Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Pingtung to Kenting
Vivian's family picked me up at the train station. It was nice to see Sandra. She was thankful to be able to spend Chinese New Year with Vivian and her family in the south of Taiwan. Its a very unique experience to be able to be included into something so amazing. It was nice of them to include me for the night. We started by gambling with some of Vivian's family. We played a game like blackjack and Sandra probably one the most money.
Her family cooked dinner and we sat down for a meal with her parents, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The food was amazing as usual. Vivian's cousin showed me some of his paintings. He is an extremely talented artist.
We went to bed early and caught a train to Kenting the next morning.
Her family cooked dinner and we sat down for a meal with her parents, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The food was amazing as usual. Vivian's cousin showed me some of his paintings. He is an extremely talented artist.
We went to bed early and caught a train to Kenting the next morning.
The Final Day of Biking
Vivian's dad was extremely helpful to me for the entire trip. So when he asked me if I could be in Taitung by noon, I did my best. I was expecting to make it before the sun was down, but noon would really be pushing it. I had about 90km to go. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and ate a quick breakfast ofbananas, beef jerky and oatmeal. I was on the road by 6.a.m. I rarely stopped for photos or a drink of water on the final stretch. My ass was killing me more than ever, but I just focused on keeping a steady pace. The shouts from the cars and thumbs up really helped. I was going more than 20km on the slight inclines and was going much faster on the flat roads. I passed the tropic of cancer and began to see signs for Taitung. I called Vivian's dad and he thought I had made a mistake. I was going to make it to the city by noon.
I hit a rough patch where I was out of breath and couldn't pedal more than 10km even on the decline. It remained this way for awhile until I realized I was riding on a completely popped back tire. I was only 5km from my final destination. This should have been a 15 minute ride, but I couldn't replace the intertube with the one they gave me. They had given me the wrong size.
I called the rental agency in Taitung where i would be returning the bicycle and we couldn't communicate. Thanks to Vivian's translating. The guy picked me up from the side of the road and i finished my ride in his truck in an anti-climactic fashion.
I bought some firecrackers and decided to light them off to celebrate the end of my ride. I lit the fuse with a lighter I borrowed from a guy smoking outside of the Taitung train station. It went out and the fireworks didn't explode. I tried to light the short fuse and again failed. Even my celebration ended in a dud.
I gave up and caught my train to Pingtung where I met Vivian's family.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Photos From Day 2 of The Bike Trip
Although the weather was terribly cloudy and rainy, the views were incredible.
I bought lunch from this family on the side of the road. They were extremely nice.
I bought lunch from this family on the side of the road. They were extremely nice.
Taiwan: Day Three (2nd Day of The Bike Trip)
I didn't wake up as early as I had planned. I was on the road after packing up and eating around 9:30a.m. It rained off and on the entire day, which didn't help dry the laundry I had done the night before. It was a little boring for the first hour of the trip trying to keep a pace and constantly taking pictures. I quit stopping for photos after a couple hours and just tried to make good time. The coast is amazing. I was looking forward to taking pictures of the beach, but the real beauty was on my left. There were huge mountains, gorges and waterfalls for the entire trip. The roads became extremely hilly a few hours south of Hualien. I was only going 6km at some climbs. I eventually realized that when I walked the bike I was going the same speed. The downhill portions were very rewarding. At times I would be coasting downhill on open roads at 60 km an hour which is like 40mpr. The views were unbelievable.
The first day a portion of the trip was through tunnels. At this point your bike lane disappears and it gets scary. Your not only coming extremely close to cars, but the tunnels are so long that you can't get any oxygen. I almost felt like vomiting outside of the first long tunnel. I stopped to eat at a street stall right on the side of the highway. An aborigine family had just slaughtered a pig and were cooking amazing sausages. I also bought some bananas that they cut straight off the tree for me. When I started to eat one, they gave me some older fruit that was ready to eat and told me to wait until tomorrow to eat the bananas. I was full of sausages and fruit and it only cost me like 2$ usd.
I found a rhythm and rarely stopped. Every hour or so someone in a car would honk and give a thumbs up or yell some mandarin encouragement to me. Every time a cyclist would pass me going the other direction they would yell out and give me a thumbs up. There seemed to be a lot of camaraderie and respect between the bikers, although I only saw about ten other people cycling in 2 days and I couldn't speak English to any of them.
