Wednesday 27th April

We arrived home at 10.55am. What a long flight!! The plane was a A330 Air Bus and it was full. We had good seats but there wasn't much leg room. The seating was 2 - 4 - 2. We had a 2 seater and Wally and Helen sat in front of us

They gave us a meal about 1am consisting of pork and rice or chicken and rice with all the trimmings. Sandy had some but we weren't hungry. Tried to sleep but it wasn't happening. Read until about 3.30 then tried again. You could nod off and when you wake up, think you have slept for 2 hours and find out that it has only been about 10 minutes. Wide awake again.A little baby girl about 6 months cried until the last hour from Sydney. Her parents looked really tired (as you can imagine) by the time we got to Sydney. They were sitting in the bulkhead seats and they had a baby boy (about 8 months) beside them and he never moved.
They served us breakfast about 8 which consisted of a choice between a ham/cheese sandwich (which we both took) or a chicken/rice dish. The ham & cheese sandwich was bacon, cheese and mushrooms on a baget roll. I didn't feel like this but ate the bacon and a few mushrooms. Had 2 lots of apple juice too. Sandy had his. We got into Sydney 10 minutes ahead of time as we had a tail wind.
I got some Opium perfume at Sydney Duty Free and came on through. My seeds that I had purchased in the Old Town got through Customs. I had declared them and when I got to Customs, they put them on the Computer and said I could keep them. Don't know when I am supposed to plane them as the writing is all in Chinese. I will put them in a pot as they are Morning Dew flowers.
The limousine was there to bring us home. I have never been so glad to see land and know that we are coming home.

Arrived home at 1.30 and the limo took Wally and Helen to their home. Sorted out our suitcases and started the washing. I didn't realise we had so much washing. It's all done except for 1 load and that can be done in the morning.

Andrew came in about 5.30 and Simon and the boys came in about 7.30. As we had had our tea, and Sandy had his about 5.30, we were sitting talking when Simon came in. Not really hungry but more tired than anything.

After tea the boys were in bed by and I followed and not far behind me was Sandy.

A good time was had by us and we thoroughly enjoyed the company. I think we are getting that much older and don't need the early starts and late finishes but..........

Tuesday 26th April

After breakfast (with Edna and Dick) we were back on the bus again at 8.30 to go touring. As this was an extra day for us (at no cost to us as China Airlines had cancelled our flight even before we left home).
We travelled through the longest tunnel again (13kms) and it was dark and there was nothing to see.

We arrived at Yilan County and we were told there were mineral springs in most of the hotels.

We arrived at Wufeng qi Waterfall. It was a beautiful place and the waterfall was just something. We took lots of photos and (as far as we went) there were some ladies doing Thai Chi at the Waterfall Viewing Platform. The water just gushes down into the Canyon. The view is wonderful. At the bottom of the waterfall is a natural pond where the water is clean and clear.

We came back down after climbing 541 stairs to the bottom and had a peanut ice cream. It was different and mainly made of ice not ice-cream. They had lots of little stalls where the locals sold fruit and vegetables.

It is a famous scenic area in Jiaosi Township. The name comes from the 5 peaks that line the background of the waterfall which look like a flag from a long way away. Walking up the trail past the Earth God Temple near the entrance, you will reach the waterfall source of foot within the hour.

We got back on the bus and were off the Luodong. In 1914, the Japanese discovered Taiwanese juniper forests on Taiping Mountain and started a lumber business there the following year. The lake was lovely but it had a lot of rubbish, cigarette butts and papers. We couldn't see any garbage bins either. We walked until 12.30 and then we got on the bus to go to our lunch at Dragon Garden.

Lunch was OK but still Asian. We then went off to the National Centre of Traditional Art arriving at 1.15. It was a very big place and was very interesting. Due to the rapid changes in their current society, traditional arts are dying out because there are no people learning these skills. Therefore, in 1995, a proposal for the establishment of a "north Eastern Cultural Arts Park" was changed to a plan for establishing a 'Centre for Traditional Arts' and the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan was put in charge of this plan.

We saw a ceremony in Taiwanese of a 'wedding'. It was performed by Taiwanese people and a sort of 'ballet'. It was made up of sea life, squid, whales, fish, dolphin, fishermen etc. They were dressed in costumes and the more you looked at them, you could see what they represented. We followed them to the centre stage after they had finished and watched them perform the last of the dance. We sat and had ice creams (in the shade) then went through some shops and saw what they were making and selling. Watched a man making sugar cane lollies. It just melted in your mouth but we found it too late to buy any.

We got back on the bus at 4.30 and going to our Farewell Tea at 4.30/5. Out tea tonight is a Mongolian Style Bar-B-Que and Northeastern Style. It was a very long day.

