiac figures.

Inside the factory, a loud and dangerous-looking machine saws the thick marble.

A worker polishes the previously sawed marble pieces.

What else did I see at the factory?
A "hand" bench.

Two Maneki Neko or "Beckoning Cats".

And, ahem, what is this?
Someone said it is a back massage chair. :)

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Being Watched

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- Karen

Sugary Factory Tour

Not being familiar with this company or brand, our tour group enters this unassuming building not knowing what to expect.

Inside this long corridor with windows into the factory, we enter into a self-guided tour to see how the candy, cookies, desserts, ...etc. are made.



Like many tourist attractions, a gift shop is at the end of the tour.

Everyone is encouraged to try the free samples of the company's products. Needless to say, many of us weren't very hungry for dinner afterwards.

- Karen

Endless Love in Public

The eastern side of Taiwan has an abundant of metamorphic rocks found in nature. These rocks are turned into marble after being cut and polished.
Since 1995, Hualien County has invited stone sculptors from all over the world to participate in its biennial International Stone Sculpture Festival.
Sculptor Filin Gueorgui created "Endless Love" during one of these festivals and it was displayed by the scenic seaside.

The marker next to the sculpture listing the artwork's title and creator.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Bird Bathing

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- Karen

In the Tropics

As a bonus stop by our tour guide, we encountered this large structure.
I have heard of the Tropic of Cancer, but I did not know there are physical markers for it at 9 spots around the world with two in Taiwan alone.

You noticed the marker is divided into two. If you stretch yourself and place a foot on each side, you can say a part of you is in the tropics and the other part is in the "northern temperate zone" of the earth.

If you click to enlarge this worldatlas.com map, it shows that the Tropic of Cancer is 23.5 degrees north of the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5 degrees south of the equator. The area in-between these zones is called "the tropics" where the seasons do not vary much.

- Karen

Cave Exploring

We arrived at a mountain side to find this almost 500 ft. (150m) cave converted into a Buddhist temple known as the Eight Immortals Cave.
Seven other caves exist in the area, but this one is the largest.
You might not be able to really tell from this view, but our tour guide said the opening to this cave is shaped like a part of a woman's body so many young married couples come here to worship hoping to get pregnant.
I read that archaeologists have uncovered various objects from within these caves over time which date back to 25,000 years ago.

Here is a closer look inside the cave where one can come to worship.

These are statues found outside this cave. Sorry, I do not have any information about them other than they are quite eye-catching.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Hillside Condo

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- Karen

Eight-Arch Bridge to Sansientai

Of all the places I visited while in Taiwan, the Eight-Arch Bridge was the most intriguing.
I have never seen a walking bridge with such a unique architecture stretching across the water to another island.
The island of Sansientai (translates to Three Immortals Terrace) in the distance is a nature preserve with three large rock formations. Legend says three of the Eight Immortals from Chinese mythology was here; thus, the three rocks.

It is a hike to get onto the bridge as well as the continuous inclining and declining staircase to get over the arches.
Unfortunately, we only had time to make it through four arches. The winds got stronger as we moved further away from shore to where it felt like we were walking sideways.

Here you have a better view of the up and down motion of travel. It is a workout before you reach the island, but remember to save some energy to make it back to the mainland.

- Karen

Amis Music

One of the benefits of traveling is learning about new cultures.
The Amis culture is one of many indigenous tribes of Taiwan. To preserve its culture, a folk center was created to share its heritage with others. We stopped here on our tour to listen to a traditional musical performance.
From what I read online, the Amis people had a spoken language, but no written language, so many of their history is passed on through folk songs from generation to generation.
I uploaded an abbreviated video below so you can hear a sample of their performance.

I did not realize it at first, but soon noticed that this young performer was playing her flute instrument (or tipolo) by blowing it through her nose.



- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Sparrows

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- Karen

Please Feed Me

Almost everywhere we went in Taiwan, we encountered what I assumed are stray dogs walking the streets and even some highways. It was a sad sight to see some previously injured and walking on three legs.
This one greets us as we returned to our tour bus. He must have gotten used to tourists feeding him.

I walked up onto the bus and looked back at him. He did not move or make a sound even as our bus pulled away.
I thought of my dog back at home and thought how spoiled he is while this one isn't so lucky.

- Karen