Jade and I made a break for the border and jumped on a train to visit the delights of Ilan, on the East coast of Taiwan. Actually, it was the train ride I was more looking forward to – just getting away from Taipei is enough to give yourself some space from the stresses and strains.
Jade and I reflect for a moment
Tour guide
After all the textures in Japan, I thought it only fair that I give Ilan the same treatment
Taiwan Beer launches the new ‘Super’ can
I am definitely getting slower at writing the blog at the moment – much of the reason for this is because I have a new distraction in my life, in the form of an Apple MacBook. I have spent many happy and unhappy hours fiddling, fettling and making things work in the way I want. Finally, I have backed up the whole web site, and things are returning to normal, somewhat.
So, these words a touch old but I hope they are still okay.
Mum & Dad’s second visit to the island was a welcome break from the ups and downs of life in Taiwan. I really needed it, though I did not realise just how much until I saw them face to face in their hotel room. The benefits of Skype, especially, have meant that we are in very close contact much of the time, even if I really should call home more often.
Veterans of Taiwan, we decided to head away from the smog of Taipei and away to the tropical south of the island. However, as you will see we managed to choose the ‘tropical storm’ variety of the term to accompany us on our way down south.
The first aeroplane delayed, then cancelled. After a two hour wait we finally boarded and were on our way. It was about half way through the flight that el capitain informed us that weather conditions were difficult on the final approach, ie: they could not find the runway through the clouds. The second aeroplane made it to Taidong, and then returns to Taipei.
These delays were already quite enough for me, so I cannot really imagine how dispiriting it was the folks as their bodies were still navigating jet lag. So it was with this that the final aeroplane of the day boarded, minutes before we were considering renting a car or staying in and watching Television. Aeroplane three lands in Taidong!
Rather a slap in the face!
I remained in fairly close communication with Erin and she made sure that the local travel agent in the south knew to pick us up, and he gleefully drove us down to the dock side, all the while chewing betelnuts and spitting the bloody expectorant into a cup on the dash board. Arriving at the dock side, it was clear he and his wife shared the same past time – she also looks as if she had wrestled an impala to death on the planes of Africa.
A short wait, some food and finally we board our boat for Green Island.
It was pretty clear from the get-go that many of the people on board had never been on a boat before. The crossing is notoriously choppy, so we nabbed our seats near the back, away from the bow and the inevitible lurching. As we breached the main harbour wall screams of joy erupted from the front as people enjoyed being chucked around by the waves. Screams were replaced by silence, and silence by the sounds of fifty Taipei land lubbers on their first (and surely last) boat trip. Indeed, I personally felt pretty uncomfortable by the end and was glad to be on land again.
Before the waves
The traditonal thing to do on Green Island is to rent scooters and buzz off around the island chasing a stream of people doing exactly the same thing. We were not completely sold on the idea, but upon seeing the weather reports we thought it would be better than braving wind and wet up in the hills. And it was really, really worth it.
We snatched a quick ride after renting the scooters in the evening and headed out as far as we risked taking the fuel tanks (thoughtfully siphoned off, bottled and resold by the friendly locals). I had my girl on the back (Mum) and Dad had a steely look in his eye that I am pretty sure I only ever saw once before. Dennis Hopper I think. Certainly he had some sort of sound track that I would have loved to have been in!
Easy Rider(s)
The next morning brought more grey weather, rain and wind. But it didn’t really matter as it can only get so cold in the south of Taiwan. The island is certainly beautiful, baron and even more battered by nature than the rest of the island. Passing the occasional army camp slowly sliding into obscurity and rot it was clear that this place was probably not highest on the list of places the young men were enlisted to.
Gotcha
Waves smash into the rocks
Dad tastes the salt spray
Stand still!
Dad made me do it – Mum enjoys her camera
Not quite the same as a Norton … but still the thrill of the open road claims this survivor of the 60s
Looking towards the southern tip of the island
Dad tests another ‘tai wan pi jiu’
There is no escape from 7-11 – students seem to fill many of the nooks and crannies of the island, as they came to celebrate their graduations
Lampah
We were also lucky enough to be on the island for the first England game of the world cup … thus initiating the frustration and pain of the coming weeks, and all in glorious Japanese mono. For those that are interested, here is a quick introduction to some terms in Japanese:
Corner Kick = “koh nah ki kuh”
Crouch = “krow chu”
Shoot! + “shu tu!”
