We spent 3 days in Taipei, and most unfortunately, this was how the weather was like during most of our days there:

Tamshui

Cloudy, rainy, and simply wet! It’s inconvenient going around with an umbrella, and we couldn’t fully enjoy some of the sights because of the rain. I didn’t have the mood to take a lot of pictures too…

Jiji was another place we didn’t plan to go initially, but decided to drive to later since we had extra time. The main attraction there appears to be the railway, which starts from Ershui and passes Yuanchuan, Zhuoshui, Longchuan, Jiji, Sheuili and Checheng.

We had some free time while in Hualien, so we drove down to Shitiping. If you’re intending to tour the East Rift Valley scenic area then this place should already be in your itenary, but if you’re intending to drive down from Hualien city just to see this place, then be aware that it’s going to take you a few hours to get there. It was a long drive, but we enjoyed the unique coastal scenery that greeted us at Shitiping, and we spent quite a while there walking down the coast and climbing the rocks.

Taroko National Park, named after the Taroko Gorge, is a beautiful and huge park that spans Taichung City, Nantou County, and Hualien County. Getting to the park from Hualien seems to be the most common way, and within the park, you can get around by bus, car, scooter, bicycle, or simply walking. Getting around with a vehicle will allow you to cover the park within half a day, but certain parts of that park are only accessible via hiking trails (some of these take a long time to cover, so check the website for the estimated time it takes to complete them, and bring along enough water!).

And ending off with the last min su we stayed in…

Bayview / 望海楼
Location: Xincheng Township, Hualien county (花蓮縣新城鄉七星街18號)
Website: http://www.bayview.com.tw