Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Day 8 - Taipei

By today, we have already made one round trip around Taiwan island. Time to head back to our starting point which was Taipei City. Took the train from Hualien and after a lengthy ride, we checked into our hostel and headed out again to visit Taipei's Liberty Square. Here you will find also the National Theater & Concert Hall, as well as the famous National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, erected in memory of the previous president of the Republic of China.



Red, Green & Blue
DMC-LX3, 1/1600s shutter at f/2.0, ISO-80



Inside Taipei's MRT...
EOS 40D, 1/50s shutter at f/2.8, ISO-640



Symbol of freedom...."Liberty Square"
EOS 40D, 1/640s shutter at f/4.0, ISO-400



Taipei National Theater
EOS 40D, 1/250s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-400



Chiang Kai-shek Memorial
EOS 40D, 1/500s shutter at f/5.0, ISO-400


Ximenting was our next destination where we visited the colorful streets and settled our dinner. Ximenting is definitely one of the most happening places around Taipei...

To sum up our day at Taipei, we visited Taipei 101 which is currently (as of time of writing, Burj of Dubai is still under construction :-p) the tallest building in the world.




Ximenting
EOS 40D, 1/100s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-400



Zombies...
EOS 40D, 1/50s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-800



Taking a walk...
EOS 40D, 1/3s shutter at f/4.0, ISO-800



Cool
EOS 40D, 1/15s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-1600



Hot
EOS 40D, 1/4s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-400



For the full album, please visit:
http://khpc82.multiply.com/photos/album/125/Taiwan_Day_8_-_Taipei


Links to the rest of my Taiwan photos:
Day 1 - Taipei
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Monday, September 28, 2009

Day 7 - Taroko & Hualien

Taroko was a really new experience for me.

To be walking between walls of rock created by millions of years of corrosion is really breath-taking. The wondrous work of nature, patiently chipping away at the concrete rocks bit by bit. Imagine what the place will look like after another million years?



Taroko National Park
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



Many gave up their lifes building these tunnels...
EOS 40D, 1/4s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-800




The Taroko gorge
EOS 40D, 1/200s shutter at f/8.0, ISO-400



Little Red Roof
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



Little Red Pagoda
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



Zhi Hui Bridge
EOS 40D, 1/1600s shutter at f/4.0, ISO-200


We paid an extra NT$200 and asked the taxi driver to bring us to "Qing Shui Duan Ya" which was nearby Taroko. The place was a beautiful stretch of sharp cliffs facing the sea. Nice....but for someone who is scared of heights....you might feel your legs wobble standing on the ledge....



清水断涯 #1
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



清水断涯 #2
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures

 
The rest of our evening was spent at Hualien's 南滨公园....enjoying the gentle sea breeze ^^


Pebbles on a rocky beach
EOS 40D, 1/40s shutter at f/36, ISO-200
 
 

Fireworks on the beach
EOS 40D, 3.2s shutter at f/6.3, ISO-400
 
 

For the full album, please visit:



Links to the rest of my Taiwan photos:
Day 1 - Taipei

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day 6 - KenTing & Hualien

We woke up a bit early to check out the sandy beaches of KenTing. KenTing wouldn't be KenTing without its famous beaches! On summer days, the place should be packed to the brim with beach goers but too bad for us, it was the starting of Spring and the weather and waters are a bit tad too cold for swimming trunks and bikinis. Dissappointing....especially the "bikini" part missing :-p


Clear blue seas
EOS 40D, 1/3200s shutter at f/4.0, ISO-400



Wild Wolf
DMC-LX3, 1/60s shutter at f/2.0, ISO-80


We left KenTing for FangLiao by taxi after the short morning on the beach. FangLiao is a really small town, very peaceful, very quiet. We took a small walk around town since our train was still hours away.