Lampard = “lan pah du” (also directly translated as ‘cock’ in Taiwanese)
The fun of the journey to the island was neatly mirrored on the way back to Taipei. The boat trip was marginally smoother and the betelnut-crazed tourist guide picked us up again. It was pretty clear straight away that we were in for more fun and games, and this was confirmed as we slowly saw the colours on the schedule change from green, to orange and finally red (bad news).
Time for catching up on Chinese homework
In the wait, we managed to squeeze in a trip to see the balmy delights of downtown Taidong. It didn’t take long. A Japanese-style Western-style steak restaurant, a pile of magazines and some quick coffees and we were on our way back to the airport. Nerves were marginally frayed after we heard the news that the east coast train line had been knocked out, but within minutes they finally announced the golden tickets and allowed us to board one of their fleet of grounded aircraft.
“Can we PLEASE go back to Taipei?”
Almost…
…nearly…
WE LANDED AGAIN! – to glorious sunshine though?
Ironically, within half an hour of taking off we were flying in wonderfully clear and calm conditions and I was able to pick out our route home out of the window. I was more than a little alarmed when I realised we were heading way further east than I expected, making a heading direct for Taoyuan and the international airport. Not again! The last time I came back from Kending we ditched there (that time we were struck by lightening, of course), but it turned out it was simply a holding pattern, and we began our final descent into Taipei. At last.
I swear, the weather system in Taiwan is broken.
Erin and I had a day trip to the pottery town of YingGe to the south of Taipei. The town was pleasant and worthy of a day trip, but much better were these two photos that made me smile!
It’s a GOLD scooter! – a 35th Anniversary model, apparently
Waiting at the platform for the train back to Taipei, it was tempting to try transcending. Luckily, this sign warned me not to!
The way home was marked with some fantastic old buses and the typically ridiculous public information signs on the train…
Was this bus in a cartoon when I was a kid?
Back side
The green bus … from the 1960s?
This is a Lifesaving Button!
When and how to use this Emergency Button:
Please press the emergency button, in the case that your car breaks down or other perilous situations.
Step 1: Press the button
Step 2: Then remove your car from the track
Step 3: Run when you see the train approaches!
I love love love Taiwanese public information boards – especially the logic of the steps required to salvage a potentially life-threatening situation.
Now the weather is finally showing signs of permanently improving, I am making a more concerted effort to visit more places outside of Taipei. I found that my rate of discovering new and interesting things in Taiwan dropped off markedly after the first year here, as a result I suppose of developing a routine, and frankly finding things more ‘normal’, if that is possible here.
Never the less, I took some time out to go down to Taichung – Taiwan’s third city – and see Sun Moon Lake. Taichung is an interesting place. I have the feeling that because it is not the original seat of power (Tainan) or the second city (Kaosiung) it somehow has a more defiant spirit about it and clamours to define its own identity in the face of the ‘international’ city Taipei. You can see this in the way people talk about it and indeed in some of the street fashion that I found.
Kaosiung’s largest tower, and site of a rather big fire earlier in the year … why do all cities have to have one tower with a UFO on the top. Was it a conspiracy in the 1970s? I am positive there is a revolving restaurant up there.
Rather a cool little coffee shop hidden away in a restored old building (hopefully this will happen more). Stones on the floor. 1000 artistic ideas on the walls – seems like a real struggle to define its identity, but I am happy that places like this are popping up.
The first thing to know that amongst foreigners, the name is ‘Sin City’. Multiple large complexes of lap dancing / spicy lady clubs emerge out of the mist of Taiwanese concrete. The style certainly borrows from Las Vegas or Atlantic City – a ‘Pastiche of a Pastiche’. The result is like architectural Chinese Whispers, and like looking at Europe or the Middle East through a lens … through a lens. Somewhat distorted!
Sadly, with my jaw on the floor the whole time, I neglected to take any photos. I shall have to sort some out.
On to Sun Moon Lake – one of the prettier destinations in Taiwan. Somehow we avoided the tourist hordes, but I imagine this is hell in the summer time.
Betel nut seller. Shaken not stirred.
GQ: Man of the day award
Reminiscent of Lago Maggiore in Italy?
… the kids agree
Flotilla of stuff
A nice wall
The ride of the year … 2 weeks of planning and avoiding bad weather were very nearly ruined 100 metres off the first climb when, losing a touch of balance / direction / control I veered off a cliff, landing 15 foot from the path, downwards.
