Hualien-nation

Waking up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning is a steep price to pay to see the beautiful, partially secluded, east coast of Taiwan. But, as it turns out, it was the only price I had to pay.

Once a year, my boss and her husband sponsor an overnight staff trip to somewhere in Taiwan. This year, it was to Farglory Ocean Park and the luxurious Farglory Hotel (really check this place out) in Hualien. Most known for Taroko Gorge, Hualien County is located in the middle of Taiwan along the Pacific Coast. A few hours on a train gave me the opportunity to see the coastline, which has mountains jutting out of it only a few hundred years inland.

It was a gorgeous weekend for a trip through Taiwan, although it was slightly on the warmer side. We trekked down from Taipei County via train, hypnotically staring out the window at miles and miles of ocean. Once in Hualien, we boarded a bus, which I'd like to mention (although it should go without saying) was fully equipped with karaoke microphones every few rows. The bus rolled onwards until we reached the gate to the hotel, only a stone's throw from the crashing waves of the ocean. We spent the next 10 minutes climbing the driveway, which had about ten switchbacks to alleviate the incline up a decent sized mountain. At the top, the view was dizzying. On one side of the hotel there was nothing but Pacific blue as far as the eye could see. And on the other side, an enormous valley of rivers and towns surrounded by majestic mountain ranges.

Once at the hotel, we dropped off our bags, received our room assignments, and hopped back on the bus. We meandered our way back down the mountain to Farglory Ocean Park, which happens to be about half-way down the driveway. Ocean Park is like a miniature SeaWorld and Six Flags hybrid. There was a dolphin show, a seal show and plenty of low-speed, yet highly thematic rides to keep a child entertained for a day.

We broke off into smaller groups, where I and a few of my other male colleagues putzed around for awhile trying to entertain ourselves for a few hours. We had about 2 hours until we could actually check into our rooms, and at this point, every minute spent outside was another minute closer to going from rare to medium-rare.

Trudging along from ride to ride in the scorching heat and saturating humidity, only one thought kept us alive. A detail that would give the trip an identity: The hotel has a swim-up bar.

Once we got back to the hotel, it was board shorts, bathing caps, and Coronas in the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Miles away from ordinary.

The rest of the trip included an extravagant buffet dinner, where I actually had a second helping of snail (and dozens of other delicacies). After dinner, it was back to the pool bar, and later the karaoke bar. The Taiwanese take their karaoke very seriously, so you actually have to pay to sing, to the point of renting private rooms for small groups. Refusing to pay, but not depriving the alcohol-induced urge to sing, we arranged with the bartender to let a small group of us perform an a cappella rendition of "Too Good to be True" for the six other people in the bar.

The night did not stop there, but the rest of the details are about as vivid as they are important. To give you a better platform for your imaginations to dive from, keep in mind that we did not bring a change of clothes to the pool, so we spent the night patrolling the hotel in flip flops, bathing suits, sunglasses and bathing caps.

It's like they say: "When in Hualien, do as the Hualienonians do."

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