MM,
I went here:
Unfortunately, other obligations meant I couldn’t make the 9:00 train to Nan’ao, as I hoped I could. And so I tried to get on the 10:15 train, but when I went at 9:45 they said that there was standing room only (Lonely Planet’s recommendation to reserve a seat, though in retrospect wise, was unheeded). The next train was at 12, meaning effectively Nan’ao was out (since I needed to return Sat.).
So, I tried for the area north of Toucheng instead (per alidarbac’s suggestion) and came to Wai’ao beach (I’m lucky, I suppose, I didn’t take my Lonely Planet, or I would have been tempted by the Lion museum and not gotten to the beach at all).
It wasn’t really great, the tide seemed to coming in, and the visibility got worse as time went on (Guishan Island was covered by fog by around 4:30). But it’s the first salt water I’ve touched all year, and the first set of tide pool critters I’ve seen all year, and so I was ecstatic. I was hoping to get some rock formations, some macro shots of things in tide pools, maybe the sun peeking out of the clouds. I only got the first, but still several pictures I think were good, and I’ll post them once I get them “developed”.
By the way, Ilan seems to be making an effort to make itself tourist friendly. And just north of Toucheng they’re building a museum - the Lanyang museum (as anyone who’s driven or rode by has probably noticed). This is quite something - I was tempted to trespass on the construction site and take a picture of it - it looks like a borg cube from Star Trek crash-landed in Taiwan.
I hope to head to Nan’ao next week, or maybe one of the Hualien suggestions (probably depending on whether I have the freedom to do a weekend trip). IMHO to really do this right you need your own transportation (I’ve never rode a scooter, and so that options’ out no matter what), several days (daytrips aren’t long enough), the ability to scout out and record GPS coordinates for good positions, good weather (i.e. summer), and Fuji Velvia 50 film in a medium format or view camera (not this digital stuff). Well, even if I have to “compromise” due to my situation, and even if I only got to a mediocre beach, I still had fun.
Thanks again to all who’ve given suggestions. Further suggestions are welcome. In particular, hotel recommendations in Nan’ao (if they exist) would be welcome…