Luckily, the sound effects of splitting bamboo helped break my fall and I landed, frozen in motion with my bike suspended 7 foot in the air, caught on the branches. Luckily – very luckily – I escaped with little more than an hour of mild shock and a rational fear of going near the edge again. Several handfuls of peanut M&Ms; later, however, and I was feeling a bit better.
This improvement was sadly checked by three and a half hours of the hardest, most gruelling, demotivating hike-a-bike that I have ever endured, the slippery singletrack only broken by trees pushing into the queue in front of us.
To cut a long and cold story short, we made it up to 8 Km by 12:00 (our designated cut off point) and started on the tough walking descent … but how much psychology is important! Our spirits returned with our energy and we were hopping over the trees without looking back once.
7 Km of epic singletrack descending through Bamboo forests, with the distinct feeling we were in land of the giants, and being watched by bands of lycra-clad ogres.
And with steam whisping off our disk brakes as we return to the final bridge, there was no question we will be back next year. But time with better weather, felled trees, and a nice parking spot at the top of the trail with 16Km of some of the best descending available snaking out in front of us.
It is high time that I posted an entry, since I have been quiet for a few weeks. I now have enough photos of scooters to warrant a full homage to Taiwanese ‘Scooter English’. I am sure this post will grow, since I am sometimes howling with laughter at the genius of some of the prose. Sit back, and absorb…
My scooter: “Duke … ECOLOGY NEW STAND & NEW LIFE”
“We reach for the sky. Neither does civilization … SNIPER”
“GENERATION POLLUTION ON THE EARTH LOW 50 FREINDL LIGHT NO. 01 POLLUTION FRIENDLY SCOOTER NEW”
“TACT … MET-IN … JUST FOR YOU THE NEW GENERATION … FAST FIRST AND BEST”
“Going … MOVE YOUR CREATIVE HEART”
“Your future depends on … MOVIE 125”
“JOG IS FASCINATING TO YOU”
“Going … KYMCO BRINGS OUT THE GENIUS IN YOUR CHOICE”
“Jockey are riding with us”
“THE BEST FUNCTION AND GOOD SENSATION“
“CHACHA … KEEP CLEAN, KEEP PLEASANT, KEEP HEALTHY … GIVING YOU THE BEST SENSATION ALL I HAVE”
“Dio … SHUTTLE IN THE CITY JUNGLE. THE NEW SPEEDY SNAIL CLAN CHARACTERISTIC. DIGNIFIED. AGGRESSIVE”
“CAOW … WITH FASHIONABLE FEELING”
“MAN … enjoy yourself … boy”
“YOU GOT TO FEEL … FEVER … THE HAPPINESS OF RIDING”
“Junior … THE GLARING HEADLIGHTS OF A MOTORCAR”
“SHEN YANG … THE NEW GENERATIONAL SCOOTER FRON EARTH”
“J\O\G … IS FASCINATING TO YOU”
“GOING … THE MORE YOU LOOK THE MORE YOU LIKE”
“125 … FOR NEW CENTURY”
“Spanking … The Dreaming Touring Motor With Spanking Kwang Yang Scooter 100E”
After a whole year of being surrounded by this, it does begin to become invisible to you – a shame. However, occasionally I will walk along a row of scooters with camera blazing, chuckling away to myself. I do feel jealous a little of newcomers who point every strange thing out – things I cannot see any more.
Although it seems very funny, this is the relationship with English that most local designers seem to have. And I have to work with them, using Roman characters to ‘decorate’ their designs. Frankly, we are often the same in Europe – exotic Chinese symbols seem trés chic tatooed onto our arms, eh.
Update:
Lars had some extra photos lying around of scooters. Some new, some when I had no camera – if only you could take photos at traffic lights you could get so much more lyrical goodness … I can see this taking a life of its own!
“FOVEP … YOU GET TO FOOL THE HARRINESS OF RIOING”
“Freeway … specializing in boble model street bike for noble life”
“TACT … MET-IN … JUST FOR YOU, THE NEW GENERATION”
“RR … RIDDING ON THE WING.”
