A little bit like heaven on earth.

As I had been recommended to me by both locals and other travelers, I visited the county of Hualien (花莲) in the east of Taiwan. After a good first experience with couch surfing with Kenneth in Taipei, I decided to look for a host in Hualien. Through couchsurfing.com I got in touch with Dylan. He is an extremely nice guy, who takes a very active role as a host. Not only did he offer me a place to stay for the night, but he also accompanied me to see many places in the county, such as the Taroko Gorge. He also invited me to join him and his friends to the night market and to a personal birthday party. Then there's so many other things he helped me with, too many to write about... So Dylan, if you're reading this... Thank you so much! And to the other people reading this, I can gladly recommend you try couch surfing, be it as a host or as a guest. You will find that it will bring you unforgettable experiences that you otherwise would never have had.

Strike a pose.

My turn.

My host Dylan on the right with his best friend Harung on the left.

Coming to Hualien has made me understand why Taiwan used to be known in the West as Isla Formosa (beautiful island). Hualien boasts both impressive mountain ranges and beautiful subtropical beaches. Below, you will find pictures of the famous Taroko Gorge national park and of a relatively unknown, but picturesque beach.

Taroko Gorge. Unfortunately, this picture fails to capture the magnitude of this breathtaking scenery.

One of the numerous hiking trails in the Taroko Gorge national park.

Like paradise.

Random picture of the landscape alongside the road from Hualien City to Wanrong. Compare this to your daily commutation.

At last, time for some swimming. :)

At the night market, Dylan and his friends performed a little dancing show. It was based on the Taroko aboriginal dance, but with a little bit more modern movements added to it. I first helped by taking pictures and filming the whole event, but after a while I was already dancing with them on stage. :p It was a very fun and sociable experience.

Picture of the dancing performance. Will add a video later.

The Taroko aboriginals after their dancing show. On the left is Dylan, my couch surfing host.

I had planned to see a little bit more of the country, but I enjoyed my time in Hualien so much that I decided to stay here until the end of my stay in Taiwan. The 6th of august, I will leave for Hong Kong, where part three of this exciting journey will start: the summer school. There might not be so much to write about, since I will stay in one place for a while, but I will try to upload stories of the more interesting things I will do there.