Amazing Pacific views in Hualien

These are some of my photos I took during my first time in Hualien City. It was dawn, my wife and I were close to the ocean and I couldn't stop taking these beautiful photos of the Pacific ocean covered by dark grey clouds during dawn. Enjoy!

[My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

Eastern Taiwan's beautiful coast photos

Breathtaking views of Taiwan's blue pacific ocean



The Green Island sitting on the blue ocean while waves hit on the shores below.





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Few minutes after the Longchang village, we've came across one of the most beautiful views we've ever seen in Taiwan. There is a small rest area very close to the Pacific ocean and when I saw the clear blue green image of the water, I asked my wife to stop for a while and have a look. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our Taitung tour. We took some of the most beautiful photos here - the colors were just amazing. I can't say much more, but for me this is one of the most beautiful scenic spots in Taiwan I have ever seen. Let my photos speak for themselves:

The resting area attracted these two girls with yellow rain coats. Luckily no rain spoiled our trip.

View on the Donghe harbor and a small peninsula.



It looked like the ocean was foaming.



The cloudy sky was blue and grey while the ocean was blue and green - simply amazing.



Beautiful sandy shores of Taitung County.



Kids playing on the beach. Next time I might join them.



The view in the distance with the Green Island on the horizon.

To continue our tour along Taitung's northern coast, click on the link below or see the map.

Longchang :Before [Taitung Tour 2011] Next: Donghe>>

[My TAITUNG TOUR MAP][My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

Aletheia University, Danshui

The oldest institution of higher education in Taiwan

The Aletheia University (named like this since 1999) is the successor of the former Oxford college, that was founded in 1882 in Danshui and was at that time the first form of higher education in Taiwan. The college was founded by George Leslie Mackay, a Canadian presbyterian missionary, who lived and worked in Danshui in the late 19th century and became very known. He's probably the most known foreigner ever living in Taiwan. Besides the founding of this college (and later university), he helped to build many churches in the area as well as a hospital. He married a local (Han Chinese) woman and learned the Taiwanese language. He died in Danshui in 1901 and is still a very honored historic figure in the area and beyond. There's even a statue of him found in one of the public squares in central Danshui.

He helped to establish the college with donations from Canada. Most came from his native Oxford county and therefore he named the college after Oxford to honor the donors. In August 1999 the name was changed to Aletheia University ("aletheia" is Greek for "truth"). More about the history and other facts on the university's homepage.

My girlfriend and I went to see the interesting building and explore the whole area. The university is not far away from the famous Fort San Domingo and the Little white house, however, you need to go down and then go uphill again. The road up is pretty steep, but it's well worth to go on top and see the beautiful main building as well as the garden and some other high schools nearby.

This is what we saw that warm spring day:

A signboard with important years in the history of the university.

The main building from the side.

It looks like a majestic church on a hill.

The garden in front of the main building.

The main building again, surrounded by cherry trees.

A lovely pond in the garden.

Lotus blossoms.

We were lucky to see the sakura or cherry blossoms.

The cherry blossoms in full bloom. My girlfriend made this incredible shot.

This is another building in the area, looks like a mix of Chinese and Western architecture.

Tamkang highschool bell tower (this is not part of Aletheia University).

This is something typical for Taiwan. Couples love to pose and make photos.

And so I made my girlfriend pose, too. And I wanted to capture the Tamkang high school building behind her.

To walk around the university area is free of charge. I definitely recommend you to see these amazing buildings and gardens, because they're really beautiful. The best time to visit is spring.

My DANSHUI Tour - NEXT: Little white house>>

[DANSHUI overview][My TAIPEI page][My TAIWAN page][Info][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Kenting Town, Kenting's fun street

Taiwan's most southern night market

Kenting Town (墾丁大街), literally Kenting Street, sometimes also called Kenting Road or Kenting Avenue, is Taiwan's southernmost township or village and at the same time Taiwan's southernmost night market. It's located between Hengchun's South bay (恆春鎮南灣) and Eluanbi cape (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan island. I guess it can't get more south than this, huh?

So what is Kenting Town famous for? Although it's a little contradictory to have such a touristy small town inside a protected national park, the town serves as a tourist center, offering a vibrant night life with restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as providing hotels and various shops, that mostly sell souvenirs. The architecture is a mishmash of a typical Taiwanese small town with a flood of signboards in Chinese combined with some Western styled mini hotels and apartment houses, which give you the feeling that you're in a theme park. I guess to an average European the town would look a bit gaudy, but from a Taiwanese perspective, it has a certain charm. Since the town is visited by many local and foreign (mostly Western) tourists, it's no wonder, that it looks like a mixture of those two influences. And there are many restaurants with foreign food, such as Italian restaurants.