“SNIPER … AEROTYPE … Just for wind cutting”
“THE EPOCHAL SCOOTER”
“SANYANG … THE BEST FUNCTION AND SENSATION … KING OF THE RIDER”
“FOR TOUR NICE SCENE”
“FANGIER … NEW EDITION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE … GET AWAY WITH IT ALL”
A new wave…
Duck – Be Pure – 125 SP – To resist drugs and violence – amazing
Dock – THE DUKE TEAM SO SPEEDING & DOMINANT
6 – THE FRIENDLE SCOOTER ON EARON – ER
To Feel Exuberan Tly Happy
LAEIH (?) – HAHAH
A SUPER SPEED – WE OFFER TOU SAFETY AND QUALITY
And so it continues…
We got up and started the day with an easy but really good fun trail out to the Water Curtain on the Baiyang Trail. It weaves its way through an old route through the gorge – one of many attempts that are now abandoned. Starting with several long tunnels and proceeding to some great suspension bridges it makes its way to a tunnel that allows water to drain through its roof in a fantastic display. Officially closed, you can still enter and experience it for yourself.
Chasing Waterfalls (Mum, valiantly defeating another bridge!)
The whole place looked like a Chinese watercolour the whole time (spot us on the bridge)
After stopping for a bite to eat we ventured for the short Huaran Pavilion Trail in the afternoon, warming up for a larger one the day after. What I did not really realise (lacking a decent map) was that the trail ascended at a constant 45 degrees from the valley floor until reaching the high road pass 1500 vertical feet later.
It was an amazing ride and the views were astonishing, but boy did we ache after so many steps up! Interestingly, it was built by the Japanese during the First World War to attack the local tribes. And even more interestingly, we saw a landslide occur on the other side of the valley as we made our way back down – the sound was horrific and seeing a whole hillside of trees on the move was quit surreal.
View at the top! The Huaran Pavilion after a punishing climb
Taroko Gorge is the crown jewel in Taiwan’s national park system. I took the folks there for a few days of relaxation and hiking and I have to say it comfortably exceeded expectations. The bus ride from the train station was truly breathtaking, winding our way down a marble canyon inches from the edge. Japanese and Taiwanese engineers have made many attempts to drive a road through with varying levels of success, and it it veers through tunnels over bridges and hangs to the rocks as it makes its way to TienShang – out stop.
We rocked up to a charming place – the Catholic Hostel. We got the best room for my parents (room 12 has the balcony view over the valley) and I kipped next door. The whole place was deserted, being mid week, and it stayed like that for our whole stay – very un-Taiwanese!
God bless us
This entry details the epic trip that Tanja, Michael, Markus and I made around the south of the island over Chinese New Year. 350km. 7 days. 1 puncture. Countless random events.
Map of the tour
The whole island gets its annual winter break in this period. The feeling was certainly festive at work, even if I felt a little detatched from the revelry. There is also an apparent innate desire to drive around the island in massively over-specified 4×4 vehicles and celebrate your annual holiday stuck in a traffic jam with 5 other cars from family members in a train of cars hours long, all attempting to reach the same pin point on the map … and return to the same origin at the same, synchronised opportunity.
I managed to hastily avoid packing on Friday night and left it ’til literally the last minute of the next day to select my clothes for the week (limited), load my bike (wonky) and mentally prepare myself for a 6 day physical ordeal (recovered from hangover).
Day 1
Saturday 5th February 2005
Taipei – Tainan (bus)
Tainan – Camp site (bike)
Our rigorously prepared German plan called for us to arrive completely disorganised, late at the bus station, completely aware that we would be arriving in Tainan in the night without any camping organised, or even knowledge of a site’s existence.
We slotted the bikes under the bus (with help from the formally-attired bell boys) and were astonished to see the incredible interior. Where you found 2 seats in Europe (or 4 in Mexico) you had a huge, business-class arm chair clad in green faux-leather with huge, phallic LCD screens emerging from the base. After a few minutes of fiddling, we found the controls to adjust the seats electrically in all the directions you could desire (and several you certainly do not). And then we found the magic button … massage. The seats vibrate, kneed, pound and press with varying degrees of severity, dependent on several completely deciperable, illogical controls.
At this point, we saw that several people on the bus were watching movies on the screens and begin exploring the menu. Unbelievable quantities of music, TV shows and movies were available for us, but I was quite pleased to find 7 channels of porn, which suited the vibrating chair quite well. However, Tanja and Michael looked a bit strangely at me, so I settled for The Matrix 3 with no sound instead.
