Day 8 - Drive from Hualian to Taitung
Qiaotou Stinky Tofu 橋頭臭豆腐
Chishang Lunch Box Cultural History Museum 池上飯包文化故事館
Brown Avenue 台東伯朗大道
Lisong Hot Springs River 栗松溫泉
Naruwan Hotel 娜路彎大酒店
Do NOT follow our itinerary for this day! It did not work out for us. Learn from our mistakes!
This was our day from Hualian to Taitung. We were ambitious in trying to squeeze in the hike to Lisong Hot Spring River as the pictures of the natural hot spring is gorgeous! Bad idea! It’s an intense hike, and if you want to go, dedicate a full day for it. Otherwise, focus on the other spots and you’ll have a lot more fun.
The Stinky Tofu spot is touted to be one of the best in Taiwan, definitely worth a try. Chishang is known for it’s bamboo bento boxes that can be found everywhere in Taiwan. It happens to be very close to Mr Brown Avenue, which is a fun area to explore on electric quadcycles.
Our recommenation: Visit the stinky tofu if that’s your thing, otherwise skip it. Have the famous Chishang bento box lunch at Chishang, enjoy exploring Mr Brown Avenue, and get on your way to Taitung!
Qiaotou Stinky Tofu 橋頭臭豆腐
This shop looks very unassuming, with very simple tables and chairs like the typical street vendors. There’s no sign for the name of the restaurant, but you can find it by the crowd standing in front on the street. They add some extra pickled veggie to the standard cabbage and crispy fried tofu, the balance of flavors was delicious! We were glad we found it! Still though, you gotta love stinky tofu to enjoy it. If you’re not a stinky tofu fan, go ahead and skip it.
Chishang 池上
This particular spot was difficult to find as Google Maps would give you the wrong address. Ask the locals for the restaurant with two train cars in front of it and they’ll point you to the right direction. There are plenty of Chishang lunch box restaurants around here so you can visit any of them. This particular spot has a mini museum upstairs and places to sit downstairs and is worth a quick visit. There are even dining tables in the old-school train cars, although they’re pretty packed. The food was decent, not spectacular, but it’ll satisfy your Chishang lunch box craving. Fill your tummy and head to the nearby Brown Avenue.
Brown Avenue 台東伯朗大道
While you’ll see lots of cool pictures online, it’s hard to picture what it really is until you get here. It’s a restricted area with spectacular scenery, where cars and motored vehicles are not allowed. Go ahead and find a bike rental shop, they’ll help you park, then rent an electric quadcycle to ride around. The word “cycle” is misleading… you just need to turn the handle and it moves. Our girls had fun driving it around! Be sure to stop for nice pictures! This is the main attraction in today’s itinerary!
Lisong Hot Springs River 栗松溫泉
This hike goes way down to the river, then you have to climb your way back up. The trail starts easy then gets very steep, and requires crossing rivers and walking on rocks while holding onto ropes. Bring gloves and be sure to get here in the morning. We were warned by fellow hikers that even those that were physically fit takes plenty of breaks coming back up because it’s so steep. We turned back fairly early and were still pretty out of breath on the way back. Not for the faint of heart… if you come, bring gloves and lots of water, and get here early! As for us, will have to give it another try next time!
Naruwan Hotel 娜路彎大酒店
This is a nice hotel! There are two different Naruwan, we chose this original one based on the reviews but they both seemed nice. It’s a resort hotel and the amenities were great! We booked a larger room with private balcony and it was nice!
There is a game room with free ping pong and pool tables to have some fun. The bar was a disappointment — They lure you there with free coupons, only to then tell you the coupons are only good for this one watered down drink. It’s not a full bar, you choose from a menu of 5 drinks, and the coupon is only good for the cheap one. A bait and switch, don’t fall for it.
There is a nice spa area, we visited it in the morning. A cool waterfall / water massage room was fun for the family! There are also small tubs of varying hot water temperatures to relax your muscles.
The dinner buffet here seems pretty good but we were too full to pay for the buffet so didn’t get to try it. There are not a lot of restaurant choices nearby, just a 7-Eleven, so plan accordingly. Breakfast selection was vast and quality was good, very enjoyable! Overall, this was our second favorite hotel during this trip and we’d love to come back some time!