宜蘭 is south-east of Taipei county, so part of it lies on the east coast of the entire Taiwan island. We took a coach down and if traffic is smooth (like when we traveled there), the ride only takes about 1 hour and 10 mins so it's really quite accessible...When I spoke with my colleagues, the most common things they would say about 宜蘭 is that you can eat cheap and fresh seafood there, there is a traditional arts museum to visit, there's the 羅東 (luo dong) night market, and there's the really cool beach where people go surfing in summer...
So naturally, I expected a lot of beaches and all... but I definitely did not expect this:
Mountains with clouds rolling along in the distance, rice fields and ponds just beside the road, huge expanse of nature... it was such a refreshing sight...and then, there was the view when we reached the sea and port area:
These 2 shots were taken from a cliff overlooking the bay... the cliff was about 6 storeys high from the water level
Some of us couldn't resist being adventurous and climbing down to the water itself...
That was one great highlight of the trip: being so close to nature, and being able to "exercise" even if it was just a bit through the cliff climbing...Other highlights include:
A trip to the National Center for Traditional Arts, a very cool place where we also saw how the center is bringing traditional art designs and forms into modern day items such as plates, fashion, accessories and even collectible toys...
A LOT of cheap and super good food
A lot of riding on scooters, whether it was rain or shine :)
And to wrap it all up, a lot of great conversations with a great bunch of AIESECers :)All my photos (including details of seafood restaurant and homestay hostel) available at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=227841&id=576355703&l=7018c
Part 2 album at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=229895&id=576355703&l=f498aa3b5c
