Day 4: How to travel from Taipei to Hualien

Time flies, it's day 4 in Taiwan already, and it's time to head over to Hualien.
With TRA train, it takes about 2-3 hours to reach Hualien.
We managed to book the Taroko Express which is a mere 2hr 15 mins ride there.
Tickets can be purchased from the TRA counter at Breeze Centre, Taipei Main mrt station too, there're lots of directional signs to direct you to the place you want to go, no worries on that.
Alternatively, you can try to book tickets online http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/

Better book the train tickets early as it can get sold out fast, we went the purchase the tickets on our first Day or 2nd I think but we have trouble getting the return tickets so end up taking the longer and older train back to Taipei the next day. Takes about 3 hours.

cos we book the tickets late, only the 2pm train is available so we spent the morning and early afternoon around Ximending again since it's gona be our last day at Ximending area...

and finally...remember this stall

the infamous Ah Zhong Mian Xian

Since it's a rainy weekday morning and there's no Q so....

we've finally tried the Ah Zhong Mian Xian. it taste HORRIBLE! maybe we hate the smell of those pork..i think the intestines won't cleaned properly so i spit out all of them..forcing just the mian xian down...aarghh...

  

Mr Keir is craving for his Oyster Omelette again! So we head into one of the local eatery at Ximending to grab a bite...

even the mee sua here is nicer than Ah Zhong's Mee Sua loh!!!!

that's Mr. Keir's favourite Oyster Omelette...

and then it's time to head back to Taipei Main Station to catch our HSR! Taipei main station is just one mrt stop away from Ximending heh..initially we wanted to leave our big luggage at the hotel and go Hualien with our hand carry but since we are not staying at Ximending area when we come back Taipei the next day, it's a hassle to come all the way just to pick our luggage..

So Mr. Keir decided to bring all of our luggage along with us hehz...

Oh their trains are really on time so better be punctual else they will leave without you...
When the train says 2pm it really means, depart at 2pm so you gotta be on the train by 2pm.

finally onboard Taroko Express - it's also called the scenic route...

pretty scenery along the way...

more scenery...

tadah! that's our hotel, Hotel Bayview at Hualien. Chose this hotel specifically just for it's seaview!

We love the sea view, just that the weather's getting really gloomy hence it may not do justice to the place in the photos..

tadah..our seaview room...it costs about NT2300 or so if i'm not wrong. Also about SGD100 per night.
Oh ya, there's free WIFI in the room too, in fact there's Free Wifi in all of the hotel we stay.
We made that a criteria for selection of hotels ahaha...

 tadah love the bathroom here!! the bath tub simply smells Vintage!!
yeah no doubt abit small but just nice for 1 pax. Mr. Keir doesn't enjoy soaking in bath..haha..

 i love the rain shower head tooo..!! shiok!!!

tadah! my bubble bath is ready!!!!

The hotel's very cosy, they even have a cafe for you where you can have free flow of coffee and tea and some biscuits. There are 2 computers for you to use there too..the wi-fi signal is strongest at this lobby as well..

nice, cosy place! will definitely stay in this hotel again if we were to visit Hualien again.

Alrightey, it's time to venture out!! though the sky is getting dark and gloomy, we still managed to explore the coast a little.

The coast here is au naturale with pebbles of all sizes along the coast instead of sand.

Also no swimming is allowed as we heard the sea level deeps every few steps so it's very dangerous to play in the water.

There're alot of people fishing though, at first we're wondering how do you fish near the coastline, little did we know that the water can be really deep just a few steps from the costs, that explains the vast number of fishing addicts along the coast.

 the coast and sea looking so calm..

so relaxing....water is so clear

and we found a dead mini sword fish amidst the pebbles!!

When night falls, there isn't much to do at Hualien except to go to their night market in the city..so here we go...

More of food street we think...

actually when you've been to one night market in Taiwan, the rest are all very similar, the only difference is in their size.

The on not-so-good thing about Hotel Bayview is its location, it's a distance from the city and no cabs will come in so you have to arrange with the hotel receptionist to book a cab for you. 

The charges are reasonable though, cost about SGD15 to fetch us to and fro.

 that's the night market...

 this stall is quite popular, recommended by the Shi Shang Da Wan Jia before..
so we thought of giving it a try...

 ok little did we know so it's actually bread!
cos what's written on the menu is this "Black pepper beef, butter crab, satay chicken bla bla bla"
So in my mind i was thinking about the real stuff like Butter crab..woohoo!!!
taste is so-so only..

 hop over to another stall selling noodles..since Mr. Keir is having craving for Beef noodles again.

 apparently it seems like their signature should be their Lamb meals lolx...

here's Mr Keir's Dry Beef Noodles...the thing about taiwan food stalls, just step into any of the stalls and the food all taste quite ok!! 

So this marks the end of our Day 1 in Hualien..rest and relax, pop by to 7-11 to stock up on drinks and snacks before heading back hotel to nua again..haha

Day 1 Taiwan Honeymoon: Singapore - Taipei, TS Hotel
Day 2 Taiwan Trip: Jiufen & Taipei Main Citymall
Day 3: Zhongxiao Dunhua Rd, Wufenpu and Raohe Night Market
Day 4: How to travel from Taipei to Hualien
Day 5 - Hualien - Taroko Gorge
Day 6 & 7: Star Beauty Resort Hotel Review- Taipei Shihlin Market, Miramar Entertainment Centre