Saturday February 2nd, 2013
Breakfast was the same place as yesterday’s dinner…still we
rode the bus to it regardless of how ridiculously close it is. XD In buffet
format there wasn’t much of a selection but parts were very enjoyable. The
strangest thing was having cereal. See, they didn’t have cold milk, only hot
milk. I don’t usually eat sugar flake cereal but I just had to try eating it
with warm milk. And it wasn’t too shabby! I wonder if some cereals would taste
better with warm milk rather than cold. Hmm…
The main event of the day was a trip to Hualien Farglory
Ocean Park, a small amusement park next to the ocean. There were educational
portions over sea animals, rides, shops, food, etc.
First was a group picture at the entrance of our gang. The
driest moment of the day…
Next we went through the educational sea animal cave-like
area as a whole following afterward with taking a gondola up the mountain to
the top section of the park. Here a performance was held at the (incomplete)
English castle themed area. I couldn’t figure out what the theme of the show
was but it held comedy, dancing and acrobatics. It was really, really cool! No
pictures or videos to show because I was 89% sure it wasn’t allowed and didn’t
feel like getting in trouble. It sure was a sight to see, a pleasurable one for
sure!
Shall I confuse you with some of its characteristics?
Weeeeeell, there were two German-Japanese brother comedians, a “SHA!” magician
with bright red mop hair, a giant teddy bear, dude with hat on fire, human monkeys
bouncing on a trampoline, Middle Eastern dancing, Indian wedding, a foreigner
show seed acting as if he was a member of the audience, flying water lady,
acrobatic couple and and and! Sorry, too much confusion? :P
After the show we had the option of going to see a dolphin
show with Rotary or do our own thing. A group of friends and I chose to do our
own thing to explore as much as possible before time was up. We went on rides,
had lunch together, shopped and more.
One crucial thing spoiled the day…it was raining up a
storm…pouring down…and we had no umbrellas. Actually I did bring my good cane
umbrella on this trip…but it was sitting in the inaccessible bus at the one
time I needed it. *sigh* Oooooof course
it would be! The only thing I had for protection was my black windbreaker,
which did a fair job but couldn’t fend off the water when on amusement rides.
It’s difficult to see but here my hair is so wet and clothes
gradually getting damper and damper. In order ride the rides without getting
rain in things like backpacks or purses with electronics in them, one person
stayed behind to watch the possessions under shelter. That person was usually
me save for a pirate ride I itched to go on.
Ohhhhh yeah. There was a pirate themed section of the park.
That’s right up my alley! One ride was a large pirate ship that swung forward
and back like a pendulum. Another was riding in a small ship both on a conveyor
belt and water parts. It had three dips and even though small, one was well
designed for the element of surprise. You went down the slope alright…but
backwards! No one was expecting that! It was sweet!
Among the other things done and seen as well as party
members of our group switching in and out, we attended a sea lion show. Taking
place outside, it had a cover to shelter the audience. Yet…we still got rained upon and wet from wind
maneuvering the rain around and onto the audience. Great. Juuuuust great. The
show was adorable though, ranging from sea lions diving off high rises to them
playing water basketball or land volleyball. So cool!
How about another rain reference pic? We have Amelia and I
here. Amelia’s hair was heavily dampened to a dark brown. See all that shine on
my black windbreaker? It’s not normally shiny. That all comes from being drenched
in water. That’s what happens when you spend over seven hours at a down pouring
water park. XD
The rest of the day was heading back to Taipei by tour bus,
then by train and for me it continued with subway and bus to get home. We did
have one stop at a place that solely sold food that can be given as gifts.
Popular items were pineapple cakes and muachi (mochi in Japanese), muachi being
famous in Hualien (the place we visited). They had samples left and right for
tasting. All the samples tried nearly made a full meal but I discovered three
delicious favorites. One was the structure of pineapple cakes but with banana
filling. So, a banana cake. Oh good sweet lordie it was YUMMY!
As for the other two favorites, I bought those as gifts for
my host family. On the right we have peanut flavored muachi and on the left a
peculiar chocolate flavored treat. It mimicked muachi but had a non-gummy
outside but keeping a chewy filling on the inside. I admit, I had more than one
of its sample. I probably went back 4-5 times to have a bit. Yeah, I’m bad. :P
In my defense, I don’t think Taipei has this and who knows if I’ll ever see it
again since Hualien is quite a drive away therefore I wanted to savor the taste
when I could.
That about wraps up the Eastern Rotary Culture Tour. Hope
you enjoyed! ^_^
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