As can probably see in this picture, the "Farmtastic" hostel was anything but fantastic. The place was way too tidy, expensive-looking, and lacking in atmosphere to be a hostel. We didn't feel very relaxed there, but heck, all we really planned to do there was sleep, so how bad could it be, right?
That's what we thought, until we spotted the "mattresses." Just take a look at them. Our host told us they were "traditional" Taiwanese mattresses, and he claimed to be sleeping on one, too. Sure! Joe and I had a four-bed room all to ourselves, so we doubled up on the mats, but that hardly helped.
Perhaps we should have slept on the bread that we had for breakfast. Raise your hand if you've ever slept on a mattress that was thinner that a slice of bread! (Put your hand back d own, Joe!) The toast we had here was just like the toast we had at the first hostel we stayed at: soft on the bottom, sweet on the top.
I got my first look at "real" Taiwanese toilet paper at this hostel. Notice how it comes in large, flat, rectangular sheets. Some places don't want you flushing the stuff down the toilet with your poop. Instead, you're supposed to place it in the waste basket. Lovely. Just remember, however: When in Rome...
Anyway, we finally hit the road at around 9 a.m. This is the first little town we rode through, north of Hualien.
We passed by this temple, which you can see is far more ornate that what you see at temples in Japan.
At one point, I came across these guys on their motorcycle. See how the kid in front isn't wearing a helmet? Believe me, I could have taken this picture like this 1000 times during the week in Taiwan. To tell the truth, the surprising thing about this picture is that two of the three riders are wearing helmets. When in Rome...
A short time later, we were riding through Hualien, the last big(gish) city we would pass that day until we arrived at our destination that night, Taitung, a monster 185 km south.
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