Cycling Trip to Taiwan: Last Day

In the morning of the 1st, we grabbed our bike bags, slung them over our shoulders, and headed to the train station via the subway.











Here's a look at the Taiwanese bullet train, the 700T. It runs from Kaohsiung in the south to Taipei up north and has only been operating since the beginning of 2007. The ride takes about 1:45 and costs roughly USD 35/EUR 25/JPY 3000. Nice!











Look at all the legroom! I wish airline seats were like that!














It seems like just about every receipt you get in Taiwan has a lottery number printed on it. Apparently, there are regular drawings throughout the year and you can win a nice sum of money, if you are the lucky one. From what I could tell, however, most of the receipts were worth somewhere between nothing and peanuts. Thus, people didn't really care about the lottery and either threw their receipts out or tossed them into collection boxes for various charities, like this one for the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation.












We're all packed and ready to go, back to Japan.













Here's a look at the money I had been carrying around for the past week. Check out the NT 500 bill. Yep, that's a picture of a baseball team celebrating a victory, which makes that bill officially my favorite piece of currency.











Since we had some time to kill before our flight left, and some hunger pangs in our stomach, we stopped for a bite before heading to the gate. I had some Taiwanese dumplings, and Joe treated himself to an "Angry Whopper." Grrrrrrrrrrrr!











The last order of business was to buy omiyage, or souvenirs. I took a pass on the traditional Taiwanese wedding cakes and bought some nougat candy instead. After all, I wasn't getting married and, besides, even if I were, who the heck wants to eat cake "made of the finest Phaseoli Semen"? I don't know about you, but I'll pass, thank you very much.











The first picture I posted in my blog about Taiwan was of the meal I had on the way to Taipei. So I decided to make the last picture I'm going to post in my blog about Taiwan one showing the meal that I had on the way back to Japan. The problem is, the first meal had some meaning to it (the bicycle-seat naan), but this one doesn't. Oh, well. Maybe that means that the adventure continues. I'll take that. And I'm running with it. Sayonara!

Cycling Trip to Taiwan: Day Eight

In the morning, one of the first things I did was walk across the street to take a picture of the beach. There's something I like about beaches. There's something I like about water. Heck, I'm supposed to. After all, I'm a fish.














After I said good-bye to the beach, Joe and I headed over to a restaurant down the street from our hostel to grab our free breakfast. The restaurant was closed the day before, so we doubled-up our coupons, courtesy of the hostel, and had two of these semi-weird-yet-pretty-good-tasting egg sandwiches each. That wasn't going to be enough food to sustain us for very long, however. So after breakfast we walked over to 7-11 and grabbed a bunch more fuel, before heading out on our last ride of our tour, one that would take us to Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-biggest city, located in the southwest part of the country.











Leaving Kenting was a bit of a letdown. Gone were the surfboards and sunny skies, only to be replaced by clouds and congestion. Basically, I guess you could say we were back to civilization. (By the way, no, even though I am an expert at it, I'm not pedaling backwards in that picture above.)











Just after Joe took that picture of me, he noticed someone pedaling up ahead of us. So, Joe being Joe, he sneaked up on the guy and started to draft behind him. Joe easily could have zipped past, but since the guy was actually going at a decent clip, Joe just figured he'd have some fun and see how long he could stay in the guy's shadow, unnoticed. The guy basically pulled Joe for a good kilometer or two and never had a clue that he was back there. The ride up to that point hadn't been all that exciting, so it was pretty cool to have something simple like that to distract us for a few minutes. Believe me, when you ride for hours and hours, sometimes you have to do goofy things to liven up the ride. This was just one of those goofy things.











About an hour later, we had made it to the outskirts of the city. It was New Year's Eve, which is why we saw a lot of people burning some kind of paper (another instance of something that I should have taken a picture of but didn't), along with lots of stands that were set up as some kind of offering to the gods, I imagine.














