Time: 8:44pm
Weather: clear, 5 degrees
On my 4 hour plus train to Luoyang I finally have some time to update the last few month since my bike trip! Without knowing, the evening I returned to Taipei just happened to be Topology Travel's year end party, of which I sort of crashed in on directly after dropping off my bike. Despite being in my wet and smelly clothes and not even part of the company anymore I was welcomed with open arms.
The next day my mom came to visit Taiwan and we spent the next 12 days embarking on another circumnavigation of the island, this time using public transport. My bike trip can be said to be a scouting trip, although we pretty much went to all new places which just goes to show how many cool places there are in Taiwan. After a half day and night in Taipei going to the iconic Beitou hot springs, Shilin night market and Ximending, we took a bus to picturesque Sun Moon Lake, a place I'd been wanting to go for a while. We did the hop on hop off ferry to the different terminals, and of course I also had to bike around the lake to see all the hype about the bike route being listed as best 10 in the world by CNN (note: while it was very nice I have definitely biked in similarly or better scenic places). My favourite place was the Cien Pagoda, probably because it was the highest point and offered an amazing bird's eye view of the deep blue lake, and was far enough away from the main strip that it didn't have many people when I went.
From Sun Moon Lake we stopped in Puli town, famous for its Shaoxing wine thanks to the great surrounding water resources. We spent 1 day in Central Taiwan and my former coworker Lu was ever so kind to take us along the Central Cross Highway to Wuling, the highest drivable point in Taiwan, and Hehuanshan, as well as Jiufenershan, the epicentre of the September 21, 1999 earthquake which is now like an open air museum. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate for good views so we didn't get to do any hiking on Hehuanshan. Originally I had wanted to head to Hualien from Central Taiwan and go south and back up north on the west from there but there had been a massive rockfall in Taroko Gorge just days before blocking the road. Taking into account the earthquake that happened afterwards which messed up the traffic on the west coast for many days, we very likely would have been stuck if not for the change of plans. Everything really does happen for a reason, and I like to believe, a good one.
The next day we went to Lugang in the morning, another historic city (second oldest settlement in Taiwan) I didn't get a chance to go on the bike trip. I never get tired of walking on old streets and in historic districts checking out what all the vendors are selling. That afternoon we arrived in Tainan, where I got to show mom all the delicious foods and ate to our hearts' content. We also went to the main sites of Chihkanlou, Anping Fort and Anping Treehouse, which I intentionally didn't go in last time, and learned lots more about the Dutch's legacy in Taiwan.
Naturally Kaohsiung was our next stop and we biked around the city in one day (in Tainan, and Taitung afterwards too) going to Lotus Lake, Shoushan, Xiziwan and finishing with a night view of the Love River. We decided kind of last minute to take a bus down to Kenting after only one night in Kaohsiung, which was miraculous because the earthquake, which we didn't feel at all, happened that night. Even though Taiwan gets hit by earthquakes like everyday, it was hard to believe places we'd been through just a day or two before was now just rubble.
In Kenting the weather, while wasn't perfect, was much much better than when I was there earlier. My mom didn't trust me to drive the electric scooters, which I tried and wasn't hard at all, so we relied on the bus and went to Eluanbi, Houbihu (amazingly cheap sashimi!), Maobitou and Baishawan, where I finally fulfilled my wish from last time of swimming in the ocean (wasn't cold at all).
On Chinese New Year eve, we headed to Taitung and visited Taitung Forest Park, Haibin Park and Xiaoyehliu, a smaller version of Yehliu Geopark although it didn't look quite the same, and Tiehua Village. Looking for a place to eat that day and night was challenging but being Taiwan there was always at least one shop open (which had all the business that day). Other than that and some stores being closed the next few days I didn't feel as big of an atmosphere for Chinese New Year as I expected.
Taitung to Hualien remains to be my favourite region of Taiwan and we had the next day to explore parts of it, this time along the seaside route. We were really fortunate to have great weather again in contrast to when I was there the first time. Taking the bus we went to Water Running Upwards (a bit of a disappointment as it was literally a man made water channel), Doulan, Amis Folk Center and the highlight of the day, Sanxiantai, a breathtaking beach area with an 8 arch footbridge over to a rock island. The long bus ride along the ocean to Hualien City was simply stunning and I have to admit beats the inland road. I'm going to come back to ride it at the first chance I get.
For mom's last full day in Taiwan we went to Taroko Gorge, the road which was quickly repaired and opened partially for the holidays. Taroko the second time was just as impressive, although Tienhsiung lost its tranquility with hordes of people that day. The best easy hike Baiyang Trail was unfortunately closed again which just means I'll have to return again. And third time must be the charm because I finally got sunshine and blue skies at Qixingtan!
Our last morning together in Taipei I took mom to Dihua Street, which I guess is only really lively in the days just immediately prior to Chinese New Year as it looked just like any other morning that day. And of course what's a trip to Taipei without a Youbike ride to cap it off!
After sending mom to the airport, I had a few hours to repack before my own flight to China to experience a first real Chinese New Year in many many years (although nowadays, it's only really authentic in the countryside villages). China will be continued in the next post!
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