We arrived at our Restaurant for our tea. It was called Tang Palace but the sign said Tang Kung BBQ. You got a bowl and filled it with what you wanted and they had 2 chefs who cooked it for you on a HUGE bar-b-que. They had pork, chicken, beef, venison, veal, heaps of salads & oils and it was great. Ice cream and fruits for desserts too. The Mongolian Hotpot (I didn't try) but it was made with vegetables and you cooked your own meat in it (for just a minute, and no more).

After tea, we went onto the airport for our flight home. Yippee!! Looking forward to going home but not the flight.

Le tried to get us into the 1st Class lounge to wait for our flight but because we weren't Frequent Flyer's, we weren't allowed. We said goodbye to them and we went and had coffee and just sat and waited until our flight at 11.55pm. It was only 9.20. We ended up going to more comfortable lounge chairs next door but it was so cold with the air conditioning that we went down to our gate, A9 and waited.

Finally our flight was called and we got to the plane for a journey home.

Monday 25th April

2 sleeps to go!!! We left the hotel at 8.30 and we are on our way to Meiji Shrine about 20 minutes away. It was a lovely shrine where we couldn't take photos of the inside of the shrine but could take the park on the outside. We were just in time to see a ceremony with the monks and 'lady monks'. I think they are called monks also but not sure. I took some photos of their ceremony and it was quite amazing.
Back on the bus at 9.40 and off to shopping in Akihabara.

We drove past Olympic Stadium and they had Circus de Soliel on. There were tents everywhere (which I think were for food etc).

We also drove past the Royal Palace which is surrounded by a moat (except where their driveway is but not for the public).

There wasn't much traffic there as peak hour traffic is between 5 - 7 each night.

We arrived at the electrical store consisting of about 7 floors. They have anything that you want in electrics. Sandy bought some ear phones for his iPod . We said good bye to Steve and Kim as they were staying in Tokyo for another 2 days on their own.

We got an email address for Ayumi as we leave her this afternoon.

We got to Tokyo airport and said good bye to Ayumi. She was a good Tour Guide and this, she said, is going to be her last tour and she will have to find another job. She was very knowledgeable and tried to let us see as much as she could fit in.

Our flight to Taipei was due to arrive at 5.15.

We boarded at 2.10 and there is an hour difference between Tokyo and Taipei.

I should imagine the trees changing colour in Autumn would be amazing. You could see there were orange and red trees everywhere.

On arriving at Taipei, we were met by our Tour Guide, Ruth for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

We were staying for the night at Howard Plaza hotel in Taipei (where we had stayed before).

We walked up to the Sogo Department store and Helen bought a pair of shoes. Sandy and Wally had a coffee at Starbucks and waited for us to come back for them.

We passed Le & Lien going for their tea. Le said to wait a minute and he bought 2 more beers and gave them to us to take back. He said he would be back soon.

After about 9, he hadn't arrived so we drank his beers and as Wally & Helen were going to their room, our phone rang and it was Le asking if it wasn't too late (10pm) he would come to our room and have a drink. Sorry Le, we had drank it.

Re-packed our bags and were in bed by 10.30 as we had an 8.30 start tomorrow.

Sunday 24th April

Today is Easter Sunday. We aren't home to give the grandchildren or Noah and Kennedy Easter eggs. I'm sure they will get heaps anyway.
Sent a text to Jack and Ty, Hannah & Sophie, John & Marilyn and my sister and Jeff.

We had to have our breakfast and be on the bus by 8. We are off to Hakone and view Mt. Fuji today.

We saw (from the bus) Mt. Fuji and it was just beautiful. It had snow on the top and was a panorama view to die for. Hakone has been famous for hot springs since 1590. We stopped at Hakone Valley and had a look around. There were heaps of steps and we went to the top and boy, did it smell (sulphur). It had hot springs bubbling and needless to say we didn't stay too long. The sulphur got into your throat and clothes.

From Hakone Valley, While the others went down the bottom in the bus, Lee & Lien, Marcelle and Graham, Wally & Helen, Anna & Vlad and us went by cable car (they call it a rope ride) and, to say the least, it was absolutely magnificent. It only took about 20 minutes to get to the bottom and 1020Y each, was worth every penny of it.

We had our lunch at Hakone Kojiri Terminal before we went on our cruise. Lunch wasn't too bad but I wasn't hungry and ate a little.

After lunch we went on the Ashinoko's Pirate Ship cruise. We sat behind the captain's Room where he steered the 'boat' from. It was very cold outside and windy. The scenery was beautiful and it lasted about 35 minutes. We left the boat and got our bus as we were off to Tokyo. We saw about 30 motor bikes on our trip up to the top to get on the freeway. The motor bikes were going down to the pier. I think they might be going on the cruise ship also.

Back on the bus we stopped for a "pit stop" before arriving in Tokyo. It was a long way but we made it. We then headed for Tokyo.