The most important thing we had to do in Kaohsiung was to find a Giant store (no, not a huge store, but rather the bike shop) so that we could bike bike bags. Despite some of the (mis)information we had received during the week, we were 99.9% sure the only way we'd be allowed to take our bikes on the Taiwanese bullet trains (the plan was to take the train to Taipei, since we had no time to bike back to the airport) was if we had them broken down and packed in bike bags. We originally planned to buy the bags at the French supermarket called Carrefour (or "ja la foo" in Taiwanese), but the bags for sale there weren't good enough for our needs. Lucky for us, with a little help from some locals, we managed to find a Carrefour rather easily and were able to pick up two bags that were just right.














The second-most important thing we had to do in Kaohsiung was find our hostel. That turned out to be quite an adventure, primarily since I had the directions to the place on two separate pieces of paper, only one of which I could find. The piece of paper I did have had the map and phone number on it, but the piece of paper I didn't have had the address on it. I did manage us to the right neighborhood, and then to the right street, but we just couldn't find the place. After riding up and down every street and lane in the immediate area three or four times and still not able to find the place (about all I could offer was: "It has to be here somewhere, Joe, I'm sure of it. We just have to look for a black door."), we decided to call the owner to ask for help. Unfortunately, she didn't answer her phone. But I did leave a message.










Next, we tried to ask for help at the local police station, which was one of the places we had already ridden past three or four times. The cops were only semi-friendly (unlike the police officers we had asked for directions on earlier occasions) and, even though I was sure the place we were looking for, The International Friendship House, was within shouting distance, they ended up pointing us in the wrong direction, trying to send us back to the main road and then who the Hell knows where. Morons!

How could the cops not know where the place was? And how could they be so dumb as to not look the place up in the Internet to find out the address? Anyway, we rode around some more, asked some locals for help, but still came up empty. You can imagine how stupid I felt, being responsible for putting us in this mess. But just then, our phone rang. It was Melissa, the owner. Problem solved.

It turns out that we must have ridden past the IFH several times but simply failed to notice it. And it turns out that it was merely 50 meters away from the police station, just as I thought! Kaohsiung's Finest? More like Keystone Kops.












The IFH was cheap (we only paid NT 300 each, rather than what we had averaged up to that point, which was more like double), clean, centrally-located, a pretty relaxed place, and, this time of year being (extremely?) low season, completely empty. Oh, and Melissa wants her guests to flush toilet paper down the toilet, like a true Westerner. What a relief!











After we got settled in, we took our bikes apart, made sure they fit in our new bike bags (hooray, they did!), and rode the subway a couple stops to the train station to get our tickets for the next day's ride. (We could have done that the next day rather than making the extra trip, but we didn't want any surprises just before it was time to leave. Sicher ist sicher, oder?)










And then it was off to dinner. We met a bunch of girls outside this steak/grill joint that was right near where we were staying, and, since they said the place was good, we decided to eat there. It was an unusual restaurant, at least for me, in that you ordered a main dish but also got to help yourself to the all-you-can-eat buffet. I couldn't believe that the buffet was included, but sure enough, it was! We got there so late (about 9:30 p.m.) that they almost didn't let us in, since they closed at 10:00 p.m. But Joe told them we'd eat fast, and so we did. Joe even treated me that night! Thanks, dude.











After dinner, Joe decided to call it a night. I wanted to see the New Year's fireworks and celebration, so I took the subway down to the Dream Mall to join tens of thousands of other revelers. (The picture above shows the slug-type subway token that Joe used for his ride, along with the stored-value card that I bought.)











I arrived at the Dream Mall at around 11:00 p.m. There were way more people than I expected and hundreds more were coming by the minute. Also, the place was way bigger than I expected, so it took me a while to walk (and sometimes gently push myself) up to a place where I was satisfied with the view. I got close enough to the main stage to see the performers, even though I could have stayed farther back and watched the concert from the many giant screens that were set up. I was really impressed with the event, and it was still an hour to go before midnight. If you have to choose between Seoul (where I was last year for New Year's Eve) and Kaohsiung for New Year's Eve someday, definitely choose Kaohsiung.

