<Rant> I find E-ink readers to be the best way to read documents, books, comics, etc...while traveling. I like tablets for video, games, and the like but I don't own one since they don't do anything my phone doesn't, except for do all of it “bigger”. Reading while traveling for longer stays as with my case—a year—means you'd need to bring a ton of books, manga, and comics. I had to root my Nook to be allowed to read comic books in a format that most people keep them on the Internet (.cbz & .cbr). If you're not familiar with Rooting Android devices (Nook runs Android underneath everything), just think of Rooting as unlocking the device so you have full access on it. … … and yeah, I recommend an E-ink reader for reading in long durations and for travel overall. I would also recommend before you buy one that you make sure if will open all of the file types you want/need. The Nook Touch is both inexpensive and has a very long battery life if just reading and the having the WiFi off. What my Nook didn't do was open my comics, basic text files, and .html files (web pages) that I had saved—until I rooted it. There are tricks to getting around all of this that don't require Rooting. Converting things to a different format such as PDF or picture files (.Jpeg, .bmp, etc...) from their original format will get them to open on most devices like the Nook Touch, but I figure I payed for the device so why should I have to work harder to have it do what I want? And, just so you know I haven't found an E-ink reader that can do it all without modification. </Rant> (that was HTML code for End Rant :)
As I was saying, I read on the train due to not being able to see the scenery. I used my Nook Touch to read a manga called Battle Royal, which is also a live action movie that I'd recommend if you don't mind subtitles (a Japanese Movie). My first experience on the train was good.
Navigating trains aren't too bad because they try to make it simple for those that don't know Chinese. My recommendation for the first few times on the train is getting to the train station early to allow yourself an hour grace period. The grace period should give you enough time to make sure you know where to get on your train and anything else that might become a barricade on while trying to get to your destination.
Arriving in Hualien later at night didn't provide for much excitement but it did provide the start to a very wet trip. It didn't start raining in Hualien, until after we had dropped off our belongings at Amigos Hostel. We went out for some food and called it a night. My stay at Amigos was short but very nice. I hadn't been to any other Hostels up to this point but the place was fairly clean, with good services, and the attendants were very friendly as well. On departing they took our photo and I made a new FaceBook friend.
Our first bus out of Hualien took us to the beginning of the Taroko National Park. We took one more bus to our camp grounds. What we liked about the specific place we picked out was they had both raised wooden platforms so we weren't on the ground and a few places that had an overhang to keep our tents dry. There are other camp sites around the national park but they didn't have the coverings. The place is great for camping but make sure you bring rope and a tarp so you can create your own cover because even under the covers you can still get a little wet since the decks let water travel along the long stretches of wood. I'd also have a backup plan if you go during Chinese New Year, because it was very busy.
The trails around the area provide some beautiful sites, but if you take the longer trail in the area, which is 5.5 km then make sure you give yourself the full recommended time of 5.5 hours because it is a brutal hike if not in shape. We got the trail accomplished in about 3.5 hours but it did wear me out some. At the end of the hike were some natural hot springs but located in a very small area and when we went very busy with Taiwanese people and other tourists. I didn't mind it being busy but the water was so hot I couldn't get in deeper than my shins nor for very long. A few people were able to lounge up to their neck in it. The belief is that going from the hot water to the cold river water and back is good for you. I didn't find it very enjoyable. You can also get to the hot springs from the road, which I'd take if you're low on time or physical stamina. On the way back we took the road to the camp site and dined on some of the local foods.
The camping went smoothly enough for everything except my knees and hip. I slept mostly on my sides and we didn't bring any extra padding. Rachelle stayed in Hualien, while Meg, Johnathan, Greg, and I went onto Taichung, which is pronounced TaiDong...not sure why it is spelled with a C but I imagine it has to do with the complicated systems of converting Chinese to Roman character...and yes I said systems! The train ride wasn't as luxurious as the ride to Hualien, because the seats were full and we could only purchase standing tickets for the approximately three hour trek. I believe it was on this train ride that I accidentally hit the emergency button while using the bathroom. No alarms or anything else went off. I thought it was the button for the sink water to turn on, which was just motion activated. If you find yourself hitting the emergency button, see if holding it down after you hit it helps because that is what I did and I never heard any sounds or saw anyone come to investigate, otherwise good luck to you. Meg and I also found a very friendly local that was on his way to Taichung. We asked him for a photo because of his styling :)
In Taichung...
If you don't plan ahead on Chinese New Year (remember it is the whole week that is busy not just the day of) you might find yourself having difficulties locating a place to stay as we did. The Visitor Center at the old train station in Taichung was very helpful in finding us a place to stay. All of the hostels we called were full or too far away (i.e. needed to take a long bus ride to get to them) so the people at the Visitor Center went to task and started calling all over to find us a place to stay. Meg took a picture of some of them with Greg and myself in the background. The hotel we stayed at gave us one of their Japanese styled rooms with the blankets wrapped/folded in a manner I had never seen. Taichung is along the coast and even at night has great beaches. The beaches might not be that great during the day but I wouldn't know. We got to see a night market briefly. There were fireworks going off the whole time we were there—day and night. It was an entertaining experience to see people lighting fireworks in the streets as cars drove past as though it was an everyday experience.
The next day, Meg and I found ourselves basically with the choice of paying "too much" to stay in Taitong or go back to Taipei. We had originally planned to go to the island off the coast of Lanyu but all of the less expensive places there were also full and the weather report was looking shady as well. These situations led us returning to Taipei, for a few days to recover from camping and re-plan our travel destinations....so back to Taipei!
And a cute dog from Taichung for fun ;)