We had another River Cruise for about 40 minutes. It was called Sumida River Cruise from Hinode Pier on Tokyo Pier to Asakusa. The river was the most important waterway for the development of Tokyo. We got off the River Cruise and saw the Asakusa Kannon Temple and walked through Nakamise Shopping Street. It you bought an ice-cream there, you had to eat it at the shop and you weren't allowed to walk along and eat. There are 400 cherry blossom trees planted on both sides of the river too.

We saw a Korean pop group who had "idols" watching them. They didn't mean anything to us but we couldn't work out what was the attraction. They looked like another Asian to us.

We met at 4 and back on the bus to go to our hotel. The Grand Prince Hotel in New Takanawa. We had a little "pit stop" on our way and then stopped at the Sea Deck Shopping Mall. We were going to have our tea there later.

We had a look through the shops but there wasn't anything to buy for tourist shopping other than 'young' clothes for teenagers. It was a huge place with lots of floors.

We went to the 4th floor where we had our dinner. It was buffet style and help yourself. They had pizza, pasta, and salads etc for everyone. It was just delightful. I even had 3 helpings of the main meal then there were desserts and a chocolate fountain where you could cover any fruit in chocolate.

On to our hotel and there isn't the Internet again. I wrote 4 blogs in Word so I will cut and paste when we find an Internet. If the hotels have the Internet, they charge like wounded bulls for 24 hours and if you only have it for 1/4 hour, you still have for 24 hours. It is quite expensive. I fell into bed about 1/4 to 11 as I couldn't write any more.

Saturday 23rd April

Le and Sandy went down at 5.45am to have a Spa in the Japanese Mineral Springs. I didn't go so I had a shower while he was away. The bed was uncomfortable and as for the pillow!! Words don't describe it. It was hard one 1 side and had 3 bars on the other which apparently you could take out but we didn't find this out until the next morning. Duh!!!
This room was last night's room and this says it all.

We had breakfast at 7 and on the bus by 8 to go to Tateyama Korobe Gorge. We had our breakfast with Val, Gordon, Kim and Steve. It was simple but nice.

The steep cliffs of Korobe Gorge wants nature lovers to enjoy it's breathtaking scenery. It was once an isolated region but now offers a variety of thrilling sights for adventure seekers.

We went by various means of transport to reach the Ice Wall (which is only open in April). The journey costs 8900Y, went by bus, Cable Car (all the way indoors which wasn't any scenery to look at), shuttle bus and finally got there. It was a magical way to see the Ice Wall. The ice has built up and is about 7 metres high. There is only enough room for a bus to go through. I don't know who gives way to who if there is a bus coming the opposite way. By the time we got to the chalet, it was snowing and quite cold. We went out and Sandy wrote our names on the ice then we had to go back inside as it was freezing. We ended up sitting in the cafe having a coffee to try to warm up. I even had a coffee so that will tell you how cold I was. I don't like coffee!!!

The hotel was 2-1/4 hours away (Kimiyoshi Hotel, Tateyama).

Back on the bus and we stopped at a 7/11 store and had an ice cream. Never too cold for an ice cream. Our hotel was now about 1/4 hour away.

Tonight we stay at a Ryokan style hotel for the experience of traditional Japanese hostilities. On arrival, we got our room and had to take our shoes off. There were futons on the floor and we had to sit on the floor if we wanted to eat anything. It's not too bad getting down but getting up is another issue. Before tea Wally & Helen and Le and Lien went for another Spa in the hot springs. We had our tea on L2 and had to dress in our kimonos Sandy dressed up but I didn't. Quite a few of the others did and they looked terrific. We decided to dress in our kimonos for beakfast in the morning and have a photo taken.

We went back to our room for nibbles and cocktails. Le came in and Wally & Helen came too. Lien went to bed early??? Went to bed and we and to be on the bus by 8 tomorrow.

Friday 22nd April

After breakfast with Wally & Helen, we headed for Takayama’s Jinya Morning Market. It has been operating since 1863. I was disappointed in the markets. There wasn’t many shops open and what was open didn’t appeal to me. We were told there were lots of flowers and fruit & vegetables but we still haven’t found them.
We requested an extra ½ hour to look around but now I don’t know why. It sounded good at the time. I bought 3 packs of seeds of flowers so hope I can get them through Quarantine. If not they can have them.
On our way to the Old Town about an hour away to see the historical streets of the area. We went through a long tunnel about 14kms long. We then went to Shirakawago. A small village that is world heritage listed. It is located in the mountains beside a beautiful river. It is also where the Praying Village is located. Model-zukuri Gassho house, or “construction praying hands” is characterised by a sloping roof form and symbolises the hands of people who are praying. It was beautiful with snow capped mountains.
I even had to go to the loo and guess who went to the wrong on? He never battred an eyelid and neither did I but just about ran out.
Off to our lunch then a walk in the village. Left my camera in the Restaurant after lunch. When I discovered it was missing I flew back to the Restaurant and it wasn’t there. With my little knowledge of Japanese and their little knowledge of English, I couldn’t make out what the lady was saying. She was trying to tell me that it had been given to our Tour Guide and she was in the bathroom. When she came out and gave it to me I was so relieved.
We saw men re-thatching a roof on the Temple. One man had a chain saw and he was levelling the roof off. I wondered what they did in the old days when there wasn’t a chain saw around. Maybe they used a scythe.
We then travelled to a town called Tonami. On the way we stopped at a shopping complex where the check out ‘chicks’ were so polite. We could send planes of our people to see how to serve customers. They could learn a thing or two.
Wally finally got an ATM and it worked. He quickly grabbed his card and money before anything could happen.
We are staying at the Royal Hotel in Osaka tonight. It was a beautiful hotel but miles from everything and anything. For tea we had to take our shoes off and sit on cushions on the floor. It is OK to get down but trouble for some to get back up.
Sandy and Le are having another mineral spa in the morning at 6 and our bus leaving in the morning at 8.