The sun started to set so I started searching for a hotel. It seemed like everything was booked. It got completely dark and I started getting worried and assumed I would be sleeping on the beach or in a police station. I found a police station and they told me that there were hotels about 20 minutes south. They gave me a decent deal on a room with a garage, where I could store my bike. I was happy to have found something. I had passed through countless towns where the population was less than 200 and this place was no different. With everyone heading south for the New Year, I was lucky to find a vacancy. I could barely sit down and I was walking with a limp because my ass hurt so bad. i bought a couple of tall boys and fell asleep watching the NBA All Star game despite the constant popping and screaming outside my window. In a country where fireworks were illegal, I couldn't believe how many were being set off. I doubt that there was an hour that passed without a crackle or bang of a firework in the distance.
The first day a portion of the trip was through tunnels. At this point your bike lane disappears and it gets scary. Your not only coming extremely close to cars, but the tunnels are so long that you can't get any oxygen. I almost felt like vomiting outside of the first long tunnel. I stopped to eat at a street stall right on the side of the highway. An aborigine family had just slaughtered a pig and were cooking amazing sausages. I also bought some bananas that they cut straight off the tree for me. When I started to eat one, they gave me some older fruit that was ready to eat and told me to wait until tomorrow to eat the bananas. I was full of sausages and fruit and it only cost me like 2$ usd.
I found a rhythm and rarely stopped. Every hour or so someone in a car would honk and give a thumbs up or yell some mandarin encouragement to me. Every time a cyclist would pass me going the other direction they would yell out and give me a thumbs up. There seemed to be a lot of camaraderie and respect between the bikers, although I only saw about ten other people cycling in 2 days and I couldn't speak English to any of them.
The sun started to set so I started searching for a hotel. It seemed like everything was booked. It got completely dark and I started getting worried and assumed I would be sleeping on the beach or in a police station. I found a police station and they told me that there were hotels about 20 minutes south. They gave me a decent deal on a room with a garage, where I could store my bike. I was happy to have found something. I had passed through countless towns where the population was less than 200 and this place was no different. With everyone heading south for the New Year, I was lucky to find a vacancy. I could barely sit down and I was walking with a limp because my ass hurt so bad. i bought a couple of tall boys and fell asleep watching the NBA All Star game despite the constant popping and screaming outside my window. In a country where fireworks were illegal, I couldn't believe how many were being set off. I doubt that there was an hour that passed without a crackle or bang of a firework in the distance.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Day 2 Photos
At first glance hualien wasn't a particulary beautiful city. There were wild dogs barking at me on every corner and I couldn't go two miunutes without hearing the deafening blast of fireworks. A great deal of houses were run down and sometimes abandoned. These photos are of some of the alarming amount of burned down houses and buildings.
I came across some cool graffeiti under an overpass.
She was at the market near the beach. She was following me around with a noise maker. 
This sums up my entire ride: Cloudy Dreary Beautiful
Even the beautiful temples had ugly wires attached to them.
These places were all vacant.
I came across some cool graffeiti under an overpass.She was at the market near the beach. She was following me around with a noise maker. 
This sums up my entire ride: Cloudy Dreary Beautiful
Even the beautiful temples had ugly wires attached to them.
These places were all vacant.
Taiwan: Day 2 (The Begining of The Bike Trip)
I swore i would never jabber on about how nice everyone was to me in the country I just visited, but vivian's family deserves some recognition despite the cliche. I had been obsessed with taking a bike trip down the east coast of Taiwan to give Sandra some time with her friend and satisfy my own need to explore the coast. Chinese New years had put a huge damper on my plans. Every hotel or hostel seemed to be booked, no bikes were left to rent, i didn't have a way to rendezvous with Sandra, and it was supposed to rain the entire time. I decided against the trip in the end.
Vivian's father had already called ahead and reserved the last bike in Hualien for me. He mapped out a route for me and made suggestions on what cities to stop in, gave me a ride to the train station, helped me buy my tickets, and activated one of the families phones to call them if i needed anything. He is a police officer and even equipped me with his card and a handwritten note in Mandarin explaining my predicament. Worse case scenario, i could sleep in a cell for the night in one of the local stations.
I took the train into Hualien and got my bike. I immediatly looked for a place to stay but i wasn't able to find much. i was trying to read Mandarin words from my guidebook to the hotel managers, to no avail. I didn't know if they didn't understand me or if they didn't have any rooms available. A guy on a motorcycle stopped and personally inquired about rooms to about a dozen hostels, hotels, and homestays to no avail. During the new year almost everyone heads to the south and no rooms were available.
