Checheng to Dawu 53.68 kms – Elevation 863.2 m

Monday, 11 November 2024

I knew today was going to be a hilly ride and I was a little worried about the hills. I am not good on hills. However, I convinced myself that it was a gradual uphill and not to worry too much about it. We had to get up and over this mountain range and even if it meant pushing the bike that was the only way to go at this point.

I had a good sleep and the breakfast at the hotel was good. With two good cups of coffee, we were ready to leave. Not before Ralf had a friendly visit from a preying mantis. Ralf had gone to get the laundry from the airing room while I was in the shower. As he came back into the room a preying mantis dropped on to his neck. It had been waiting for him in the patio area of our room. Of course, if it had been me you would have heard me screaming in Taipei. Ralf grabbed whatever had landed on his neck and threw it on the floor, he didn’t kill it. Then he got his camera and took photos of the thing.

The weather forecast for today was not going to be in our favour. Headwinds of 28 kph with gusts of up to 55 kph and we are going up hill, flipping awesome.

The start of the ride was very gradual as I had hoped it would be. We cycled about 25 kms battling the wind but still cycling along quite well.

At about 25 kms we stopped for a quick bite to eat, top up the water and then carried on. As I was waiting for Ralf, three fellas ranging in age from late 20’s to early 40’s asked me if I was doing the Round Island cycle route. One asked me my age! They were all very impressed then they noticed Ralf coming. They asked if he was a friend or my husband. My husband, they seemed quite disappointed. They wished us well on our journey and of we went up the hill which began to get steeper until it was a 7% grade, add on the headwind and I was off the bike and pushing.

I eventually caught up with Ralf at the entrance to the tunnel. We are not allowed in the tunnel and have to take the old Highway 9. Renamed Number 9 Wu Highway.

The new highway tunnel runs for 4.6 kms and then the road opens out into the valley below. The highway is built above the tree-line. Allowing nature to be part of the highway. Or at least that is what the official story says.

Another 6 kms of climbing and that ruddy wind. Eventually we got to the Shouka bike stop at the top of the hill. The two main cycling roads connect here. It is a must stop for all cyclists who have climbed these hills. It is downhill all the way from here.

On the way down we stopped at a lookout and a temple. When this was the main road, the transport trucks would stop here for a break. The locals built a noodle store and this became the rest stop for truckers and the only lighted place amid the darkness of the mountain road.

I knew we now had about 15 kms of downhill. Of course we couldn’t just let it rip as the road was very curvy and the winds kept trying to blow us across the road. My top speed was only 40kph.

As we reached the coastal road the winds got stronger. I saw a buddha and asked them to change the wind direction. They didn’t listen.

We arrived at our hotel early again. There were two female cyclists checking out the hotel. They were cycling the east coast and had already taken the train. They couldn’t tell us about Hualien as they arrived late by train and left the next day to continue cycling the coast.

The owner told us we could leave our bikes in the lobby and come back later. We had lunch and checked in at 2:00. The room is not as nice as last night’s hotel but it is cheap and will do us for the night.

Kenting to Chechen via Eluanbi Lighthouse 42.7- Elevation 249.5

Sunday 10 November 2024

We are halfway around the Island of Taiwan.  This morning we cycled to the southern most tip and to Eluanbi Lighthouse. There were bus loads of people at the lighthouse. It cost 120 NTD to get in and we really enjoyed walking to the viewpoint and wandering around the grounds and lighthouse. We asked a lady if she would take a photo of us. (I didn’t post the photo as she cut our legs off and Ralf had his eyes closed !!) She was originally from Taiwan and now lives in Vancouver, she was visiting family. We had a nice chat with her about Taiwan.

Due to the frequent shipwrecks in the area the construction of the Eluanbi Lighthouse began in 1881 and was completed the following year. The lighthouse was established in 1882. The lighthouse base served as a fort with trenches en-clrcling the outside. It was manned by armed soldiers. This made it one of the few fortified lighthouses in the world. It was blown-up, rebuilt and bombed again in World War 2. It is now a well-preserved historical site within the Kenting National Park. Eluanbi Lighthouse is the most powerful lighthouse in Taiwan and is known as the “Beacon of Southeast Asia”.