Thursday 21st April

We had breakfast with Noel & Chris, Marcelle & Graham, Bill & Edna this morning and we had to fight for a table with the Japanese taking most of the 3 restaurants.
Our bus was leaving today at 8.30 and we are going to Hikone Castle about 1/2 hour away. It is one of two of Japan's remaining 4 medieval wooden castles and are each around 400 years old.
Genkyu-en Garden, Hikone's number 2 attraction is the garden at the foot of the castle. The park contains a sprawling villa built in the Chinese Tang Dynasty style in 1677 for Naooki Li, the fourth lord of Hikone.
It has beautiful gardens and the surrounds are lovely too. There were large carp in the lake and black and white swans.
We again had to take our shoes off as there were lot of steps in the castle and they were large and steep. We had to come down backwards.
We left again at 10.30 on our way to Gujo Hachiman for lunch. Oh, for a steak and chips with salad!!!
On our way again (all we seem to do is travel by bus to another destination) to Takayama. It is a historical Edo period consisting of shops, museums and wine shops. It was from 1600-1868) On the way we passed mountains covered on the top with snow and also some snow on the roadside. There were lot of tunnel too, the longest being 4350metres long.
We went to Takayama Jinya (National Historic Site) which was so small on the outside but huge on the inside. We had a Japanese guide take us through. We stayed there about an hour then we wandered through the old town and looked in the shops.
We got back on the bus about 4.30 and came on to our hotel for the night. It was only about 10 minutes away. It was called the Hida Hotel in Takayama.
It had 2 3/4 beds again and we went for a walk before our tea, which was at 6.
Wally tried to access an ATM again but to no avail. This is the 3rd time he has tried.
Everyone seems to be able to get onto the Internet but us. Le even came to try and get us going but 'not on'.
We were having abeer in our room when "lo and behold" it came on and I am writing my blog.
Sandy and Le are going to have a Mineral spa (in the nude) in the morning so should be interesting. Le is picking up Sandy at 6.
I'm sorry it has taken do long to get up to date but with no Internet it couldn't be done.

Wednesday 20th April

We had a reasonable night and breakfast was OK and we are leaving at 8am.
We are off to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum about 20 minutes away.
THIS WAS PUT ON YESTERDAY INSTEAD OF TODAY, SORRY.
On we went to Miyajima Island about 1/2 hour away. It is famous for the floating Itsukushima Shrine and also the Tori Gate.
We went across by ferry which took about 10 minutes. There were deer roaming around here also. We walked around but we only had 1/2 hour. We took lots of photos and I hope to put some on my blog when I get home.
On we went to our Restaurant for lunch. It was at a Japanese Restaurant where we had to take shoes off and sit on the floor. It was 10.30 and I wasn't hungry at the time of the day. It was way too early.
We were on the bus by 11.20 and we had about 4-1/2 hours driving to do. We were on our way to Kyoto. The driver was driving too fast for my liking so I decided to have a sleep after I had put on my seat belt (which I had just found). We had about 250kms to go and we then arrived at 4.15.
We saw Kourakuen Garden which was very beautiful. It is in Oakayama in the middle of the city. It was created at the order of the Ikeda Clan (the same people that founded the Sgizutani school), the gardens occupy most of the island in the middle of the Asahigawa river in central Okayama.
We saw the beautiful gold temple and the gardens are to die for. Looked through the gift shop and on the bus again for our hotel which is about 1-1/2 hours drive.
Our hotel (Nagahama Royal Hotel) had nice views and also had 2 3/4 beds.

