10th stop: Taitung

If mid was a city, it would be Taitung. I spent wayyyyyyy too long here and there really wasn’t anything to do.

Especially coming from Dulan which was super social and a really nice relaxed vibe, I found it quite lacking in the entertainment side of things but at least I had proper rest after dealing with this chest infection.

I think this will be a quick one.

DAY 1

I arrived in Taitung after hitchhiking from Dulan, and was still kind of on a high from my stay there :) 

The place I checked in to, 40inn backpackers warehouse, was super super chill. This is definitely more of a rest stop instead of a socialising place.

Something which I think I have only briefly mentioned is that a lot of locals use hostels as well, but generally hostels are more seen as a place to sleep instead of a socialising place yknow?

Also one other thing, there was a typhoon approaching Taiwan. The same one had completely wiped out the Philippines just a few days before. This wouldn’t affect my time in Taitung but rest assured this will come up again later.

Anyways, checked into my bed, super super well equipped and probably the cleanest hostel I’ve stayed in thus far.

I go out for a wander and almost immediately get run over by a scooter (tbh this was my fault), and realised this city isn’t walkable like Taipei or even Hualien. 

The footpaths are covered in scooters, pr there straight up is no footpath. Especially where I was staying in the centre the traffic was nuts. 

I got this crispy omelette thing from a stall and some bubble tea from Black Tea Bus. Both of these were pretty good.

Went back and crashed for the night.

This is gonna be a pretty boring entry haha

DAY 2

One of the people from the hostel recommended to do a day trip out to Chishang as I was already pretty bored.

Jumped on the train the next day and headed out and hour to see it.

It’s super popular with tourists, especially domestic tourists, as there’s a tree in the middle of this massive wheat field that was featured in an EVA Air safety video. 

Apparently this brought too many tourists to Chishang which pissed off the locals and EVA Air apologised lmao.

The main attraction in Chishang is called Brown Avenue, and the tree is located about halfway down this.

I rented a bike for about 200NTD for the day and rode about 20 minutes out to it. The closer you get, the more busy and overwhelming it gets.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s pretty, but Jesus Christ, I had a way better time catching the local train from Hualien for the same views. 

You’ve got the annoying electric golf carts things with stupid characters on them, everyone is all over the road and honestly, it wasn’t enjoyable.

The pics are okay, but again, you can find better in Taiwan 100%

On the way back I felt like treating my self to a proper meal instead of street food or market food. Something whole and filling. I managed to find a ramen joint which had really good reviews, and was in fact, delicious.

That day, I was the only customer in there and the ladies were so lovely :) 

One did take my photo for some reason but she was super nice so whatever haha

Headed back to Taitung, got some market rougamo for dinner and went to bed.

DAY 3

In all honesty, the most time you should spend in Taitung is 1 night at the very most. That being said I did extend at I really liked the hostel and wanted to chill.

I also happened to book at the most expensive time to visit Taitung as there was 2 music festivals on going, one of which was an indigenous Amis festival that only happens once every 2 years.

I had a look at ticket prices and could not justify spending that much unfortunately, but I heard amazing things from others who did go.

Super lazy morning, didn’t leave the hostel until the afternoon. This was the last full day I had so I decided to get from bubble tea from a Taitung brand and walk down to the beach. 

The brand btw is Ding Go and they were v good 👍👍

Given the typhoon was rolling in, the beach was absolutely pumping with waves. Definitely not a swimming beach at all.

I then walked from the beach to the opposite side of Taitung for shits and gigs. It’s not long and I do like a good wander.

Went back for some FamilyMart dinner and packed my things to check out.

DAY 4

I woke up, packed my stuff, when to the train station, and that was it.

Honestly, don’t bother with Taitung if you can avoid it. There’s nothing there. Trust me I tried. Like I didn’t hate it but it was just such a nothing burger •_•