Taiwan Trip: Leofoo Theme Park - "Screaming" Condor

After dipping ourselves at Millennium Hot Spring for about half an hour (I believe that is my threshold for a hot spring dip, for now), feeling refreshed, it's another 1 hour drive to Hsinchu, our second last city to check in for this trip. By the time we reached the hotel, our black "rat" has accumulated mileage of at least 1170 km. It has been quite an adventure for the last 7 days and it is coming to an end (I'm talking about the driving). Well, not until our next pit stop.

Leofoo Theme Park

The major reason to check in at this part of the city is due to the theme park within its vicinity. Being a fan of theme park (especially roller coaster), I enjoy a thrilling adrenaline-rush ride. After having breakfast at our hotel (Bin Chen Hotel, 950 yuan for a double room), we arrived at our destination after 40-minute drive.

Entrance of Leofoo Theme Park

The park is accessible with a fee of 999 yuan. The park opens daily from 0900 hours until 1700 hours. We visited the theme park on a Friday in which we were expecting less crowd but as we reached, there were buses of school kids who checked in at the same time. From my past experience, I didn't usually have adequate time to cover all the rides with people swarming the place. Not this time though.

The park is divided into 4 areas: Wild West, South Pacific, Arabian Kingdom and African Safari. Some of the rides may close earlier than 1700 hours and hence it is important to plan your visit to maximise your time at the park. Upon your purchase of ticket, you shall grab a map and schedule of all rides' operating hours. Truthfully, the park is rather small and you won't be really get lost there. As you walk towards the park, you shall reach at a big roundabout with fountain in the middle and you can see the entrance of all four areas.

The first exit leads to a cowboy-ish village (Wild West). Did I tell that our intention was to try the famous ride which is known as "Screaming Condor" that is featured on Korean reality TV show, "Running Man"? However, it was closed for maintenance on that fine day. Can't help to feel disappointed since that supposed to be the highlight of the park. Should have checked with the park earlier but regardless, it didn't stop us to enjoy other rides.

Old Oil Well @ Wild Wild West

Old Oil Well keeps your brain juice flows upstream and downstream alternately in between the oscillation that doesn't go beyond 180 degree (it exceeded once during my turn and twice during others). Screaming Condor aside, this has to be one of the rides that one should try there. There is mini roller coaster and ride along man-made canal which you can have opt out if you are pressed against time. But the rides at the next area are more to my kind of, fun.

Pagoda's Revenge @ South Pacific

Being brought up to 53m high, hanging for 3 seconds before free falling. I tried this ride 3 times. If you noticed my screaming in the video, it doesn't mean I'm scared or anything but just like to scream on top of my lungs, to my heart content, while enjoying the ride.

Another ride that you simply can't miss would be Mighty Mountain Flame Adventure, where you have a ride on the canoe and going down the slide twice, whereby the second slide is much steeper and higher. (There's a water bomb that you can activate for 10 yuan when your friend's canoe are passing by to splash your friends further after the slides.) You will get wet.

Mighty Fountain Flame Adventure @ South Pacific 

View of Arabian Kingdom from Flying Carpet

After all the adventurous rides at the park, it is a good idea to mellow down on the activity at African Safari. There are some of the animals that I never saw before such as llama, meerkat and camel. There's a tour bus that goes into the cage, like a mini safari where you can see bears, tigers and lions, just right outside of the bus.

Llama

Camel, cousin of Llama?

Meerkat (when I thought it is called "possum". Too much of "Ice Age")

They look so cute while standing, and pose.

 The tiger is doing his manicure/pedicure during the bus tour.

Lion couple

Baboons, reminded me of cartoon series that I watched during my childhood, "Weasel"

The bus tour closed at 1630 hours and I don't think you would want to miss this. Once you are done with all the rides at all other three areas, I would advise to queue for the bus tour the first thing as the rest you can do at your own pace.

Despite of the mascots at their website, there was no parade held throughout the day (I was rather positive since we were there the whole day). We bade farewell to Leofoo as the clock struck 5 o'clock.

Is this theme park a must visit? I would say, "depends". We may not achieve the objective of our visit to the park but there are certain rides I never tried before. It's good enough for those who are going to theme park for the first time and it's subjective to those who have been to a few.