A note of interest about Taiwan’s National Parks. It was only recently (1980’s) that Taiwan decided to create National Parks, Not to be confused with National Scenic Areas. Kenting was the first National Park in 1984. There are nine National Parks in Taiwan. The rules to build or develop in a National Parks do not appear to be too onerous, so long as  you get permission from the National Park Commission first. They do restrict height of buildings etc. However, we did see long four-storey hotels built in the hillsides.

As we were leaving Kenting to cycle to the lighthouse, we noticed a lot of high-end road bikes in our hotel and along the main road. We chatted to a young guy who was waiting for a bus to take him and his bike back to Kaohsuing, where he would take the high-speed train back to Taipei. There had been an Audax yesterday. This is a challenge ride and can consist of different distances from 200 km to the famous Paris Brest Paris ride of 1200 kms. Yesterday’s challenge ride was from Taipei to Kenting a distance of 620 kms this had to be completed in 24 hours. The young man we spoke to had lived in New Zealand and had quite the kiwi accent. He did the ride in 22 hours!! I asked him how he was feeling and he said very tired, but he had a big grin on his face. 

Other riders had done 520 kms. We gave everyone we saw wearing a 520 or 620 kms T. shirt a thumbs up.  When we were loading our bikes a group who had done the ride yesterday commented that we were doing the Huan Dao, (the Round Island) they gave me the thumbs up. If they only knew how easy we were taking the ride.

In Kenting and at the Lighthouse there were two fabulous sculptures created with steel rope cables.

Kenting and area is a really nice beachy area. There are surfing beaches, and smaller beaches and rocky beaches. At the moment swimming is restricted because of the rip-tides and there were red flags on almost all of the beaches we saw.

We left Kenting for the second time at about 11:30. It was going to be a relatively easy ride to Checheng. We very rarely back-track on a route. However, we really wanted to see the most southern point of Taiwan and the easiest route over the central mountain range is from Checheng and not following the coastal road up from Kenting.

Of course we were way too early for our hotel check-in. The owner allowed us to leave our bags and we headed into Town, only a couple of minutes away.

There is a very large and famous temple here. (Fu-An Temple). Built during Qing Dynasty and dedicated to the deity Tudigong.

Obviously he likes a spot of Jack Daniels as there was an offering of a bottle for him. Ralf went in the temple first and I watched the bikes and people. There were several groups of worshippers who came out of the temple, banging on drums, cymbals and chanting. The groups were always carrying a banner and some sort of offerings.

While we were making our rounds of the temple the lady from Vancouver spotted us and chatted again. She said this was a very famous temple and the deity was very special. I asked if it was Tao or Buddhism. She said it was a combination of both, sometimes with these large temples they mix both divinations together. Although the official story is that it is Taoism

At about 2:45 we headed back to our hotel. The owner who spoke a little English showed me the room and where we could keep our bikes. He also asked if we needed to do any washing. I hadn’t realized I smelled that bad. As soon as we showered I did a load of laundry. It took an hour and now it is hanging in their laundry room. I hope it is all dry by the morning.

Tomorrow and the remainder of the trip we will be on the east coast heading towards Taipei.

Fangliao to Kenting 60.87 kms Elevation 232 m

Saturday 9 November 2024

We left the Homestay/Air Bnb at about 7:30 a.m. there were a couple of breakfast places in Fangliao that we could choose from. The first one was Café 85, a good bakery and coffee shop. However, this one had nothing but cakes and good coffee. We need more than cakes for breakfast, although Ralf would argue that he could live on cakes. We went back to a small corner breakfast place. There didn’t appear to be anywhere to sit, but magically two stools appeared. The owner was really helpful, when we pointed to something he would get the item out of the fridge to show us what was in the sandwich. We ordered two ham and egg breakfast sandwiches, and two coffees. He then gave us a serving of pork loin and eggs and two small buns that were so soft and tasty I could have eaten more.

