The Wandering Bear

Last day in 花莲. 

We went for to cycle on the right sidetrail.  Our train is at 12 plus, so we have some time to explore on our own.  

We found some duckies. 

Geese

And horse!!! It's beside a race track, there were a few stables. Think they are race horses, so beautiful!

This is what I expect to find in a farm!!

After we checked out, the 民宿 lady drive us to this shop to buy 便当to eat on the train. 

猪扒

鲁肉

花莲-台北

Please buy your train tickets ahead of time. The 便当 is awesome. 

Exploring 台北 right after we checked in our hotel. It is just beside the main station, so it's super convenient for us to get around. 

We got the 悠遊卡 (youyou travel card) and top-up with NT$500 for our few days in Taipei.

We used this because we can get a refund at the end rather than buying the 3 days tourist pass.

If you are expecting to take the public transport alot, then the tourist pass with unlimited ride access will be a better option.

We are only travelling a few places in one day, and didnt mind taking a long walk, so the youyou travel card is more suitable for us.

台北 Day 1

First stop: 永康街

Metro Station: 東門站 (DongMen Station)

葱抓饼

汤包

炒饭

高记

I think it's not bad compared to ding tai feng. 

Of course we need dessert!

Bread shop that looks so classy and have lots of bread that look so delicious!

Second stop: Shopping time at 五分铺！

Metro Station: 後山埤站 (Houshanpi Station)

A lot of good deals for winter jackets and clothings. 

Third stop: 绕河夜市

You can walk here from 五分铺 by following the directions to Song Shan Station.

Metro Stop:松山火车站 (SongShan Station)

We tried a lot of snacks here. Too crowded to take photo of the food though. 

Really long night market compared to those in 花莲.

After 30 mins, we only covered one side of the night market.

Third day, we woke up to try to see the sun rise. But it was too gloomy and cloudy. 

Since we were already up and our tour don't start till 8:30, we decided to make full use of the bikes provided and go for a ride. 

There are a lot of cyclist in Taiwan. Hence, the cycling paths are quite far stretch. 

And, you don't have to worry about traffic. 

Another bonus: Dogs!!!

Taiwanese loves dogs as pets. I couldn't resist to playing with one. 

We turned back at 7 after an hour and half ride. But still have ample of time. So we decided to take a peek at the right side paths (we took the left today) which we will explore the next day. 

The view will be prettier if the sun could peek out. 

Breakfast for the day. Throughout our three days, we got 3 different kinds. I think they gave us different ones to try.

Our tour has started!

Today's tour: 花莲纵谷线

First stop: 云山水

A retired prof decided to hyped this place up as a tourist site. Beautiful lake. 

Look out for bears!

Looks like a lovely painting

Second stop: 林田山

I think this is an old railway station. Took lots of pictures of the tracks. 

Third stop: 满妹猪脚

Lunch time!!!

I would recommend at least 4 person to share a small portion of the pork feet. They give loads of it. 

I nibbled a few. My first time eating pork feet cause I couldn't deny P of not ordering their special. 

Along the way. 

Fourth stop: 北回归线

There was only this at that place, which I have no idea why is it a tourist spot. 

But! We dropped by a tea house beside it, and got some coffee to share. 

The friendly lady let us try a special combo. Red tea with coffee. 

Tea leaves with the little insects. These insects help to bring out the sweetness of the tea. 

I am not a pro in tea drinking, so I couldn't understand what she meant. Though the red tea has a special honey sweetness to it. 

Fifth stop: 瑞穗农场

A lot of the dairy products are from this farm, but I think this place is too commercialized. 

The cows are too far away to take a good picture :(

I was quite disappointed with this especially. 

Who goes to a farm and expect not to see animals?

Well, at least I get some ostrich. 

We sneaked off to the further end of the farm, and got a few good shots. These cows are have not gone through immunization, so they were segregated from the crowd.

Look at that tongue!!

They have a cafe and a souvenir shop there. So we tried their milk pudding and cheese cake. 

Final stop:光复糖厂

Another commercial stop. 

We found more trains and railway tracks. 

And found the sugar factory too! 

They have a mini museum to showcase some equipment. 

After that, we just walk along the street to  kill some time. 

End of tour. 

Overall, it was a very relaxing tour.

MUch of a disappointment if you compared it to the one before.

Nonetheless, it was nice to look around.

I would not recommend this tour to those who are keen to go for a more adventurous/exciting travel.

More of a park/let's chill kinda tour.

We head back to town centre after the tour. Found a nice shop to try. 

The noodles are nice, but I didn't like the vegetables. It was cold. 

We make use of our time to explore town on our last night here. 

Desserts!