Tuesday 19th April

We had breakfast on level 1 with Bill and Edna this morning.
The bus left at 8.30 to go to Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe. We went over a suspension bridge 39klms long and is the longest in the world.
We went in to see a movie of the making of the bridge in 3D. It was interesting. It was still cold and raining and we were glad to get back on the bus to get warm again.
Off we went to Himeji Castle, about an hour drive away. The blossoms are just beautiful and must have been magnificent 2 weeks ago. The castle was closed for renovations as only the bottom floor was open but it cost 400Y to see it.
It was cold and windy still today. We had to wait for 4 late comers to start the bus to go to our lunch.
People come in autumn to see the colour of the mountains and the change of colours in the trees.
We went through about 13 tunnels. There are tunnels all through Japan. From once side of the mountain to the other. We even saw tulips growing in house gardens and there were magnolias everywhere.
We then went to Kourakuen Gardens which took about 30 years to complete. They were absolutely beautiful. Boy, did it rain. It rained for about 10 minutes so we had a cup of coffee in the shelter and then the sun came out and off we went again to explore the gardens.
On the bus again at 4pm and off to Hiroshima about 2 hours away. We only stayed about 1/2 hour which was disappointing as I think the bus load would have liked to stay about 1/2 day there. It was interesting but there are 2 sides to every story and we only heard the Japanese side. Took 2 photos of before and after.
Onto the restaurant for our tea. We were having a Bar-B-Que tonight. You cook for yourself. There was every type of meat you could imagine and also every other type of salad and sea food. You name it and it was there.
There was a bar-b-que in the middle of the table and it had a gas fire in it to cook on. What a way to go!!!
There were deserts of all kinds. It was scrumptious.
Went across the road with Helen to buy some beer but it was only a grocery store. We came on to our hotel the Grand Prince Hiroshima Hotel which looks out toward the picturesque islands that dot the Seto Inland Sea. It has magnificent views of the Hiroshima Port and Miyajima Island, and has 23 floors in the hotel.

Monday 18th April

Today our bus was leaving at 5.40am. We said good bye to some of our friends as they weren't coming to Japan with us.
We left on our flight to Osaka at 8.35am. Osaka is one of the oldest cities in Japan. The plane flight was only for 2-1/2 hours and it is cold on the plane and we haven't much room.
We were met by our Japan guide Ayumi (are-u-me). We had our lunch after a short flight and it was 1718kms from Taipei to Osaka. Japan is 1 hour behind Taipei.
Le and Lien sat in Business Class. Nice if you have the money!!!!
The cherry blossoms in Japan are just magnificent. Apparently, they were out about a fortnight ago and they must have been something because they are beautiful right now.
We went to Todaiji Temple today. We feed the deer and if you didn't give them their biscuits they would search you for them.
We saw the largest inside Buddha in the world. It was quite an impressive temple. There were lots of school children there and they were all dressed in uniform and looked gorgeous. They were from kindergarten and some were High School. There were heaps of cherry blossoms and the park lands were kept lovely.
We went shopping before our tea into the Shinsaibasi district in Osaka. They have arcades of fashion houses and specialty shops. It even has a Dimariu (same as in Melbourne) shopping store. It has stoned pave walks and as it was still raining we headed back to the bus.
Came on to our hotel, the Rihga Royal Hotel in Osaka where we had 2 3/4 beds. Yippee!!
We had tea consisting of sushi and sashimi and other delicious tastes.
We fell into bed and never moved until the early morning call woke us at 7 but somebody still snored most of the night!!!!

Sunday 17th

Today is a free day. We ended up going by train to the Taipai International Flora Expo.
It was cold and wet and you name it, it was there.
The gardens were beautiful but they had been there since November and only had another week to go. The countries had exhibited their own gardens and when I get home will put some photos on my blog.
We came back to the hotel to get changed as we were wet and cold.

Then we went with Le & Lien and Wally & Helen to an store that sold electronic equipment. There were quite a few floors there but they all had the same equipment.
We came back and had a buffet tea at the hotel on the 4th floor.
We were going to go to Sogo (a large department store)but there wasn't anything there that appealed to us so went back to the hotel.
They had a great assortment of food and also some US baked ham and Leg of Lamb. It was NT880 each but worth every penny as we didn't have any Asian meal.
We came back to our room and had a night cap with Wally and Helen.

Saturday 16th

Had an early morning call and off we went to Chaing Kai-Shk Memorial Hall. It was a beautifully place and we climbed 89 steps and saw them erecting for a concert tonight. It is held by Delta and there are 5 gate, 6 columns and 11 arches. There were no backs on the seats so would have been mighty uncomfortable but there were 1000's of seats being put out.
We then went on to Martyr's Shrine where we saw the changing of the guards. It is a classic Ming Dynasty architecture. It was so colourful and there were 100's of people watching. There were 7 men dress in suite and I think they were the Security to make sure nobody crossed the lines. They rotate between the Army, Navy and Air Force to change the guard. It was absolutely brilliant.
Then we went on to Yung Ming National Park. It was donated by Rada watches in 1969 and it chimes every 30 minutes.
We went to Yangming Park and had a group photo taken. Only with everyone's camera. It had beautiful parks with squirrels, Bal Bal birds, rhododendrons and Azaleas. We even had an ice cream.
We had lunch at Ms Hsieh Li-hsiang restaurant. It was "different" to say the least. The food was OK.
After lunch we went to the National Park Museum. The 1st hour was with Allan and we had to wear ear phones while he talked. The National Park Museum is one of the world's 4 largest museums which hold the world's largest Chinese art collection, more than 70,000 pieces. We had coffee with Jean and Graham.
After an hour of driving we went to have a foot massage. "WOW"
The guy that did my feet was huge and I think he took his weight out on my feet but it was worth it. The whole bus of people had this done. The guy I had said I had stomach problems???.
On we went to the night markets. They are called Shih Lin Night Market. It is the largest night market in Taiwan. The were literally 1000's of people pushing and shoving there. The crowds were an understatement. Sandy got some new sox and then it started to drizzle rain.
We were on the bus by 7 and waiting to leave at 7.30. We came back home and there was heaps of traffic.
We are staying at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Teipei again tonight.