Taichung → Chia Yi → Kaohsiung/Kenting → Hua Lien → Jiufen/Shifen/Yehliu→ HSINCHU → Taipei

Taiwan Trip: Jiufen & Yehliu - The Beauty of the Aged

Jiu Fen
By the time we checked in at Hui Ming Homestay (2500 yuan for a quad room), it was way past 9pm and most of the shops were already closed, except for a number of tea houses. Original intention to get to Jiu Fen in the evening is hoping to see the night view. I guess the night fell pretty too long and all the lights that we saw were only from this shop.

Can't help but to stroll along the silent street before it gets crowded with people in the morning. Oh, there are plenty of cats around. There's a cat statue nearby the police station.

 

 

 Rise and shine and it's time for morning stroll along Jiufen

Commenced our morning walk at the market having these Yu Yuan (yam balls).

The old street reminded me of Suzhou Street in Summer Palace, Beijing. Instead of surrounding the lake, the shoplots were located at the hill. It was quite an uphill walk from the place we stay. 

Saw this puppy outside of a restaurant, like a mascot or some sort  

The street is packed with shops selling food and souvenirs. The price is pretty cheap (until we shopped at Shilin Night Market, Taipei). There is even one shop selling adult toys too.

Shi Fen
20 minutes away we arrived at another old street. There are less shops here and are built along a railway which is still in operation. This street is more famous for its lanterns. We did a fair share of our wish too. Single colour lantern for 150 yuan and multi-coloured for 200 yuan. There's a shop selling postcards made up of wood here (and you can actually have them engraved or/and post them), which is quite unique I would say.

Train is coming through...

Wishing upon the sky (in which eventually will come down)

Yeh Liu Geopark

This geopark is located 1 hour away from Shifen. It's famous for its nature rock formation comes in a number of shapes in which the most iconic one is the Queen's Head.

Due to its popularity, one need to queue to take the shot with the queen. Was rather annoyed by the tourists who were behind the rock though. One thing I learned from traveling is to accept the way other tourists travel.

Other than the Queen's Head, there are few other formations which can keep you in awe. Some of the rocks can only be seen as claimed it is from the right angle. Make sure you go around to actually see them.

Did you spot the slipper/shoes? (no, not the ones my friends were wearing)

The park is accessible with a fee of 80 yuan and it closes only when the night falls (despite the website saying 5.00pm). We spend around 1 hour and a half which was suffice to cover the whole place.

 Crab dinner at Four Sisters before leaving Yeh Liu

Millinneum Hot Spring
On our way to Hsinchu, we thought of giving hot spring a try as we passed by Beitou. This was my first time dipping myself into the hot spring.

The one we visited was swarmed by lots of elderly. Started off with low temperature before getting to higher stream. 45 degree was the hottest they have there but I find myself burning in that pond in which I chose to settle down at the one with 43 degree which marks my threshold limit. One thing that I was sweaty but the water smelled funny. 40 yuan per entry, I couldn't ask for more though but a glimpse of hot spring experience.

Taichung → Chia Yi → Kaohsiung/Kenting → Hua Lien → JIUFEN/SHIFEN/YEHLIU→ Hsinchu → Taipei

Taiwan Trip: East Coast - of Blue & Green

East Coast 

Given breakfast voucher by the shop, we have it packed and set off as early as 7am for our next stop which is close to 6 hours drive away. This long drive truly defines what "it is not about the destination, it is the journey" all about. We have been driving on west coast highway all the way from Taichung to Kenting, which is located at the southern tip of Taiwan. We headed back to North via east coast and I must say it have to be one of the most eyes-pleasing drives that we ever had.

 With these kinds of views most of the time when you are driving, it's hardly a sleepy ride.(Although I would have preferred to be passenger.) 

After 2 hours and a half drive, we have a stop by at Taitung for brunch. I had "rou geng noodle" and it was nice, considered we found the eatery randomly. Taitung is rather a small town and all I know Ah Mei, a famous Taiwanese singer was born here. The journey continued for another 3 hours with more green and blue on the way.

