The Terrific Taiwan Turismo: Hualien travels and the buffalos

Welp, it seemed appropriate for the best day to be followed by the worst day. And relatively speaking…there were zero bad days on this trip. But if I had to pick a least favorite from the week of best days, it would be this day. 

It was a travel day, so we made the most of our morning hours and got up early to play on scooters and hit the beach one last time and still give ourselves an hour to shower before long train rides back up the north east side of the island. 

We found scallion pancakes from a street vendor and more fresh fruit for breakfast. We also pulled over for some breakfast crepes stuffed with eggs and tuna. 

A group of tourists from the mainland were obsessed with Corbin and I. They all wanted photos with the American family. One man took a dozen photos of the two of us in the villa doorway.

We went back to secret beach because the tide was out and I wanted to find more shells during low tide and Corbin and Ryan wanted to swim. 

The tide was out but it was insane. Only took a minute to realize swimming was not a safe option. We had a breakfast picnic on the beach, found the most amazing shells, and met the sweetest families visiting from the mainland with their young kids.  A young father came up out of the water in a wetsuit with a harpoon and 4 fish strapped to his waist. His beautiful wife and adorable toddler pulled up on a motorcycle a minute later and they zoomed away. We were like “what the hunter gatherer beach scene we just witness? Was that aquaman?!”  both boys agreed this guy was “super tuff” and this lifestyle is “so aura”. Ok I agree too. It was kind of the coolest. 

The sweetest older man at the hotel kept taking photos of  Corbin, and got this cute photo of us.  These people really know how to glaze someone up and are too generous with the compliments. I was referred to as their sister a dozen times last week. This is ironic because we realized that with most of the Taiwanese girls that we think are the boys age, you really cannot tell. Their gorgeous flawless skin makes it tough to age anyone, so they could be 12 or 40, one knows, everyone looks 20-25. The boys decided the real reason families are small in Asia is because the women are unapproachable. “What if they’re already a mom? What if I ask out a minor?! Too risky, far too risky to date here” 😂

We lapped the island a final time, then returned the bikes and ferries back to Donggang in Pingtung county. 7-11 lunch this haul was the best one. Pear and apple sprite flavored Slurpees. A pork rice ball. The best ham cheese and egg salad sandwiches. A killer lemon lime tart, candy for the train, and some Bon Bon things. It was like $15 for everything. Also featured here is the hat. Corbin got a link adidas ball cap and Ryan and I got running hats for $7! 

I think mine was left on the plane though. I can’t find it anywhere! 

We got to the train station and discovered the high speed rail was sold out and next one didn’t leave for 2 hours. So we left our bags on the counter with the info desk lady and set out for an adventure. We searched “spa” and walked 10 minutes with a plan to get massages. 

Buuuut the “spa” was actually a hair salon. This lady knew zero English and was obsessed with Corbin and Ryan. They are pretty funny. I’m obsessed with them too. We talked to some cousin of hers on the phone, and Corbin texted that we had kidnapped him into her translator tool. We laughed until our faces hurt and then found the actual spa a block and a half away. 

At this point we only had an hour. Corbin got a shiatsu massage and Ryan had feet. I was a little surprised when they didn’t take him to a table or anything. The couple who ran the spa were also very fond of the boys and everyone was cracking up during our time there. I could hear Corbin’s back popping and cracking. Crazy. 

Um MY massage experience was a different. She took me into a curtained room and I changed into a robe/drape thing that felt very much like a hospital gown/mammogram cape. then I was face up on the table while she used an ox tail bone to scrape my scalp within an inch of my life. She promised I would have the best sleep ever after. 

What like a coma? I did have a bruised cranium after this. 

The wild part was when the boys were like “why are you yelling back there? And she just like… invited them in! I had no idea they were standing there inside the curtain TAKING CHOPPED PHOTOS” and laughing at my pain while I assume she was tattooing her initials into the top of my head. Also, I was like…in a towel?! I mean, there was also a sheet and blanket completely over me, so they had no idea I had undressed, but still? Who invites someone’s kids into a massage? Everyone just chatted (using an ai translator app with the funny robotic voice over) and laughed the whole time too. Quite the vibe. Definitely not relaxing, but we had a fun time. And I think I maybe spent $30, so no loss really. My hair was definitely an oily teased out situation after though and I was glad to have my new hat to shove it under for the train ride to Hualien. 