Friday 15th April

Up for breakfast with Marcelle and Graham. We are in our room for 3 nights from last night. We are staying at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taipei.
We left at 8.30 this morning on our way to Yahliu National Park. We spent about 1 hour and 20 minutes there.
There were lots of rocks in the shapes of animals. We even had a Nefertiti's head queen's head fairy shoes (use your imagination!!!). Some of the rocks were candlesticks and others were "what-ever".
We left there and drove to Chiufen (pronounced Jophin). It used to be called "little Hogn Kong" by the locals.We didn't do a lot today and we fell into bed late.

Thursday 14th

Had our breakfast and had to be on the bus by 8.
We visited the Seven Star Lake, the area is called Qixingtan in Mandarin. Qizingtan was once the name of a series of small lakes situated where the Hualien Airport now stands. But in 1936, Taiwan’s Japanese rulers filled in the lakes as part of a modernization drive, and the local people retreated to the coastal area and their descendants now still call it Qixingtan.
We went to a marble factory where we saw how the marble is sculptured and the furniture made of Hualien’s marble.
We went onto Taroko National Park. Taroko Gorge is the Seven Wonders of Asia. It’s narrow path created by the Liwu River which was cut deep into the mountains of solid marble. A road carved into sheet walls of rock rewinding its way past forrested peaks and cliffs towering thousands of metres above, while hundred of metres below a river roars parts gigantic marble boulders. We saw Swallow Grotto (natural hotel carved out of the marble by the erosion of the Liwu River. During late spring and early summer the hotels are the nesting place of 1000’s of swallows).
We went through the tunnel of Nine Turns (man-made wonder created by the builders of the Highway. The Highway penetrates the mountains through winding stone caves and tunnels), and Marble Bridge (it’s faced with snow-white marble from Haulien and is located at the beginning of the Liwu and Laosi Rivers).
We had lunch at an Aboriginal Restaurant. It was a gourmet lunch was wasn’t what I had expected. It was quite nice.
After lunch we drove through SuHau Highway and pass ChingShuei Cliff located on the section of the Suao-Haulien Highway, one of the most spectacular sights on Taiwan’s Pacific Coast, then Snow Mountain Tunnel (which is the 2nd longest tunnel in Asia 12.9km) and the 5th in the world.
We went onto dinner and a Taiwanese Gourmet Restaurant where the main ingredient is the Taiwan tea leaves. It was most delicious and our table just about emptied all the plates.
We went onto our hotel, the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taipei where we are going to stay for 3 nights.
This day is being written from notes supplies by Taiwan Tours because I forgot to take paper with me and write down what we did and where we went. Also, I haven’t done my blog for 3 days and my memory isn’t what it used to be.

Wednesday 13th

Sorry about the long wait for the blog - couldn't get internet access. Up early this morning but didn’t have to be on the bus until 9. We had breakfast with Le and Lien and then I typed up my blog until it was time to get on the bus.
We left at 9 to go to the Tainan Aboriginal Beinan Cultural Village. It was through a 2km green tunnel made up of maple trees and mango trees. Beautiful.
It was up a ramp to the lookout where you could see all of Hualien. We could see where we had stayed last night in the distance. Came on down and walked over to where the relics were. Beinan Cultural relic is the sarcophagus and remnants excavated during the railroad project. It is the biggest and most intact prehistoric habitation of Taiwan. It belongs to the first class of ancient remains. The collections are now exhibited at Beinan Cultural Park for public viewing. To me it was very much like The Terracotta Warriors in China.
We had lunch at an Amis Restaurant. Not Amish. It was a typical gourmet Amis luncheon. Very nice.
After lunch we went to the Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area which is located in the mountain foothills, 3kms to the west of Fuyuan Village in Ruisui Township. We had to go through a 2km green tunnel made up of maple and mango trees. In addition to having the largest stand of camphor trees of any recreation area in Taiwan, its 190 hectares also feature a Butterfly Farm. The butterflies swarm between March and August. There were some beautiful butterflies. The most popular is the white butterfly with a wing span of about 15cm. I had about 5 on my legs and 1 on my hand that wouldn’t part company when I had to leave. I must have the most photographed legs in town, even though they are skinny.
Following this, there was a hot mineral spa for use. Most of the people had a spa but I didn’t feel like getting wet today. I took the photos.

