Taiwan Trek, Day 7: Scratching one off the Formosan bucket list

Let us contemplate the end of the journey...

Mission accomplished. In all the years I lived in Taiwan, I traveled extensively throughout the country, but one region I had somehow managed to miss (with the exception of a weekend flight to Hualien 花蓮 and Taroko Gorge 太魯閣 in 2002) was the east coast. Today I was able to finally add that notch to my travel belt as, with my daughter in tow, I drove the Suhua Highway 蘇花公路 between Hualien and Su'ao 蘇澳, and then beyond, thus bringing to an end our road trip. The weather augured very well this morning as I looked out our hotel room window shortly after waking up around half-past seven on a sunny Saturday morning:

The Suhua Highway is a 118 kilometer (73 miles)-long section of Highway 9 that was first opened to vehicular traffic in 1932. Though it has been widened since, with guardrails added on, it's still a route that demands careful attention from drivers. The most thrilling section comes just north of Hualien, as the road crosses through the Qingshui Cliffs 清水斷崖, 21 kilometers (13 miles) of coastal cliffs averaging 800 meters (2625 feet) above sea level. The views are nothing short of spectacular:

It goes without saying that there a lot of tunnels to pass through:

It's a surprisingly quick drive along the cliff section (even with all the stops at the various lookout points), and sections of the highway then pass by cement factories where large trucks kick up clouds of dust. Nonetheless, there are still many spots worth stopping the car to get out and have a look:

A family prays at a roadside temple:

To be fair, the view wasn't always so stunning:

My favorite vista came shortly before we began our descent toward Su'ao:

Approaching Su'ao there is a promontory providing a scenic overview of the Nanfang'ao 南方澳 fishing port:

Turtle Island 龜山島 could be seen off in the distance:

Su'ao is famous in Taiwan for its cold springs, but the town itself is pretty grungy-looking:

Driving toward Luodong 羅東 and Yilan 宜蘭 we passed by this WTF building, which turned out to be a crayon factory, obviously. Duh...:

Our last stop before the drive back "home" to Fengyuan 豐原 was in the hot spring resort of Jiaoxi 礁溪. At my wife's request Amber and I went shopping for a few spicy condiments at Chili Hunter. I also picked up a few chili beers for myself (see below). My daughter poses with a genuine 辣妹:

Shopping successfully concluded, the two of us had lunch at the local MOS Burger, then took a quick stroll through the downtown area before getting back in the car:

"Never Try To Fly Will Be A Dish":

Driving through the 12.9 kilometer (8 miles)-long Hsueshan Tunnel 雪山隧道:

Admiring my purchases in Fengyuan:

This one in particular I was warned to be very careful of while drinking. Stay tuned...:

And that concludes our weeklong road trip through central and eastern Taiwan, and with the exception of a fender bender in an underground parking garage in Chihpen 知本, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I was finally able to see a part of Taiwan that I had always wanted to visit, but more importantly, I could do it as a father traveling with his daughter. For Amber, it was an opportunity to see more of her homeland, and she had a lot of fun taking photos of our journey on my mobile phone and sending them via Line to her mother. She also became more confident speaking to adults and handled the occasional surprised reactions from one of her Taiwanese compatriots with a cool aplomb. My daughter considers herself to be as much a Taiwanese as she is an American, but she also understands and accepts the fact that not all Taiwanese might think of her as being one of them. It will certainly be interesting to watch how her identity develops as she grows into an adult.

As for me, the east coast is done. Now to visit Penghu 澎湖 and climb Yushan 玉山...