Arriving in Tainan 4 hours later, we unpacked the bikes and, much to the locals’ amazement’ cycle off into the darkness to find our bed for the night. Apart from noticing incredible numbers of pubs compared to Taipei (my favourite of which was the ‘FBI Bar’) we really did not find anything remotely like a campsite. We settled on a community nature reserve (scarce on this island) after several minutes of justifying to ourselves ‘well this is Taiwan’. We pitched up behind a bus and spent some of the night terrified that we would get busted by a group of school children with fishing nets and clip boards.
Day 2
Sunday 6th February 2005 (Chinese New Year’s Eve)
Camp site – Tainan
Tainan – Kaosiung
We got up early to see where we had camped. The dawn light was a really pleasant start to the day. That, and the happy realisation that nobody really minded that we were camping in the middle of a town.
Our first hotel
A bus man’s holiday
Our bike’s – shiny and unabused before the trip
Bus company logo
In the end, Markus could not join us in Tainan, as he had spent 6 days in Europe on business with most of it spent travelling or waiting to travel. We had arranged to meet him early in the morning in Kaosiung the next day.
We had heard some nice reports about Tainan from various people and I was certainly very pleasantly surprised by the town. It had been the capital from 1663 to 1885 and you can see the influence of the Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese occasionally. My two favourite things (apart from the number of pubs) were the relaxed cafe atmosphere and the beautiful and numerous old temples in the city. We saw a decent selection of them, including Taoist, Confucianist and then specced-out standard ones. They were considerably older than many of the places I had seen so far in Taipei.
An intricately carved pillar at Matsu Temple
Interior view of Matsu
This guy was hilarious – he had a very famous and traditional tea next to the temple. He encouraged the kids to help stir the pots and the amount of work that went into it was quite impressive … right up to when we walked back past and saw his powerdrill! And incidentally, it still tasted of sweat.
View through a temple door at Kuankung Temple
Incense at Kwankung Temple
An incense urn at Kwankung Temple
When we returned to our bikes we found the Temple’s chicken (we assume) sitting on Tanja’s bike. We took this as an incredibly good omen for the year ahead (it is now the year of the Chicken) … and yes it did shit on MY handlebars (spot her fat husband in the background)
The cock was obviously none too pleased we were checking out his lady on his own turf, so did a lap of our bikes – chest puffed out. Dinner, mate.
The Pagoda at the beautiful Confucian Temple
After seeing the temples and having some lunch along a delightful lane of cafés we pedalled out onto the first leg – Kaosiung. The road
was quite slow-going, since we decided to take the coastal path. The Taiwanese army being the Taiwanese army, they made sure they had totally blocked the path with regular turrets, although eerily now abandoned.
We decided to get up on to the main road and get some serious K’s under our belt, seeing as we were making particularly slow progress. The urban sprawl never really broke, and as we approached Kaosiung proper it merely just went up a notch or two in density. We arrived in some dakness and headed for Lotus Lake, where we planned to meet Markus the next morning. I was not really prepared for the sights, since it was barely mentioned in the Lonely Planet – though as ever there were comprehensive culinary guides to all the McDonalds in the area.
Lotus Lake, although not quite located in the mountains with Kung Fu masters training in the mist (it was more a brief break in the food stalls and night markets), was seriously impressive. Sometimes the Taiwanese obsession with all things LED pays off, and this lake was lined with some amazing Pagodas, enourmous dragons, tigers and gods. All ablaze with light and fire. Truly memorable. Utterly hilarious.
LED Heaven
We had some difficulty again finding a camp site (see previous day for the reason). We considered camping in the grounds of the grand Confucious Temple, but knew we would be woken at early doors by curious strollers and Tai Chi-ers. Instead we headed for high ground and gradually left the city behind us. The first really suitable plot came between two huge abandoned steel works, and made for the most bizarre scenery. A couple of beers later, and after staring at the stars for a while, we retired to bed – again slightly stressed about being kicked out or crushed by a truck – but clearly camping next in a steel works is normal in Taiwan.
Day 3
Monday 7th February 2005
Kaosiung – Fang Shan
We awoke early to see the industrial landscape we had chose for our camp site – certainly the stangest accomodation I have ever had. It was, however, completely deserted and deeply atmospheric – the result perhaps of the Chinese New Year Holiday.