Some of the crew went walking up to the gorge and saw some wonderful waterfalls cascading over sheer cliff. One couple even saw a monkey waiting for them at the top and took its photo. There was also a sauna but I don’t think anybody took this offer.
After Sandy, Wally and Helen had changed we sat in the garden and had a beer and met with Le and Lien too. It was so nice not to have to rush to get on the bus and go anywhere for a while.
We headed back to the bus at 3.30 and we had a 1hr 50min drive before we stopped again.
Stopped at a “lolly/cake” shop where we got 10% discount on anything we bought. They had heaps of samples and I bought some apricot little ‘cakes’. Then on to our hotel, Chateau De Chine Hotel in Haulien. It is painted in very bright colours but the inside is just wonderful. We are on the 7th floor and the room is great.

Went down for our tea at 6.30 and then Wally, Helen, Sandy and me went across to 7/11 and got some beer and after drinking the 2 bottles, went to bed as we have an early start tomorrow and a jam filled day ahead.

Tuesday 12th

Had breakfast 6.45am. Left the Hotel and went to Theresa Deng Memorial Museum. She was a very popular singer with all Asians. Well known for her patriotism to Taiwan. She was like Elvis, Johnny Cash etc to us.
We then went to Kening National Park. On the way we stopped at Pin Dong for a "pit stop" and a fruit beak. They are famous for their Wax Apples, Watermelon (which is green or yellow) and Mango which can be up to 1 foot long. Ty would just love this. Then we went on to Sail Rock, about an hour away. We passed lots of fish farms where they breed Groper and Sea Bass.
We had a sea food buffet at a Kenting famous restaurant and it wasn't too bad.
On to Light House Museum, about 10 minutes away. Saw a bride and groom having their wedding photos taken. I don't know if their tradition is the same as Chinese where they have wedding photos taken about 6 months before their wedding or not. Anyway, it was very windy up here so we didn't stay long, only about 40 minutes.
On our way now to Taitung where we are going to stay the night. We went via the Scenic Southern Link Highway which is going to take about 3-1/2 hours. It was a very winding an steep pass and sometimes I think the driver was going too fast. I was glad to get to the bottom in the end and in one piece.
Went along the Coast road and it was parallel to the Pacific Ocean. It was black sand, and I mean black, lots of huge rocks and plenty of trees (which I would call Drift wood). When I spoke to Allan (back at our hotel he said that the rocks and trees were washed up when a typhoon in 2009 had hit and as the beach belonged to the Aboriginals, they didn't want anyone to touch their beach. We also passed a damaged bridge which they were repairing from the typhoon.
Only 1/2 hour to go after our last "pit stop".
We arrived for a Taiwanese Gourmet tea at a Restaurant. It was the best meal I have eaten sine arriving.
We checked into our Naruwan Hotel in Taitung for the night. It was a lovely big room and the bed was very comfortable.
There was a 7/11 shop just out the side door so we got some beer and Wally and Helen came into our room and we had these.
We were in bed by 9.30 and slept until ????
We have a late start tomorrow, 9am we leave. Hoping to write more tomorrow night and fix up what has already been written.

Monday 11th

We had breakfast with Le and Lien and had to be on the bus by 8.30 with our bags down at Reception. We had a 2-1/2 to 3 hours drive to Alishan. It was a very steep, narrow and curvy road. Much, much worse than Macquarie Pass. We saw tea growing and there were planted tea trees on the sides of mountains. Allan stopped and got a sample of Betel Leaf – it is called Areca Nut and here are also Betel Beauties (we call them Escorts or Ladies of the night). When you buy some Betel leaves, they give you a mug to spit the flax in as you can’t swallow it. Yuk!!!
We passed a huge landslide and after another 2 hours of winding road, we arrived at our lunch at Alishan Hotel. It was very old and the blossoms were out but not very many. Our lunch wasn’t too bad but have had better. The pork steam buns were the only thing that was absolutely wonderful. Sandy bought some beers for the 6 of us (Wally, Helen, Le, Lien, himelf and me) and each bottle cost NT$120 ($A6.00).
We walked after lunch, and walked, and walked. We saw some trees that were over 1000 years old. They were so tall and straight. The old trees had the most wonderful root system above the ground and you could see how well preserved they were. It was very misty and some of the photos might not come out but I will have to wait and see.
One lady called Edna had trouble with the altitude. They thought they would have to get an ambulance for her, but in the end managed to get her to the top where we met our shuttle bus.
We left Alishan about 2.15 to travel to sample some tea at Formosa Tea. They only had 2 teas for us to sample and I wasn’t impressed with either.
We left there and travelled to Kaohsiung Liuho Night Market for our tea. It is about 1-1/2 hours driving. All we are doing at the moment is driving long distances and my ‘bottom’ is sore from sitting.
We then went to the British Consuls Residence which we are supposed to do tomorrow. It had a very, very steep climb to the top to see the residence and the view, which was to die for. It was over the Love River, where it is said that a young man and woman drowned in the river, hence the name. Allan said this is a true story but we have to believe him.
We arrived at the Night Markets and had an hour to get something to eat and have a look around before we went to our Hotel. We arrived at our hotel called Garden Villa at 9.30, and after we had a beer with Wally and Helen we went to bed exhausted. The beds are a bit softer than last night so shouldn’t take much rocking.
Helen got a text from Laura to say that Japan had another earthquake today and Wally got a 3 texts from Fiona (his cousin) to make sure they were alright. Wally spoke to Allan about this is and he didn’t know anything about it but would inform us on the bus tomorrow.
On the BBC News they said that the ‘quake’ registered 7.1 on the Richter scale. This is my worst fear, but here I am and we will have to wait and see what eventuates tomorrow.
We have a late start tomorrow and I think that will be great.

