Three Days in Hualien, Part 4 — Farglory Hotel

August 26, 2011 — Three Days in Hualien, Part 4: Farglory Hotel.

We had stayed up late and worn ourselves out the day before, but when you have made it all the way to eastern Taiwan, getting up to wait for the sunrise is mandatory ^.^

An early-morning view while waiting for sunrise in Hualien — We were up before sunrise, waiting for dawn in eastern Taiwan.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. The outer circulation of Typhoon Nanmadol reached Taiwan’s east coast that day T.T

The cloudy Hualien sky under the influence of a typhoon’s outer circulation — Clouds from the typhoon’s outer circulation kept the sunrise hidden.

After waiting forever, all we saw was a sliver of dawn peeking through the clouds. The sun refused to show itself. We were ready to head back to the room for another nap, though I took a few more photos along the way.

Morning light appearing through a gap in thick clouds — A small patch of dawn slipped through a break in the clouds.

Morning clouds seen on the way back to the hotel — The morning clouds still had not cleared as we headed back to the hotel.

By the time we reached the plaza downstairs, the sun finally poked its head over the clouds ^.^

The sun emerging over the clouds above the hotel plaza — Back at the hotel plaza, the sun finally appeared above the clouds.

Traveling with children does not leave many chances to carry a tripod around. I had wanted to practise the black-card technique for ages, but that would have to wait for another day.

A landscape photograph containing bright sunlight and a darker foreground — Without a tripod, my black-card practice would have to wait for another trip.

What? Never heard of the “black-card technique”?

Well, it is not something I can explain in a few words. Come on—move your mouse and scroll back to the photo above. Put simply, waving a black card lets the sun remain as it is while giving the foreground more exposure and making it brighter.

Still confused?! Never mind. I was mostly talking big anyway; I had not really mastered it. If you are genuinely curious, go ask Mr. Google…

Here is another shot of those “God rays” ^.^

Sunbeams streaming through openings in the clouds — Beams of sunlight streamed through the clouds—those familiar “God rays.”

After returning to the room and finishing our second round of sleep, we brought everyone downstairs for an enormously generous breakfast ^.^

Farglory Hotel’s European-style breakfast was the most varied hotel breakfast I had tried at the time. Bacon, ham, fried rice, fish, congee, side dishes, soy milk, rice milk, shumai, buns and mantou—they had everything other places offered. There was also a huge selection of delicious bread and pastries. By the time we finished, we were too full for lunch.

Mmm… delicious…

Huh? What was that?? No photo, no proof?

After the painful incident two days earlier, when I forgot to photograph our dinner at Chateau de Chine, I had done some serious soul-searching. Next time food appeared in front of me, I would definitely take a picture. Who knew—maybe someone would eventually pay me a little extra to write a sponsored blog post…

A travel photo taken at Farglory Hotel after breakfast — No breakfast photo—only my solemn promise to remember next time.

All right, I will definitely remember next time. (Nods earnestly.) ~.~'"

After breakfast, we loafed around in the room for a while before heading downstairs to explore the hotel facilities.

A room or interior space at Farglory Hotel — After breakfast, we rested in the room before exploring more of the hotel.

A guest room or public area at Farglory Hotel — From the room to the public areas, we took our time exploring the hotel.

Farglory Hotel’s biggest attraction was its excellent location, with a distant view of the Pacific Ocean.

A distant view of the Pacific Ocean from Farglory Hotel — The hotel’s open hillside setting offered a distant view of the Pacific.

The rooms and lobby were decorated in a Victorian style, but they were still a long way behind the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel—and did not quite match the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel either ~.~'"

Still, to be fair, it was a pretty good hotel by Taiwanese standards.

The souvenirs in the gift shop were mildly interesting, though they lacked a distinctive identity of their own. As for those mascot dolls… let us not even go there.

Souvenirs displayed in the Farglory Hotel gift shop — The gift-shop souvenirs were interesting, though not especially distinctive.

After browsing the gift shop, we took the children to build blocks in the playroom.

A child playing with blocks in the hotel playroom — After the gift shop, the children headed to the playroom to build with blocks.

A child stacking blocks in the hotel playroom — The children kept stacking and arranging blocks in the playroom.

The outdoor swimming pool was just outside the children’s playroom.

The outdoor swimming pool beside the children’s playroom — Just outside the children’s playroom was the outdoor swimming pool.

Unfortunately, Lisa had fallen and hurt her foot the day before, so she could not go swimming T.T

We had originally hoped to squeeze in a visit to Zhaofeng Farm. Instead, we made a last-minute switch to afternoon tea at a five-star hotel ^.^

A travel photo from afternoon tea at Farglory Hotel — With swimming and the farm off the schedule, we switched to hotel afternoon tea.

See? See? This time I remembered to take photos first ^.^

Afternoon tea served at Farglory Hotel — Afternoon tea was served—and photographed before anyone started eating ^.^

Afternoon-tea treats arranged on the table — Documenting afternoon tea made up for forgetting to photograph dinner two days earlier.

After afternoon tea, we retraced our route, took the train back to Jiaoxi, and drove home. That brought our three-day, two-night Hualien trip to an end.

Mm-hmm. We will have to come back again ^.^

August 24, 2011 Part 1 — Mukumugi

August 24, 2011 Part 2 — Chateau de Chine

August 25, 2011 Part 3 — Farglory Ocean Park

August 26, 2011 Part 4 — Farglory Hotel