The cute masseuse gifted me all sorts of chapstick and beauty things, told me my sons are very handsome and “display great integrity” (I think because they declined all the tea products they tried to offer them during my massage) and had me pose with the double peace sign, which she filterer into a boomerang video and AI glammed us up! She air dropped it to me. What an adventure this was. We laughed about it all day and decided to find another spa in Hualien for a more typical massage experience. (Oh boy. Typical is not what we found next time either. But it was awesome. Stay tuned!) 

This country is breathtaking. Beach vibe sandy coastal glory, rice patties, maritime harbours, mountains, foggy villages, skyscraper high rise cities, and factory towns. We took the train up the east side this time (to complete our circle of the country). I had planned on a nap, but there was SO much to see. The train went from rice patties to mountain tunnels to oceanic cliffs that compete with the Carmel/monterey 17 mile drive. Just gorgeous. 

We checked into the inn and ordered tomorrow’s “breakfast”. I love Chinese brekkie. It’s just food. And it’s delicious. We chose toasted jelly sandwiches, a tuna club, and xiaolongbao of course because we can’t get enough. 

The Dongdanen night market was across the street from our inn, so we went to that from 9-11pm. 

This market was sub par compared to the Raohe market. The main reason was the smell. There was a weird stink in the air. We figured it’s the ocean. The coast line was literally across the street. But it smelled kind of like booty to be honest, and it was sweltering hot. Definitely affected the vibe. It’s tough to be excited about fried foods when you’re so sweaty. 

We got some famous Taiwanese fried sweet potato balls. These were SO light and fluffy! Photos make them appear dense but it’s like biting a crispy pong pong ball airy donut. Super good, we bought a second batch immediately. We also ate mini sausages and then couldn’t take the smell any more while waiting for the tofu Ryan was so excited about. The tofu at Lin’s is his go-to dish. Ryan hammers the first bite and made a face. 

A concerned face. 

He turned around and took a step back. 

Oh dear. 

All the market signs were advertising “STINKY tofu”. 

Thats what we were smelling! And the taste was exactly what it sounds like.  Stinky. 💀💀💀

We gave up on being adventurous offer trying the accidental stinky tofu and bought sausages on sticks (so good) and got an order of Korean fried chicken to take back  to the inn with us. Corbin found a harmony to keep cool while we waited for our chicken to cook. 

We finished the night on the beach. There were these gigantic concrete structures placed as surf breakers along the shore. We climbed up on some to watch the wild tide crashing in the distance. I don’t have any photos of these, they were way out and it was dark. But it was like the scene in Moana where the water walks up around baby Moana to speak to her. Just a wall of sea that doesn’t break.  These waves were not like anything I have seen before. The tide was waaaaaaay out. Water would swell up like a wall that was 10-12 feet high and then break out in the distance. It was not like waves that roll in one after another. We climbed all the way down to the last row of concrete things. Ryan hopped down to the sand and walked out to the water’s edge. I had a talk with Corbin, took some pics, and FaceTimed the family. 

We sat and noticed the concrete things (that were 8 -10 feet above the sand) were WET. Panic.

“RYANNNN! Come back! The tide!” 

A little frothy edge of water came up to lick at Ryan’s ankles. 

And it violently ripped the sandals right off his feet as he stood in the sand. It left and he made a mad dash for the concrete things and climbed up on top of the closest one just as a sweeper wave with a. 8 foot swell rushed in from 20 yards out! I thought it was going to swallow him up. He did too 😂. He held onto the concrete and got drenched and his legs were pelted with granite stones tossed up by the wave. The mighty Pacific Ocean showed no mercy!  As soon as the wave was gone, it looked mellow on the coastline again. Ryan scrambled over to us and the 3 of us watched from a much farther, higher and safer distance. Then we went up to the rooftop balcony garden at our inn and the boys spent some time out there. What a day! So many laughs, so many pretty things and fun people encounters, and so many unexpected adventures. At the end of each day we played “high low buffalo” and this entire day was full of buffalos. Type B vacation!