Sunday 10th

We arrived in Taiwan at Teipei Airport at 6.05am( Aust. time, Taiwan is 2 hours behind us). We were met by Allan, our Tour Guide for all of Taiwan. It was still dark and we boarded our bus A. There was another group with us and they were mostly Asian (didn’t speak English) and they were on bus B.
We met Le and Lien, and wouldn’t you know, he had the 6 beers as promised. Who needs a beer at 6 in the morning??
Boarded our bus and were on our way to the Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village.
It is misty but not pollution like in China. Allan said it would clear as the day progressed. He was a very nice and informative man. Hope it stays this way.
We did so much today ??

Saturday 9th

Awake at 3.40 this morning and that was the end of sleeping. Lay there for quite a while then decided to get up. It was going to be a long day. Sandy got up about 6.30 and the day started in earnest. We went out to see his Mum and said good bye to her. We would see her in just over 3 weeks. Came on home and just waited until it was time to pack. Did this about 2pm. What a waste of a day. Spoke to John & Marilyn and hoped they have a great cruise. Wally and Helen arrived in the limousine about 5.15. Sue and Kevin saw us off. We travelled to Sydney Airport in style. We even had champagne on the way. It was going to be a lovely night. We met most of the group at 7pm and our Tour Leader was Ann. She helped us to check in and then we wandered around to have some tea before it was time to board. Wally had the ‘last’ shout in Sydney. We had 2 beers and 2 white wines and it cost him $42. What a hike!!! After these we went around to our gate No: 33 and waited to board. We had to board at 9.50 for take off at 10. It is 8 hours 45 minutes to Taiwan. It was going to be a long flight. Finally boarded and it was a very smooth flight. It is 7508km from Sydney to Taiwan. Still couldn’t sleep on the plane. Taiwan is 2 hours behind Australia.

Saturday 9th April

Today has finally arrived. No more sleeps. The limo will pick us up about 5.30. I haven't packed my bags as yet but the old boy has just about finished. We went out to see Mum this morning and took her for coffee. I will write more on my blog when I get to Taiwan.

Friday 8th April

1 sleep to go. It is a beautiful sunny day here today. Cleaned up the house and did heaps of washing. Stripped all the beds and washed all the towels. Everything is clean but goodness knows what it will be like when we come home. Have got some of the washing off the lines. I used Sue's (next door) line as well as mine. When some of my clothes have dried, I had to put more on the line and they will probably stay there overnight. We'll see. More to go on tomorrow.

Thursday 7th April

2 more sleeps to go. It is overcast today. Went out to see my sister and she showed me how to do the medallions on my Hardanger cushion. Looks simple but will soon find out.

Wednesday 6th April

3 sleeps to go.

It rained through the night and this morning but now the sun is shining. Jack, Hannah and Sophie have their X Country today and Ty has his Anzac Day Service at 2. Hope to do both when Grandad comes in from the gym.

Tuesday 5th April

Only 4 sleeps to go. We went into town this morning and got a few more things including a new mobile phone. It is raining here today but hope it won't be raining on Saturday when we fly out. I am meeting Jack at 1.30 to change his sloppey joe.

Monday 4th April

As of today we only have 5 more sleeps to go. It is now starting to go around quickly. I'm still not excited about this but I'm sure we will have a good time. Sent my blog address to Doug and Robyn and also our 2 boys and 3 grandchildren. The 4th grandchild doesn't have access to an email address, as yet. Also asked Wally to pass it on the Laura.

Sunday 3rd April

With only 6 more days until we fly out, I hope this blog works for you. The sun is shining today so hopefully it will continue while we are on our holiday. We are away for 19 days but day 1 is flying out and day 19 is coming home.