After our lunch and briefly walking along the Buluowan Upper Terrace we were guided to the Liwu River. There stood a impressive suspension bridge crossing over the gorge.
This is the Buluowan Suspension Bridge. A suspension bridge was first built on this site in 1914 during the Truku War. This is the fourth iteration of the bridge which was originally named the Shanyue Suspension Bridge and was opened to the public in August of 2020. It had a stunning view of the gorge and river below.
At the end of the bridge is a short trail to a wonderful viewing spot named Brawan Lookout. You really get a wonderful perspective of the bridge from here.
From here we headed back to the Upper Terrace and the car, taking time to stop at the Visitors Center and check out the Atayal Cultural Center displays.
And then we hit the road again, making a couple of stops along the way.
Until we came to a toll booth. Our driver pulled to the side and instructed the Missus to walk the trail overlooking the gorge and he would meet us at the end. This was the Yanzikou Trail overlooking the Swallow Grotto.
We ambled along thru tunnels cut out of rock with a view of the gorge and river below from ledges. We read that this was how the road used to be like for the entire gorge!
There were many places where you could look out over the river and marvel at the geological beauty.
The formations, river, and plant life made for an interesting walk.
And there was indeed some entertaining formations along the way. Can you make this one out?
While actually named the "Elder Stone" (太魯閣族長老石- 長老側臉) – this is what the sign said:
Our driver met us at the end of the short half kilometer trail and then we headed on back. There was one more stop on the way and it might be the most picturesque of them all. Stopping in the parking lot and walking to the lookout point, your eyes are immediately drawn to this.
This is Eternal Spring Shrine (Changchun Shrine).
The shrine was built in 1958 to commemorate those who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. The shrine is built above a spring which empties into the Liwu River below.
There's a short trail to the temple which we decided to take.
As you make your way up the stairs you'll encounter a cave with statues of Guanyin, the Goddess of Compassion, Mercy, and Kindness.
It was great to stop here, because boy do we need more compassion, mercy, and kindness these days!
I think the water rushing out from under the shrine really adds photogenic drama to things.
We were then driven back to our hotel. Our driver was outstanding and so very pleasant, something we'd find is the norm in Taiwan.
The Missus made sure to hit up the hotels afternoon snack buffet.
We then took a short nap, before heading downstairs for a nice evening walk.
And then, yep the evening "snack" (aka dinner at the huge buffet).
Before hitting the hay…..
The next morning, our train back to Taipei was scheduled for 1253 and was right on time. We'd had a great time visiting the Taroko Gorge and highly recommend it.
We were taking the TR Taroko Express back to Taipei. We had stored our bags at the Sky 19 Hotel in Taipei so didn't have much to lug around.
I had noticed that on some routes/times folks are able to order a Train Bento for on board consumption. And on this route it was available. So, like the Missus said, on this trip ""you didn't meet a pork chop you didn't like." Well, guess what?
Of course I ordered some! And the prices were the same as if I'd bought them at a cart at the station; just about $2.50. Delivered to our seats.
The pork chop had hints of five spice, soy, garlic, ginger…..and was surprisingly, decently tenderized. I'm convinced that most pork outside the US tastes better! There's pickled veggies, and nicely flavored soy sauce eggs, great five spice tones, with a hint of sweetness….a Spam like mystery meat that increased my sodium level ten fold….this was just a fun meal.
Was it haute cuisine? For $2.50???? C'mon, this is food for every man/woman…..pork chop lover. For some history, here's a great post.
I love Taiwan!
Thanks for stopping by!
Of course we loved the tender, grassy-mild sweetness of the fern shoot.
The dish came with two sauces which we didn't need. I expected the goose to be gamier than duck, but it wasn't. It did have some nice gaminess, was super tender and moist, and nice and rich. The "smoked", which was more like roasted to me had a stronger flavor profile, though the salted version seemed more moist. Both versions were tender and I'd have this again in a minute!
Looking at the dumplings gave me pause. Look at the color; it's very "light", and as I thought, these hadn't been fried long enough and were hard and chewy, rather than crisp. The tops should be somewhat pliant with a slight pull to it. These were a bit on the brittle side. The filling was decently seasoned, but had too much napa cabbage for my taste.
This was pretty bad; the "skin" was hard and brittle. The filling seemed to be half cabbage, the pork mealy, dry, and was quite tasteless.
So, I hunkered down and took a sip of the broth and shook my head. It was really thin, lacking in beefiness, with just a hint of metallic-anise tones. It was in need of more richness. At least it wasn't salty….but on second thought it could have used more sodium and white pepper.
I would skip the "chili sauce" which wasn't particularly spicy, just kinda oily.
was our opportunity. So, we walked to Xinyi, and got to the original DTF on Xinyi Road.
The rice was perfect, but the sauce was greasier and milder in poultry flavor than what we'd had earlier and the turkey meat was more chewy/tough as well. 
And even though it seemed pretty busy along the whole 500 meter route, there was a laid back vibe to things. And so, we actually enjoyed this night market more than the 
The woman working was quite a good salesperson. She saw the Missus and I walk up and immediately started conversing with the Missus. And apparently this tactic worked as we got a Hujiao Bing – a pepper bun. 
As you walk within the park, you'll come across amazing trees. An example would be the "three generation tree". Where one tree grew upon another, each serving as a base for the next generation, a symbol for all who some here.
There were very nice wooden paths and bridges making Alishan a very easy visit. Perhaps too easy for the Missus as She was getting kinda bored with the whole place. Whereas I enjoyed the view and the trees. Oh the stories they could tell!