Hotel Chez Asus
Contrasts
We set off and waited at Lotus Lake for Markus to arrive from the city, joining us for the rest of the tour. He arrived, we drank coffee and got on our way. We knew the day was going to be quite hard going because we had to negotiate Koahsiung – a notoriously busy and polluted city (the second city of Taiwan). Still, seeing the amazing pagodas in daylight and drinking perfect fresh-squeezed orange juice was a fantastic start.
Morning at Lotus Lake
It took us a while to negotiate the city. Based around a huge harbour, we had to trek a fair distance inland to get access to the road south again. The roads were busy and the weather hot, but we pushed on and managed to make it to a small town of Fang Shan for the evening – only a few hours ride from Kenting, the beach and foooood.
Fang Shan shone. Initially, we had some trouble finding a suitable camp site. Within minutes the whole village knew we were there and the local teenagers took us uner their wing and invited us to stay in the local Elementary School. Now, this sounds strange, but in Taiwan it is usually acceptable to pitch a tent on school property (you may slowly picking up the pattern that strange things are often the norm in Taiwan). After breaking in, we found a perfect spot and breathed a collective sigh of relief when we found that all the facilities were kept open for visitors’ disposal.
Breaking and Entry
After eating, we gradually attracted the attention of more of the youngsters. Several of the teenage girls chatted merrily with us for quite some time, and they told us about life in the village and some introductions to local aboriginal life. Meanwhile, the local lads set off torrents of fireworks in the school, providing a pleasantly noisy backdrop to a relaxing with few beers under the stars.
Day 4
Tuesday 8th February 2005
Fan Shan – Kenting
After waking up and brushing our teeth in the school’s wash room, we stepped / pedalled out. It was pretty hilarious seeing the situation we were in, but breakfast was good, coffee better and the weather looking warm.
Fan Shang EuroCamp – spot our site on the left
It was a short hop compared to previous days, but the wind had really picked up and unfortunately not in our favour. A blustery head wind made getting a rhythm hard. We split up and agreed to meet in the resort town, which may have been a mistake, but it worked out okay. After quickly scoping the place for camp sites we found a decent one – but not before eating our way through the menu in a small Mexican restaurant.
An essential extended dip in the sea was precisely what we needed. Unfortunately, like much of Taiwan, they really enjoy trying to ruin what is perfectly good, and we were greeted with a legion of jet skis, ridden by people with no skill, and who probably could not swim. It was fascinating watching the fathers take their boys into the sea – most of them seemed petrified by the water, and a major conrast to Europe.
Running from the waves
The camp site was one you actually had to pay for this time. It was okay, but ironically the school was better, and certainly quieter. By this point, much of the main new year celebrations were over and the islanders were eagerly heading for the warm bits of the island – along with everyone else. Thankfully for us, camping is still not really mainstream, and the over-specced 4x4s with beautiful bikes mounted on the roof remained in the resorts.
Adjustments
In the evening we headed back for round 2 – Thai food. Exceptional quality. This time, all the holidaymakers had turned out to walk up and down the strip, and I realised it was exactly the same as the night markets we had just left behind us in Taipei. Clearly, this is their natural environment!
Kenting Night Market / Resort
Day 5
Wednesday 9th Fe
bruary 2005
Kenting – Undisclosed Location
Day 5 saw us enter the bit of the ride we had been looking forward to. We knew it was likely to be hard, with some respectable climbing and a tough distance to cover, but we knew the views would be fantastic of the east coast. However, the wind had other ideas and made sure, while the climbing made us sweat, the descents had much of the fun taken out of them with a stiff breeze blowing against us all the way.
Good dentail hygiene is essential for any epic tour
However, the day started marvellously and we saw the southern tip of the island, plus the limits of where commercial development had stripped the west of much of its charm.
The Pacific coast is really beautiful. As soon as you round the point, marked by a light house, cliffs drop into the ocean and the whole hill side is painted with dense vegetation. The first hour or two reminded me of Australia (though I have never been there), winding through billabongs and creeks, over crests and down dales.
The beautiful east coast
Fly By
The weather slowly deteriorated from here on in, and riding against the wind quickly turned very dull. The ride was occasionally broken up with disused army check points and bases – these must have been quite unpopular places in the winter with the squaddies. Given a few years of decay to let the paint peel, however, and they become very interesting places to wander around.
Old army bases
Sergeant Wierzoch
Clash between nature, man and Lexus
Originally, we had planned to finish the day with a fairly big climb to a few hundred metres elevation. We were perfectly happy, however, to stumble across a couple of camp sites where the road left the coast. We pitched up, set up food, and bought enough food and dodgy fireworks to amuse ourselves for the evening (narrowly avoiding igniting both of our tents).