Fang Liao Pier
EOS 40D, 1/8000s shutter at f/4.5, ISO-400


Converging? Diverging?
EOS 40D, 1/500s shutter at f/2.8, ISO-400


After a really long train ride, we finally arrived at Hualien. Due to unforseen circumstances, we had to change our hostel. Our initial hostel was situation rather far away from town, so we needed transport. But the funny thing is Hualien doesn't accept licenses from Malaysia. Really funny since I've already rented scooters twice at KaoHsiung & KenTing. *sweat*


One of Hualien's attractions...
EOS 40D, 1/15s shutter at f/2.1, ISO-200



Lady in blue...
EOS 40D, 1/50s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-800



Traditional Taiwanese Dance Performance
EOS 40D, 1/50s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-800



For the full album, please visit:
http://khpc82.multiply.com/photos/album/121/Taiwan_Day_6_-_KenTing_Hualien


Links to the rest of my Taiwan photos:
Day 1 - Taipei
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Friday, September 18, 2009

Day 5 - KaoHsiung & KenTing

We had the morning in KaoHsiung city before we depart for KenTing. So we rented a small scooter and went for a fun ride around the pier and surrounding areas. Visited the British Consulate of Takao 打狗领事馆, which was one of the attractions around KaoHsiung. It is basically an old British building built with red bricks and the building has been converted to something like a museum.



KaoHsiung harbor front
EOS 40D, 1/8000s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-200



View from Takao British Consulate
EOS 40D, 1/8000s shutter at f/2.0, ISO-200



The British Consulate of Takao
DMC-LX3, 1/400s shutter at f/2.0, ISO-80



Got the old British feel...
EOS 40D, 1/2000s shutter at f/4.5, ISO-400



Old British Architecture
EOS 40D, 1/1250s shutter at f/4.5, ISO-400

After a long taxi ride from KaoHsiung, we arrived at KenTing. KenTing spans quite a large area with attractions mostly scattered a few kilometers apart, so it was only wise that you rent a scooter/car to travel around. And trust me, you will enjoy the cool breeze of the seaside blowing into your face and hair. ^^



KenTing's burning evening skies...
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



Clean and clear waters
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



Rocky beach walkway
EOS 40D, HDRed from 3 exposures



The long, dark, shrub covered pathway...
EOS 40D, 1/30s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-400



Some striking colored fungi along the dark pathway...
EOS 40D, 1/30s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-800




For the full album, please visit:
http://khpc82.multiply.com/photos/album/119/Taiwan_Day_5_-_KaoHsiung_KenTing


Links to the rest of my Taiwan photos:
Day 1 - Taipei
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Friday, September 11, 2009

Day 4 - Alishan & KaoHsiung

Rain spelled difficult times ahead of our early morning hike up Alishan mountain. The unforgiving rain clouds blocking out the sunrise and battered us until we were soaked through. Even so, it was an unforgetable walk in the rain amongst the great woods of Alishan...



"The early morning train..."
EOS 40D, 1/50s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-800



"The merciless rain..."
EOS 40D, 1/80s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-1600



"Piggy"
EOS 40D, 1/10s shutter at f/5.6, ISO-1600



"Heart..."
EOS 40D, 1/20s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-1600



"Walking amongst nature"
EOS 40D, 1/20s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-800



"The mystifying forests of Alishan"
EOS 40D, HDR



"Tired..."
EOS 40D, 1/1600s shutter at f/2.0, ISO-800


We left wet wet Alishan and reached KaoHsiung city late that evening. The KaoHsiung weather was much better. My 1st impression of the city was that the streets were awfully quiet for a city its size. But as you can see from the photos, the city has its own charms also.



"Spinning wheel"
EOS 40D, 30s shutter at f/22, ISO-200



"Liu He Night Market 六合夜市"
EOS 40D, 1/25s shutter at f/3.5, ISO-400



"Love river 爱河"
EOS 40D, 10s shutter at f/10, ISO-200



For the full album, please visit:
http://khpc82.multiply.com/photos/album/117/Taiwan_Day_4_-_Alishan_Kaohsiung


Links to the rest of my Taiwan photos:
Day 1 - Taipei
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