One thing that I noticed was that I was the only foreigner, or, at the very least, the only person there who obviously wasn't Asian. Since I've lived in Japan for a while, I've gotten used to being the only foreigner around. But still, when you're in a humongous crowd and you're the only one who's different, that feels a little weird.

Anyway, midnight finally arrived and the fireworks went off. The show lasted for more than three minutes and was fairly spectacular (unlike the show in Seoul last year). As you can imagine, a lot of people started heading home after the fireworks, but the show was just getting started. I hung around for about an hour and saw a terrible band from Japan (they call themselves "Hangry and Angry" for crying out loud!) as well as a really popular and entertaining Taiwanese dude named Crowd Lu. That was possibly the coolest New Year's celebration I had ever attended. Thanks, Kaohsiung!

Cycling Trip to Taiwan: Day Seven

The Awu Hostel in Kenting was great. I mean, just look at it. It's sort of like a little surf shack, tucked in among several others. It wasn't heaven, but, man, was it laid back! That was just what I needed.











And Vivi, a surfer chick who managed the hostel, well, she was simply the best! She was like a little sister to both of us for the two days that we stayed there. Thanks for everything, Vivi!











There was also a colorful parrot out front ...












as well as yet another cute, white Lab. What's not to like about the place?











After a leisurely morning, Joe and I decided to bike it back to the heart of town (which was considerably dead during the day) and then farther on down the road to Eluanbi, where there was a park that was essentially at the end of the road. My goal (Joe didn't really care, sniff, sniff...) was to find the southernmost point in Taiwan, which I figured must have been in that park. We paid the modest admission fee, went in, and walked all around, but we didn't find the darn monument.










About the most exciting thing we saw was a sign posted along some of the park's trails warning of "poisonous insects and snakes" (yikes!) or perhaps the lighthouse, which, despite it's unusual history (it's fortified, for example!), wasn't that appealing.











What was appealing was the coconut juice stand that we found as soon as we exited the park. This time, I had to try some, for all of NT 50. I paid the lady, who then quickly searched out the biggest coconut she had, hacked away at the top of the coconut with her small machete, placed a straw in the hole she had made, and handed over the coconut. Seeing how good it looked, Joe couldn't resist and ordered one, too. We were both really pleased with how refreshing the drink was.











We also asked the lady about the "flesh" of the coconut. Lucky for us, she then hacked away at the coconuts again, this time splitting them in half and exposing just what we were looking for. She showed us how to scoop it out, too. And she didn't charge us a thing. That was yummy!












Instead of pedaling straight back to the hostel, I decided I wanted to see what was up one of the other roads. Joe almost didn't join me, but then he changed his mind. Good for him (and lucky for me), since after only about 100 meters, we came across what I was looking for the whole time: a sign pointing the way to the "Southernmost Point in Taiwan." Mission: accomplished.











We hung out at the monument for a while, took a bunch of pictures, and then continued up the road for a few kilometers. We got a nice view of the southeasternmost coastline of Taiwan and decided to call it a day.

Cycling Trip to Taiwan: Day Six

We got up relatively early, packed up, and took a few pictures before we left. I don't remember that dog's name, but she sure was a cutey. Her owner, Eric, obviously trained her to sit on that little stool and pose for photos. So an braver Hund!











When we arrived two days earlier, we saw signs pointing the way to an air force base, but we didn't realize where it was until our way back out of town. We rode directly past the runway and were treated to an early morning air-show full of takeoffs and landings. This particular bird (I'm pretty sure it's a T-38), flew directly over my head. Luckily, I was able to get a nice snap of it in the split second it was there.










About ten minutes later, we passed by hundreds if not thousands of tree trunks that were piled up on the side of the road. They must have ended up in the area in the aftermath of the August hurricane which we heard a lot about. (I should have stopped to get a better picture. This one is pretty crappy. Sorry about that!)











A couple hours later, we passed by this dry river bed, one of many that we passed throughout our trip. If you look closely, you may be able to see what looks like a bridge that used to be there.











Yet another indication of the area's aboriginal history.











