A Weekend in Taitung // Why You NEED to Visit Eastern Taiwan
On the last weekend on the festival, myself and two coworkers hopped on travels and headed down to the south eastern town of Taitung.
First off, Taitung is FAR lol. Living in western Taiwan, we are blessed by the high speed rail system that shoots us down the coast in about two hours, north to south. On a regular train, from my area to Taipei is about 50 minutes. On high speed rail its less than 15. WHAT. Yes. I know.
Anyway, there is no high speed rail on Taiwan’s eastern coast and to be honest it would probably be quite the challenge and EXPENSIVE to build. The west coast is mainly flat until you hit the mountain range but the east coast pretty much is the mountain range lol. It’s also full of more aboriginals, nature and gorgeous seaside views !! Mountains and the sea all on one area ??!!?! YAAAAS.
The hot air balloon festival is VERY dependent on the weather. The few previous days were all cancelled and when we arrived (at 530am mind you =.=) it was raining a bit and many people left. Luckily, it cleared up for a good hour of hot air balloon fun.
PS IT WAS GORGEOUS I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
Eastern as well as Southern Taiwan grows a lot of the food for the rest of the island so its not surprising that the food tasted so fresh. There were also some veggie choices that aren’t so common in the north.
The alcohol is just as good in the north in case you’re wondering :P
If you do your research, you can find some preeeeeeetty interesting restaurants to stumble into for a photo op :P
Just around from the hot air balloon festival, there is a look out where you can see the plains before the mountains start. Absolutely stunning.
Later that day, we went to a restaurant on the shore. It was honestly such a great location because they had seafood, sangria, a pool and the ocean all on the same lot! You could really just spend the whole day here just for the cost of one meal and enjoy all the area has to offer.
Although I only spent a really short time, it gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation to take more opportunities to visit towns and places like this that aren’t really in the tourist book. I felt so at peace not rushing like in the city but, having so much fun enjoying the water ... and panicking I was going to get a sunburn (WHICH I AVOIDED THANK GOD).
Pro tip: Rent a car or get a taxi drivers card. Renting would be lovely since most things are pretty spread out, but if everyone wants to drink, a cab is totally affordable, especially if youre with a few people and can split the fare. Just make sure to get someone’s number to pick you up cause you’re not just going to find a cab rolling around by the beach.