The day was off to a good start.  We headed off to the edge of Town and took photos of the Love Fangliao sign.  We knew today was going to be a Cycle Route One day as there were no other options to Kenting. 

Strange things you see when you take the back streets. A fisherman with a large tuna about to get on the scooter. It was a statue and the scooter just happened to be in the way.

Prior to getting on Highway 1, google took us through a cemetery. I have no idea why.

We joined Highway 1 and headed south. The road was a little noisy and busy until the Highway 9 exit across the mountains. We continued following Cycle Route 1-20. However, with the wide shoulder for cyclists and scooters I felt safe. 

What a difference a day makes. We are away from the stench of pollution from the industrial north-west and into the coastal area of the south. We could see the ocean most of the day, the hills were small and rolling and the wind was from every direction (but Ralf was in front), life is good.

Sites we see along the way. A Father Christmas (Santa Claus) temple, Yul Brynner and a happy buddha.

As we cycled along, we noticed a few farm stands with black moustaches advertising. We recognized these as the nut the lady had given us in the mountains of Shizhou. We stopped and picked the smallest bag. The lady was very happy.

We arrived in Kenting early around 12:30, check-in was at 3:00 again. We decided to investigate this small seaside area and have lunch. Cheese toastie and chips, it was good. We then headed to the hotel and asked if we could have an early check-in. Unfortunately, as it was only 1:30 the room wasn’t ready, but they very kindly allowed us to sit in the air-conditioned lobby and gave us a cold drink. At 2:00 the room was ready and after showering, we planned our route for the next two days.

Tomorrow we are heading to the southernmost point of Taiwan. We have asked at reception if we can leave our bags while we play the tourist at Cape Eloundi. We will cycle about 18 kms there (Cape Eloundi) and back to Kenting, then pick up our panniers and head back up the coast to Checheng, another 20 kms. This is where we cross the island to the east coast. The plan was to do the Lighthouse and Cape Eloundi and cycle up the coast to Dawu, which would have been 85 kms and a climb of 1,080 metres. Ralf suggested we split it into two days. That will give us more time to be tourists and not worry so much about the climb looming at the middle of the day. Then we can tackle the climb on fresh legs and earlier in the day!!

After doing our route planning we headed out for dinner. There was a night market, but I had decided on a Thai restaurant that advertised vegetarian service. Ralf had a Thai Chicken curry and it looked really good, we had spring rolls, and I had a pineapple vegetable fried rice, with a couple of beer. It was the most expensive meal so far on the trip at $38.00, but well worth the price. Things are a little more expensive in a holiday resort town. However, we really enjoyed our dinner and the walk around the night market.

Some of the food available at the night market: Fried swirly potatoes with battered sausage, steamed prawns, sausage and other pork and donuts and sweet stuff.

Kaohsiung to Fangliao – 56.99 kms Elevation 284 m

Friday November 8, 2024

Breakfast was underwhelming at the hotel. The Pensioner’s bus tour had destroyed the place prior to us arriving. I ate a couple of red bean paste buns and cold scrambled eggs. There was no coffee as the oldies had emptied the machine and the fella on duty was trying to fix it, to no avail.  Oh well, there is always 7/11 on the way. Leaving Kaohsiung I took a picture of the umbrellas, Ralf’s night-time shot was definitely better than my day time. I try.

It took us almost 25 kms to get out of Kaohsiung. For the most part Google took us on Cycle Route 1. I was amazed once again about the amount of industry that is in this area. Primarily steel and aluminium smelters, a couple of petro chemical plants and a massive port where all the imports and exports come into and leave Taiwan.

There was a lot of heavy goods traffic going in and out of the factories and the port. Head and eyes on swivels trying to watch for all the traffic, the traffic lights and following Ralf who was also following the map. Fun 25 kms! We stopped for lunch at a 7/11 and a couple from the Czech Republic pulled in behind us. They are following the Cycling Route One and for the most part are enjoying the ride. We chatted for a while and then they continued on and we went in to have something to eat.

Eventually, we crossed into Pingtung County. This is a more rural county and google took us away from Cycle Route 1. We spotted a giant fish and as we had plenty of time before checking in at the Homestay/AirBnB we went to investigate. This is the Dapeng Bay Scenic Area.

