November 22-24, 2014
For me, I have got to say.  You have not seen Taiwan, if you have not seen Tokoro Gorge in Hualien County.

We took the Red Line Above on Railroad.  2 Hour trip.

We took MRT from Gonguan to Taipei Main Station, and there we got on the train, and arrived in Hualien 2 hours later.  Too bad this was the weather.

Outside Hualien Train Station Upon Arrival

We walked for 10 mins from here to the hostel check-in location.  After that, they called us a Taxi which took us to the hostel(apartment).  There is a taxi service that will pick you up if you call them and take you basically anywhere in Hualien for NT$100.  We didn’t do all that much on the first day.  We ate food at a place called 055 which was great for seafood.  Fresh crab, lobster, oyster and the like.

We walked around a night market after but it wasn’t to interesting.  The next day is where the fun begins!

So, second day most of the guys in the group (5 of 6) went to go find where we could rent scooters.  You can definitely rent them by many places near the train station.  Depending on where you go, you may or may not need a international drivers license.  But if you show them your student (太大）id card it may be useful.  The owner of scooter shop said it was more important than a passport.  Though he may just have been referring to education in general haha.  Anyways, you can rent a 100cc or 150cc.  It was NT$400/day for 100cc and NT$500/day for 150cc scooter.  Below is a picture of my 150cc.

Now I will tell you straight up.  If you are not good at riding a bike, please don’t drive one of these.  Not because it is similar to a bike. but because it requires good balance and other things related to “driving.”  One key difference between this and a bike, is that these things do not turn sharp.  To turn you must lean and you can only lean so far on turns.  So please be safe!  BRING SUN GLASSES!
Also, Taroko Gorge is comprised of mountains, tunnels, and cliffs, so again if  you are not comfortable riding in that please I urge you not to take that chance.  Also, please be aware of the mountainside of the road.  Moss grows on the sides of the roads due to the moist climate.  This moss bring about the same danger as black ice.  Its very very slippery, so beware of that also!  Pay attention to street lights, some tunnels have only one lane, so if you go when its red, you will run straight into oncoming traffic.
Enough of the dangers though.  Beyond that, riding scooters on the side of a mountain in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen is something you will never forget.

All in all, we had a great time.  We saw some beautiful sights, and relaxed.  The beach we ended up going to (photo below) was so refreshing, and so amazing.