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!