Another particularity in the town is a ladyboy show, similar to the ones seen in Thailand, however there's only few of them doing the show here. See some photos of the show here, here and here.

See some photos of Kenting Town (or Kenting street):

The main road is about 1km long and looks like an average road during the day.

A sample of the mixture of designs in Kenting Town.

The road is wide, cars park on the side.

However scooters are the most common mean of transportations here, especially for youngsters.

The sign jungle.

Kenting Town is very lively at night. Restaurants like this are full of people.

The whole road becomes like a promenade of a very long night market.

Except famous chains like McD, restaurants usually charge more than in other Taiwanese towns.

You also have hawkers, that are quite popular. But for me, I'd not recommend the food in Kenting Town.

Leaving Kenting Town, leaving the hustle and bustle in the very heart of the national park.

Kenting Town is good to supply you with some decent food, but don't expect too much. And the price is a little higher, so if you want to save, Kenting Town is not the right place for you. Of course there are 7 Elevens that will provide you with basic food, if you're really that thrifty. You surely can have a lot of fun here. So many young people stroll around every night, some looking for food, some just want to have some fun. The atmosphere is relaxed, it's normal to see girls in shorts or bikini and sandals walking around and guys wear very casual, too. The beaches are 5min away and it's hot, if not warm all year around. And from what I heard it's very easy to meet girls there, especially if you're foreign and speak Mandarin. After all, people come to Kenting to enjoy their holidays and possibly have a romance, maybe an adventure, that they can later share with their friends, when they're back home. So have fun, enjoy yourself in Kenting, but don't go drunk on a scooter.

[My KAOHSIUNG page][My TAIWAN page][Info: Kenting Wiki][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip

The beautiful lighthouse at the end of the world

Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻) is Taiwan's southernmost tip. The name "Eluan" (鵝鑾) originates from the word for "sail" in an aboriginal language, while the Chinese added "bi" (鼻), which means nose and refers to the shape of the cape (source). The word is sometimes spelled as Oluanpi or Ngoluanpi in English. The most famous part of the small cape is a historic lighthouse called Eluanbi light (鵝鑾鼻燈塔), built during the Qing dynasty in 1888. It's the only fortified and armed lighthouse in the world, it used to be protected with canons and a thick wall. Eluanbi cape is part of the Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園). We went to the cape on our second day in Kenting, we rented a scooter at the South Bay and needed about 30min to reach there.

There's a big parking lot before you enter the park, because the area is a famous tourist destination and especially Mainland Chinese like to visit with buses. You have to pay admission fee (here is an overview of the prices and discounts), we paid 40NTD each (May 2010). Once you pay, you need to walk around by yourself, there are marked paths with maps. You walk through the jungle and visit various pavilions with nice views. Your tour starts and ends at the famous lighthouse.

These are the photos I made during the short visit of Eluanbi:

The parking lot upon the entrance.

The famous lighthouse. We didn't see it from close, we did that later, when we ended the tour.

The warning sign should be taken seriously. And we did so.

Those rocks used to be under the water many many years ago.

A path through the jungle in the Eluanbi park.

We went up to the big Sea pavilion, that has a breathtaking view.

The famous Kissing rocks and a fisherman on the other side.

The view from the Sea pavilion.

Another view from the Sea pavilion, this time on the Sand island.

The view on the Luzon strait.

I seldom saw the sea so deeply blue.

The skyline seems endless.

The sky and the sea are melting on the horizon.

The clear blue water along the fringing reef coastline.

We were headed to another pavilion.

This one is called the Guests pavilion and also has a nice view.

The same fisherman we saw through the kissing rocks.

We left the jungle and finally saw the famous Eluanbi lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔.

The lighthouse from another angle. You can see the wall and cannon holes.

The Eluanbi memorial of Taiwan's 8 magnificent sceneries and a crowd of Chinese tourists.

The famous Eluanbi lighthouse again. We had to say goodbye here.

Heading downwards and back to the entrance. It was an unforgettable tour.

Eluanbi is really one of most amazing spots of Taiwan. If you have the chance, go and visit it. You'll feel like you're at the end of the world. One thing is sure, you're definitely at the end of Taiwan. The views are magical and you can spend numerous romantic moments with your loved one, if you choose to travel as a couple.

[My KAOHSIUNG page][My TAIWAN page][Info: Kenting homepage][All photos by MKL, 2010]