Michael enjoys a beer
We all enjoy pyrotechnics
Day 6
Thursday 10th February 2005
Undisclosed Location – Jhiban Hot Springs
We had not made quite the mileage we wanted to the previous day, so we had left ourselves a very tough day. We aimed to reach Jhiban Hot Springs for a relaxation session, but had the biggest climb of the tour, plus 85 km or so of tough coastal road work along the major artery. We made sure to leave early, however, and the weather seeing us off was fantastic.
Markus, packing his bike and obviously feeling the pressure of 5 days in the saddle
The climb was a steady hour or two to a few hundred metres above sea level. Although it was not easy, it was satisfying to settle into a rhythm and feel strong after a few days in the saddle. The sun was shining, the views were amazing, and we knew we aimed to get to a hot spring – always a pleasure.
After the main climb, and riding through Aboriginal villages, thoughtfully decorated by the Taiwan Government
After reaching the main lip of the hill, we had quite a treat descending into Ta-Wu – fast, sweeping descent mixing it up with the cars and holidaymakers, returning to the coast for the final leg. Unfortunately, this final leg was a leg of immense length. The weather deteriorated and motivation slipped as the kilometre markers slowly counted down. I had spent several hours fantasizing about reaching a 7-11 and demolishing the candy bar section. We needed to really look after eachother on this section, and made sure to stick together to slip-stream away as much of the wind as possible. Finally, finally, we reached a 7-11 and were within spitting distance of Jhiban.
Keep going! – only 10 more minutes…
Jhiban had the same completely commoditised feel as a French ski resort. Beautiful scenery, but with huge concrete buildings dropped from alien space craft. The whole place was packed with tourists following us around the island, and the first camp site we reached was fully booked (even though they had put tents on the roofs of some of the buildings). The second one we reached was available, but disappointing, but we fortunately kept going for a couple more minutes to find a pretty nice site. No spring water left, and a steep £15 per night rate, but we had no choice and went off to find a public spring.
This actually turned out great. The spring we found – part of one of the resort hotels was a huge, sprawling complex of spas, water jets and saunas. I think I contaminated the water quite badly after several days without a shower (just ask Markus who I shared a tent with), but we stayed there until hunger got the better of us.
Jhiban Hot Springs – strangely serene
Shattered, but with good food and a beer.
Day 7
Friday 11th February 2005
Taidong (bike)
Taidong – Hualian (bus)
Hualian – Taipei, via Ilan (train)
The weather treated us to some beautiful sun. We still had another 20km to go to get to the airport and home, but this was doable after the previous day’s efforts. The wind was with us and we rolled along with bluebirds in our hair.
We arrived at the airport, and of course all flights were booked out. Finally, the lack of planning falls over. After taking a look at the long waiting list we decide to head for the train station, where we are happily told there is a two day waiting list. Riiiight. Finally, we head for the old bus station in the middle of town and get our revenge by buying KFC.
Again, our lack of planning turns into gold-plated fortune. The journey up to Hualian was stunning, hugging the coast line and driving beneath cliffs a thousand metres high. I am
now really looking forward to returning to the region with my parents and seeing more.
A quick ciggie stop on the coastal tour
A brutal environment for farming
Finally, and late, we rock up to Hualian. There were no immediate buses, but we decided to try our luck again with the trains. We could buy tickets to Ilan, which is a convenient hop to Taipei – either that night or the next day. Not ideal, but it meant we could get close.
However, we first needed to pack our bikes up, since we were not sure about loading them onto the train. Dozens of black bin liners, reams of tape and countless bemused expressions from the locals as we stripped the bikes down in front of the main entrance and wrapped them in black plastic, Shallow Grave style.
Disposing of the body
Bikes? What bikes?
Our plan was to get on the train, at least make it as far as Ilan and then see what happened from there. We had the rather inspired idea of asking the conductor if it was possible to extend the ticket we had bought from Hualian to get as far as Taipei. He agreed, but informed us we would not be able to get seats. We jumped at the offer, when we realised we could get back to Taipei the same night.
A few tense minutes
… but we made it! And in time for the last tube home as well! Shattered, but mighty pleased I had seen the island – by bus, train, bike, blood, sweat and gears.
Home