Here's a look at the "kitchen" and staff of the restaurant we stopped at for lunch. I went for the fried rice, yet again. Somehow, I don't think this place would pass a health inspection in a Western country, but they are the norm in Taiwan. And let me repeat what I mentioned earlier: neither of us got sick while we were in the country. So they must be doing something right.











This picture isn't that noteworthy, except that if you are riding up this road and see this sign, then you know you've made it to the top. Way to go! 95% of the rest of the ride to Kenting is downhill or flat.











Here we are, about six hours into the day's ride, creeping closer and closer to Kenting, which is a beach town way down south in Taiwan, about 125 km away from Taitung. As you can see, the weather was ideal, the roads were empty, and the countryside was nice. (I think Joe is making that "What's the big deal?" gesture, because he's pissed that I'm passing him near the top of the hill, as usual, after drafting behind him for so long. Just kidding. I think he actually stuck out his arm to take the camera away from me so he could take a picture of me. Right, Joe?)









Just a few kilometers from our goal, we stopped at a 7-11 to fill up on fuel. I wish I had tried these drinks, because I bet they taste great! Why aren't these available in Japan? (By the way, what the heck is adlay?)











Joe is a lot more adventurous than me when it comes to food. He's not a basketball fan, but he simply couldn't resist this hot dog. I wonder if King James knows he's on the package of the "Big Bite" in Taiwan. By the way, LeBron: Nice uni!











Here's what's inside the box. Geez, Joe, I've never seen you so happy in your life! You look like you just won the lottery. Woo-hoo! A "Big Bite!" Yeah, dog!











I'm just glad Joe passed on the Taiwanese equivalent of the horribly disgusting concoction the Japanese call oden.











We made it to our destination, the Awu Hostel, shortly before sunset. What a nice way to finish a ride!

We were still about 5 kilometers away from where all the nightlife was (i.e., dinner!), but the last thing we wanted to do was hop back on our bikes. We were told that there were buses into town, but while we were waiting for one, we decided to try our luck thumbing it again. And just like the other day, we caught a ride almost right away, this time in the back of a pick-up truck (the blue Taiwanese equivalent of the white Japanese K-truck) that was full of construction equipment.
We jumped in the back, found something to hang on to, and were whisked off to where the action was.

We settled on a Thai restaurant and, for the first time on the trip, were kind of strangely disappointed when we saw the prices on the menu. You see, we had gotten so used to paying next-to-nothing for food that we weren't mentally prepared to pay normal prices. We quickly got over the "shock," however, and placed our orders. I chose the Pad Thai, and I think I requested it "medium." Big mistake. That sucker was way too spicy! Water!!!

And check out the picture. They put a pile of spices on the plate for you, so you can spice up the noodles as much as you want. Does that mean that without the spices it was basically a zero? And that with the entire pile of red it was still just "medium?" Huh??? No matter. Next time, I want it negative spicy! Oh, and check out the pile of sugar next to the hot stuff. That's the first time I'd ever seen food served that way. But I must say, there's a girl at my school who likes to put sugar on her "curry rice" because she says it's way too spicy without it. And I'm talking about Japanese food. Spicy, my ass! Hatsumi, like I told you before, you have no idea what spicy is!

After dinner, we walked around for a while, checked out the scene, and decided to call it a night. How did we get home? By hitchhiking, of course! And for the third time in three tries, we only had to wait a few minutes before we got a ride, this time in the form of a van with a Hawaii license plate in the window. Aloha, baby!

Cycling Trip to Taiwan: Day Five

After the 185 kilometers we cycled on Day Four, both Joe and I (and our butts!) were pretty beat. We could have kept cycling the next day, but we thought it would be a better idea to rest up. Besides, most of the Taiwan that I knew was what I had seen was from my bicycle seat, so I was looking forward to walking around and experiencing things at a much slower pace. We picked a good place to rest: Taitung. The city was fairly big, and, though not exactly awash with sights, had enough going on to keep us entertained. To get into town, we decided to catch a bus. (The hostel we stayed at was about 2 or 3 kilometers from the train station, and more like 5 kilometers from downtown.) As we expected, riding the bus in Taiwan wasn't going to be as easy or nice as riding the bus in Japan. For one, the bus came late, but not by much. For two, the bus was a bit old. For three, the graffiti artists had been at work on the inside. Nevertheless, the ride was short, cheap (20 NT), and painless.











