Ok, so my planned trip to Orchid Island is fading fast… We’re shortlisted for the flight from Taidung, but with only 38 passengers per day, the waiting list seems a little long. After reading previous posts about mass-seasickness, I’m not keen on a 2hour topsy-turvy boat ride.
The good news is that we have already gotten our train tickets - return trip to Taidung, so I’m thinking we might do a little camping and exploring around Zhiben. The weather should be perfect for hiking and then soaking our bodies in the hot springs. We’ll probably rent a motorbike and try to work our way through the mountains and up the gorge.
Can anyone offer some tips for going through the Taidung and Zhiben areas? We’re going to be there for 3 full days.
Taidong is great. I wrote the second of those links that Cranky gave, and again I say Beinan cultural park is a must. Zhiben is nice, but not fantastically special (I like Wulai more). If I was going to Taidong, my priorities would be Beinan Park, then the beaches/coast, then Zhiben.
Here is a Tai-dong site that I thought I would share with everyone.
I had heard of this place for years, but only on my last visit to
Tai-dong (defintely not over-rated in my opinion) did I find it.
Approximately 15 kilometers north of Tai-dong
on the inland road to Hua-lien, there is a turn-off
on the left for Hong-yeh village in Yan-ping township.
The village is approximately a half-hour drive from
the highway. The road is in pretty good shape, and
there are a number of new bridges being constructed.
The village has built a small memorial/museum to
honor the Hong-ye Elementary School’s baseball team,
whose 1968 defeat of a Japanese team 7-0 at a game
in Taipei is one of Taiwan’s sporting legends. The museum
is on the grounds of the school and you can even see the
sports field where the team practiced.
The museum has then-and-now pictures of the team’s
members, examples of hand-carved bats and ball-shaped
stones, several uniforms and other memorabilia. The gift
shop sells just about everthing you would expect: balls, bats,
caps, shirts, pennants, postcards, etc., all with the distinctive
red maple leaf insignia–not at all like the Canadian maple
leaf, looks more like red sativa to me.
The area where the village is located is beautiful–tall mountains,
fast rivers, etc., and would surely be an interesting stop for tourists
heading down-island on the east.
Even non-baseball fans will enjoy the visit.
This is Taiwan kitsch at its best.
Has anyone else been there yet? What did you think?
