Taiwan 2012 - Dongshan River Water Park (Yilan) & Luodong Night Market

Sorry for taking so long to post this up. Not sure if my computer's problem or it's my ISP's problem but every time I try to upload a photo, my internet inadvertently gets cut off. As a result, I have to resort to uploading them one by one--a very time-consuming task. >.<

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy my post!

Dongshan River Water Park is a huge park in Yilan, something in the manner of East Coast in Singapore but with better scenery. Hehe. The Dongshan River runs alongside it, bringing with it a constant yet cooling breeze that feels really refreshing. In fact, this place was built to cater for several recreational activities. The architecture was designed such that people could sit along terraces to enjoy water races etc. Quite neat huh.

It's a great place for a day trip, especially if you're coming from Taipei. You can rent a bicycle or one of those 2/4-seaters to explore the park in its entirety and enjoy the fresh air. One thing about this place though. There are lots of tiny bugs flying in the air, so be sure not to...well...open your mouth too often. LOL.

Even the sky is bluer here

The tunnel that leads to the park from my B&B, cycling is
a rather popular activity here! XD

The first glimpse of the park

A well-kept path that meanders along the river

A map! You can see that it's a really huge park.

The iconic red bridge of Yilan - Lizejian Bridge 利澤簡橋

Water sports galore...you can even sit along the terraces to
enjoy the breeze

You can tell that it's a really popular spot for water-sports
lovers

An abandoned coffee place...but it DOES have the air of a
modern Taiwanese love drama setting, right? 

Another place in which to admire the scenery

I'm not sure what this building is for, but it appears to be
empty as well.

So nice and peaceful, right?

Gorgeous expanse of grassy fields for the picnic lovers

The benches are like something out of a fairy tale, no?

Even the shelters are so pretty! Not just chunks of shady concrete.

DINO! They definitely planned this park for the
kids.

Truly a kid's world

Food for the hungry & bicycle rental

There is not much to eat nearby...a couple of restaurants that requires a good deal of walking after you've crossed the Lizejian Bridge (the red bridge that is pretty iconic in Yilan) to the other side, but you can always consider visiting the Luodong Night Market which is located in the middle of the Luodong Township near the Luodong train station.

Now the night market, like any other in Taipei, is absolutely PACKED. There are loads of delicious food and you can see long queues of people in front of popular stalls that can also be found in several locations scattered throughout the night market. So what exactly does one eat here? Regrettably, I didn't take a lot of photos of the food. But here is a post by Kampungboycitygal that not only includes a map where all the delicious treats are, it also has loads of pictures for your visual feast! XD

Whole streets of food, fun & shopping
at Luodong Night Market~!

You can get here from the Dongshan River Water Park via a cab. It's easier than taking a bus & it doesn't cost much either. I took a cab and the driver was so friendly. Hehe.

My thoughts:
Not exactly a touristy spot, but it's good for a leisurely day trip. You can also take a small boat from here to the National Center for Traditional Arts. The park is very pleasant, but you can't help but feel that it was meant to be a more commercialised area. The beautiful yet empty buildings that you walk past are a mute testimony to that. About the only shops that survive around here are the food and bicycle rental kiosks because people love to come here and cycle or buy some food to share with their friends. On the whole, Yilan appears to be a sleepy town with not much happening. There are a lot of B&Bs around though, so you can count on a restful vacation if you decide to come here. Among the more popular ones are Rothenburg Lodge and Sunday Home, but do note that these places are extremely popular so if you want to stay there, you gotta book fast and way before you make your trip into Taiwan. =D

I didn't get to stay at these B&Bs coz they were already booked by the time I got around to doing the nitty gritties BUT I did manage to score myself a room at the Beautiful Ilan B&B. I'll cover that in my next post. =)