In case you didn't know, baseball is pretty popular in Taiwan. Still, I was surprised to see a pretty big stadium just down the street from the train station, along with a much smaller stadium next door. An international junior-high-school tournament was going on.











When this truck passed us with its blaring loudspeakers, we quickly learned that election time near. I guess this is how politicians try to get out the vote all over Asia, since I've experienced the same thing even in little ol' Gokase.











Here is one of several road-side stalls that we came across, this particular one being a "beauty salon." It looks like the customer on the right is getting some hair removed from her face, with the lady on the left doing what apparently is known as "threading." That was a first for me.











These coconuts were a first for me, too. The only kind I had seen before I saw these was the round, brown, furry kind. Two days later, I finally tried one. Talk about refreshing!












Besides the helmet-less toddlers/children, another common scooter-related sighting is drivers wearing fashionable masks. In Japan, almost every mask you see is a boring white. Not in Taiwan.













To be fair, not all parents are nuts! Well, not totally nuts, anyway!














Here's yet another example of the aboriginal art that is common in this part of Taiwan. We saw this piece on the grounds of the former Taitung train station.











No trip to any foreign country would be complete without a stop at a grocery store. Point made: Heart, anyone?











Here's some durian. I'm not sure if I've ever had it or not.











I'm not sure what this stuff is. What about you?











After walking around town for several hours, we decided to take a bus to an onsen that was only about 30 minutes away. Finding out about the bus was the easy part. Actually finding the bus was the hard part. We first went to the wrong bus station. The people there tried to tell us that there was no bus and that we should take a taxi. Yeah, right. We studied our map a little more and decided to keep searching. Sure enough, after only about five minutes, we found the right bus station, practically around the corner from the other one. Those (purposefully?) misinformed Taiwanese were back at it again.











We met some nice people on the bus who made sure we got off the bus at the right stop (even though the driver almost didn't stop for us!), but we didn't immediately see the onsen. Our first concern was to eat, however, so we plopped ourselves down in a nearly deserted parking lot behind some sort of fairly big souvenir shop that looked kind of out of place and began to eat the food that we had purchased at the grocery store. Just as we finished "lunch," along came this lady, walking past us on the way to the only car in the lot. She was carrying a bag of food that she had apparently just purchased. The next thing we knew, she was offering us her food. Naturally, we thought to ourselves, "What the heck? Do we look like a couple of bums?" I guess we weren't convincing enough when we told her, "No, thanks," so she gave it to us, anyway. A lot of good that did us. Just look at the picture and you'll see why she gave us the food. We suspect someone gave it to her and she was just paying it forward.











At least Joe had some fun with the food.

Our trip to the onsen was kind of a waste. It was more of a recreational swimming place, and, since neither of us had brought along a bathing suit, we couldn't go in. Oh, well. On top of that, the next bus back wasn't for about an hour and a half. So what did we do? Wait around? Nope. We decided to hitch it back to Taitung. Lucky for us, we only had to wait (as we walked down the road) about 5 minutes before someone stopped to pick us up! The young couple took us all the way to the train station, just as we had requested, and even went out of their way to play a Michael Jackson CD, just for us. That was a nice gesture, playing American music for their American guests. The problem was, the CD had a total of three songs on it, and they kept playing over and over and over. That was a crazy ride!


At the train station, we ran into William, a Belgian guy who lived relatively close to Taipei and was cycling around Taiwan in the opposite direction. We hung out with him for at least an hour while he waited for his train (I know, I know, I said he was cycling around the country...), trading stories as well as advice about what the roads we had covered were like. One interesting tip he gave us was that you can't trust the train station personnel when it came to information regarding taking bikes on trains. According to him, it's much better to ask at a Giant store (Giant is the name of the main Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer). What is that I keep mentioning about the Taiwanese and misinformation?