One can't help to stop and enjoy the view.

Hua Lien ( 花蓮)

Taroko National Park 

Our check in at the hostel won't be until 3pm and hence we headed to Taroko National Park upon our  arrival at Hua Lien City which is 30 minutes drive away. The park is pretty huge and if to be on foot it might take a while to cover the place. Shuttle bus is provided to get you around. We have our car to cover that. No entrance fee is charged.

Our first stop: Shakadang Trail

Basically the park is a gorge, or in another word, canyon. We were always in awe with the humoungus formation there. There are a number of spots that you can pick to visit if you don't feel like covering the whole place. Some sites may need to do some trekking. For our visit, we picked top three: Shakadang trail, Swallow Grotto and Eternal Spring Shrine. 2 hours was sufficent to cover these 3 main places.

Swallow Grotto. Hard hat is encouraged to be worn here and it is provided at the site. No rental fee.

The iconic Eternal Spring Shrine

Chishingtan 

It was around 5pm when we decided to go to the beach (all of us were hungry due to absence of lunch but we won't want to miss another beach moment). Chisingtan is 25 minutes drive from Taroko towards the direction of the city. Cloudy day it was again that day but it's my first experience to visit a pebble beach. It was not white sandy beach where you lie on and tan for yourself but can't help to hear the sound of rolling pebbles as the ocean water gets back to the sea once it hits the shore.

It gets dark after 6pm and our stomach seems to agree. We have a quick check in at Lantian Baiyun (1800 yuan for a quad room and my friend commented it is one of the best toilets he has seen) and the guy at the hostel was friendly to recommend a place for dinner. We decided to go vegetarian dinner as everything else seemed to close in that oddly hour (except for night market, of course).

Animal-free yet scrumptious dinner @ Lu She Da Di

Zi Qiang Night Market 

This market is rather small but it was quite organised compared to others that we went. The crowd was smaller but the atmosphere was still there. We get to try the barbequed maize which happens to be famous across Taiwan.

River Tracing 

Had an early start on the next day for the activity we have been anticipated before the trip begins. Lantian Baiyun reverts to us with a quotation during the hotel booking and we decided to give River Tracing a go. I googled about it and it seems to be a popular local sport. 800 yuan per person, the cost covers transportation from our hostel, safety equipment, insurance, an instructor and the best part, photos!

Early part of our hike

Putting on the wet suit felt like we are going for a dive. But with helmet and safety jacket, don't think we can even make it to go under. Our instructor made us dip into the pool of chilly water before starting our tracing 300m upstream. My favourite part would be the cliff jumping, just 5m high though, which concluded our hike.

Happy faces after completing our tracing.

Tzu Chi 

Hua Lien is the headquarter of Tzu Chi Organisation, a well-established corporation to provide relief effort. The basis of its foundation is parallel to Buddhism's teaching. They have their own hospital and university too. The workers work there are volunteers who are mostly retirees. We were shown around by a retired teacher, in which I hypothesised she was an English teacher. She has made two uncorfortable remarks during the tour but it was still an insightful visit. The place is quite huge and you can skip this place if you have limited time. No entrance fee.

Tzu Chi Headquarter at Hua Lien

Bidding farewell to Hua Lien before heading to our next destination.

I'm going to miss this view as we are leaving Hua Lien County to further north. 

It's about 3 hours and a half drive to Jiu Fen and some of the route were very hilly. Hence, I wouldn't recommend start driving late evening (which we did) as it could be very dangerous with minimum of light source. During our trip, it gets dark around 6pm in Taiwan. 

 Rejuvenating dinner at Su'ao, Yilan County before reaching Jiufen

Taichung → Chia Yi → Kaohsiung/Kenting → HUA LIEN → Jiufen/Shifen/Yehliu→ Hsinchu → Taipei

Taiwan Trip: Kaohsiung - Journey of Enlightenment & Kenting - FoodBreeze

Kaohsiung (高雄)

By the time we checked in at Wo Chia Hotel (1080 yuan for quad room), it was already 11pm. The hotel is strategically located nearby a mall with a mini theme park at the rooftop. We cleansed ourselves and called it a day. Was rather amused by the brand of the TV in our room, "Proton".

