Day 7: Hualien and Kaohsiung

Our flight to Kaohsiung was scheduled for 2:30pm, so we had the morning free to enjoy a bit more time in Hualien. After breakfast Simone and I "rented" a couple of the bikes available from the hotel and rode up and down the 3 to 4km bike trail along the beach. We headed south first for about 10 minutes before turning and walking the bikes up a small switchback to the top of a hill where the county had built a viewpoint. From there we rode another 10 minutes south until we reached the end of the bike trail. Not wanting to risk riding on the road, we turned around and traced the bike trail back to the hotel. From there we rode north to Chisingtan Beach where the tour bus had dropped us off the night before. We carried on a little further until we started to feel the heat, then turned around and had a slow pedal back to the hotel.

At the hotel we found Mom in the room. She was resting up after having walked for 30 or so minutes along the bike trail and beach boardwalk. We all freshened up before doing a final pack and heading down to the lobby, where we waited for the hotel van to take us to the airport.

The flight to Kaohsiung was an hour long, but the time seemed to fly by. Before we knew it we were at Kaohsiung Airport and catching a cab to the Hotel Dua. I didn't realize that I had booked us into such a swanky hotel - it was all glass and dark wood and modern furniture. The gentleman at the front desk who checked us in offered us a free upgrade to a larger room, which we gladly accepted. We were absolutely astounded when we got to our room on the 13th floor - it was so large that it felt like a suite, and the bathroom was so luxe that when you approached the toilet the seat lifted automatically in greeting. We could not believe our circumstances.

After settling in to the room and freshening up, we were in great need of food. We'd missed lunch due to the airport transfer so we were all very hungry. We asked the gentleman at the front desk for a restaurant recommendation and he suggested we go to Master Fu's. Unfortunately, after walking in two different directions we could not find Master Fu's. We noticed a small cafe on the corner of Linsin and Liuhe called - don't laugh! - the Pupu Cafe. I asked if they had an English menu and they did - just one, mind you. We ordered a set meal that came with soup and salad and a drink. It was just what the doctor ordered.

That night, after returning to the hotel, we geeked out on the computer. We downloaded everyone's pictures to my computer and spent a good two hours going through the pictures, rotating shots, and uploading a few pictures to Facebook. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.