Taroko

This weekend we took the slow train from Kaohsiung all the way around to Hualien and from there a bus to the top of Taroko gorge. The train ride was beautiful and there are really no words of mine that can do justice to Taroko. Its a deep narrow canyon with blue green rivers in the bottom and walls made of marble!  At the top of the canyon we stayed at the Youth Activity center. We have stayed in these in multiple national parks in Taiwan and they are usually very well located and inexpensive. They are somewhere between a youth hostel and a one or two star hotel. This one seemed half deserted and a bit more run down than others.

The park was very easy to visit as there are buses running all up and down the canyon so you can hop  on and off whenever you want. If you miss the last bus you could probably also find a taxi to run you back up to the top of the canyon.  We got off multiple places to do short hikes into side canyons or other scenic areas.

I do want to say something about this monkey. At the top of the canyon is a 7-11 or Family Mart and like all such stores in Taiwan they serve an amazing variety of food. This monkey would hang out by the door and watch for women leaving with food. He ignored men and anyone who didn't have food but if you were a woman leaving with food he would jump on your back as you left the store. Inevitably this would result in a scream and dropped food. Then he would pick up the food and run away. Not sure why he avoided men as I certainly would have screamed and dropped my food. Over the course of two days we saw him do this multiple times.

Beware of this monkey!