I rode around the city all day and decided that i would go to the police station after dark. Hualien isn't the most beautiful city in Taiwan, but its a great jumping off point for Taroko Gorge, one of Taiwan's most beautiful landmarks. i rode out to the Gorge and to the beach and ate some amazing food at the market.
After a long day of riding, the police were extremely helpful, and although I had a place to stay at the station, Vivian's dad had once again came through and found me a place outside the city. Her father's friend put my bag on his scooter and i followed him for about five kilometers to a farm. he gave me a beer and placed me in an amazing room with a pond with ducks in my back yard. I found the NBA rookies / sophmores game. I set an alarm for 6am. Tomorrow I was begining my trip down the east coast. I was tired from biking all day and fell asleep watching the dunk contest.
Vivian's father had already called ahead and reserved the last bike in Hualien for me. He mapped out a route for me and made suggestions on what cities to stop in, gave me a ride to the train station, helped me buy my tickets, and activated one of the families phones to call them if i needed anything. He is a police officer and even equipped me with his card and a handwritten note in Mandarin explaining my predicament. Worse case scenario, i could sleep in a cell for the night in one of the local stations.
I took the train into Hualien and got my bike. I immediatly looked for a place to stay but i wasn't able to find much. i was trying to read Mandarin words from my guidebook to the hotel managers, to no avail. I didn't know if they didn't understand me or if they didn't have any rooms available. A guy on a motorcycle stopped and personally inquired about rooms to about a dozen hostels, hotels, and homestays to no avail. During the new year almost everyone heads to the south and no rooms were available.
I rode around the city all day and decided that i would go to the police station after dark. Hualien isn't the most beautiful city in Taiwan, but its a great jumping off point for Taroko Gorge, one of Taiwan's most beautiful landmarks. i rode out to the Gorge and to the beach and ate some amazing food at the market.
After a long day of riding, the police were extremely helpful, and although I had a place to stay at the station, Vivian's dad had once again came through and found me a place outside the city. Her father's friend put my bag on his scooter and i followed him for about five kilometers to a farm. he gave me a beer and placed me in an amazing room with a pond with ducks in my back yard. I found the NBA rookies / sophmores game. I set an alarm for 6am. Tomorrow I was begining my trip down the east coast. I was tired from biking all day and fell asleep watching the dunk contest.
Taiwan: Day 1
I was excited to visit Taiwan because it is one of the most unique countries in Asia and one of the best kept secrets. Taiwan's identity is ambiguous. They were invaded by the Dutch, Japanese, and of course China. Beijing still claims Taiwan as a part of China, although Taiwan has fought to remain autonomous. The country has just recently overcome gangster rulers and many assassination atempts on various democratic leaders.
Sandra wanted to go to Taiwan initially to visit her friend Vivian. After I researched the country, I couldn't wait to see it either. Vivian and her father picked us up at the airport and drove us to their home in Taipei. They had recently moved to a more suburban area of the city and Vivian showed us a park to look at some famous plants that only grew in this particular part of Taipei. For something so rare, there wasn't anyone around and we had the whole park to ourselves.
It just so happened that we were in Taiwan during Chinese New years. Her cousins and Grandparents arrived for dinner. It was great to be able to spend the New Year with her family and enjoy such a unique experience. Her dad and I shared a appreciation for wine and after a few glasses, a full belly, and a little jet lag I could barely keep my open.
We woke up from our nap around ten o'clock pm to the sound of firecrackers. Her family brought us to a bathouse fed by real springs of brown water. Brown is apparently the best quality because it is high in iron and other minerals. I have been to plently of bathouses in Korea, but I had never felt so refreshed after only one hour. My skin had never been so smooth and clean.
Sandra wanted to go to Taiwan initially to visit her friend Vivian. After I researched the country, I couldn't wait to see it either. Vivian and her father picked us up at the airport and drove us to their home in Taipei. They had recently moved to a more suburban area of the city and Vivian showed us a park to look at some famous plants that only grew in this particular part of Taipei. For something so rare, there wasn't anyone around and we had the whole park to ourselves.
It just so happened that we were in Taiwan during Chinese New years. Her cousins and Grandparents arrived for dinner. It was great to be able to spend the New Year with her family and enjoy such a unique experience. Her dad and I shared a appreciation for wine and after a few glasses, a full belly, and a little jet lag I could barely keep my open.
We woke up from our nap around ten o'clock pm to the sound of firecrackers. Her family brought us to a bathouse fed by real springs of brown water. Brown is apparently the best quality because it is high in iron and other minerals. I have been to plently of bathouses in Korea, but I had never felt so refreshed after only one hour. My skin had never been so smooth and clean.
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