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Centre

Packed our breakfast at MOS, we drove for 40 minutes before reaching our next destination. This Buddha Memorial Centre is the biggest of its kind in Taiwan. Aspired by Hsing Yun to preserve the tooth relic (and the base design is done by him too), the building is opened to public in 25 December 2011. It is free to enter the centre.

The main entrance is rather lavish with Starbucks on your left after the main door and there is a high end vegetarian restaurant. There are shops selling "mochi" and souvenirs. Exiting the building and there it is, the iconic eight pagodas (four on each side) with a sitting Buddha statue at the end. Apparently at one of the pagoda, if I don't recall it wrongly which is Pagoda 5, people can have their wedding reception there. Pressed against time, we only went in to Pagoda 1 which shows the history of the centre.

 Pagoda 5 is the one on the right, second row. (and that's me trying to be sacred).

Walking along the side corridor, the wall displays some of the Buddha's teachings and also list of contributors who aid in the completion of the centre before reaching the main hall. No photography is allowed inside. There is one section of the hall shows the origin of Buddhism which interests me the most (I believe it is applicable for another 2 of my friends). They have a short 3D screenplay of the life of Buddha. Before this all I know is Siddharta Gautama who is the founder of Buddhism in which I learned from History class back in high school. At least now I know a bit more of his life and the beginning of Buddhism.

The major highlight of this visit will be the huge statue sitting on top of the hall, located at Level 3 which can be accessed by elevator. The statue is enclosed by another four pagoda which signify four noble truth.

The sitting Buddha (now I have learned how to recognise a Buddha statue).

Overview of Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Centre with my friend who was extra elevated on this trip

We spend close to 3 hours there, that which covers the first pagoda, origin of Buddha section and the sitting statue. There is one particular section of the hall which displays the famous Jade Buddha Shrine but it has specified time to enter and we missed the window. Regardless, we get to see the Golden Buddha Shrine and Avalokitesvara Shrine. I would recommend at least half day to those who wish to explore the whole place.

There's a temple you can spare time to visit at the exit in which we we opted out during our trip. Had our vegetarian lunch (not at the fancy restaurant) before we left.

Lotus Pond

Heading back to the city to have a quick visit at Lotus Pond, just to have a look at these two Tiger and Dragon Pagoda. No entrance fee is charged.

 I'm not really sure the story of these two pagodas but it's picture worth it.

Taa Lee

We have been so curious about the mall that is located nearby to our hotel. Before departing for Kenting, we dropped by at the mall and played few rounds of pirate ship.

 We have a quick overview of Kaohsiung City playing this ride. It was 45 yuan per ride, per person.

Kenting (墾丁)

Initially planned for a beach evening here but due to late arrival, the plan was aborted. Our hostel is located in the middle of shoplots which is rather hard to locate. Kenting Surf Shop (2500 yuan for a quad room) is really, literally, a surf shop as our room is accessed via it. Please be noted that no free parking is provided at this place (despite booking.com says otherwise) and the nearest parking space is less than 5 minutes walk which costs 100 yuan per entry.

Since the night market is just right in front of our accommodation so the-no-parking-space thing isn't a real concern as we can just walk around, but we have to pay it. We tempted to walk to the beach but it was too dark for a stroll. Hence we proceed with our usual night market routine. The night market in Kenting stretched along the main road. There were clubs along the way too. (And there is one shop in which I believe, has build-up guys and hot girls shows, literally translated). Due to early drive the next day, we didn't go into any.

Happy friends at the night market with our snacks

I miss fresh oysters! 8 pieces for 180 yuan.

The conversation below is translated.

"Hong Kong?"

"Malaysia!"

"West Malaysia?"

"East Malaysia!"

"Sabah?"

"Sarawak!"

 Don't think we are going to forget this uncle that quickly.

Special kind of "xiao long bao"

 Fried fresh milk. Milky-ly oily or oily milky.

Long drive ahead of us on the next day. Trust me, it's worth it.

Taichung → Chia Yi → KAOHSIUNG/KENTING → Hua Lien → Jiufen/Shifen/Yehliu→ Hsinchu → Taipei