This area was the site of the Taiwan Lantern Festival in 2019, it is now a little run down. However, what remained was fabulous.

We headed out to a yellow building, called a Maritime Building that was on a spit. It was a café and had a waiting list for people to eat inside, it was very popular.

We did a little circular route of the park and came across this fantastic sculpture of a woman. The skirt was made from oyster shells.

There was also a sculpture of a seaplane. It was well worth the stop as we had not seen anything very exciting up until that point.

It is a shame that this area is not open, as we would have loved to have climbed into this seaplane.

As we cycled along the coastal sea wall we passed hundreds of fish farms agitating the water for cray fish and shrimp. I will have to be careful in this area to make sure they don’t sneak some shellfish into my dinner. We also saw a lot of floating solar panels.

Again, the pollution was high and by the time we finished the day in Fangliao the smog was heavy in the air.

We arrived a little early at the AirBnb and waited for someone to show up at 3:00 p.m., the check-in time. Ralf emailed the owner, but got very little in response, other than he would be here but not giving any indication of time. By 3:30 we were getting a little impatient and Ralf discovered that they also had a restaurant in town. He headed out to the restaurant to find out when we could get into out room. At 4:15 the owner came and let us into the room. I was hot, sweaty, headachy and annoyed. I was not very polite to him.

The room is nice, we managed to get some laundry hand-washed and Ralf worked out to use the washing machine that was outside to spin the clothes. I am not sure what we would do without google translate on this trip.

Tainan to Kaohsiung – 49.93 kms Elevation 294.8

Thursday November 7, 2024

An easy ride to Kaohsiung today.  Although it was our first boring day of cycling.  We didn’t follow Cycle Route 1, there were not many alternative routes that were scenic. There was one section of road that was factory, after factory, after factory. About 15 kms of heavy industry, the roads were not too busy, but after a while you could really feel the pollution in the air. You could smell it and taste it in every breath. I can understand why most Taiwanese scooter riders where masks.

It was not a very scenic ride. However, we did have time to take a photo of the High Speed Railway station as we came into Kaohsiung.

Eventually we got to the outskirts of Kaohsiung and discovered a giant buddha like statue.

We stopped to take photos and saw a series of temples and figures on the other side of a small lake.

Ralf was in “find the hotel mode”, which means he was focused on the route. The temples on the other side of the small lake looked interesting and I suggested we go and have a look. We had lots of time to find our hotel and google would reroute us. We took a pedestrian bridge across Lotus Pond.

When we got to the other side of Lotus Pond we discovered a series of large and small temples. I watched the bikes while Ralf went to look at the Big Guy – the Big Guy was Emperor Erxuan. We are not sure what he did to deserve this huge edifice, but it must have been something big. You can actually go inside the Big guy and there are lots of wall paintings. On the way across the small bridge there are statues half of them are men and the other half women.

The other interesting edifice was a dragon. Again you could go inside through the dragons body and here were pictures and icons throughout the tunnel.

There were a lot of dead fish in the lake. There were municipal workers getting them out with a large net. Ralf (using google translate) asked what had happened to them. The supervisor indicated that it could be a virus or the weather conditions (typhoon or atmospheric).  The older worker indicated it was climate change.

We found our hotel after negotiating the busy city of Kaohsiung. The staff are very helpful. The room smelled as if someone had been smoking, so we asked for a different room. There were non available as they were expecting a bus load of pensioners later. They aired the room, while we waited downstairs. It did smell better when we got back in and the sheets and bed were clean.

After showering we headed out to find something to eat. We crossed the street from our hotel and the street was wall to wall clothing stores. Ralf got a really good night shot of these umbrellas.

We decided on hotpot for dinner, which was a bit of a disaster for me. I had ordered chicken and it was awful, I could not recognise what part of the chicken the meat was from. I did get one piece of leg, which I generally do not like. There were lots of other mystery objects in the broth as well. I asked if any of it came from shellfish, as I am allergic. No, they said, but there were some very fishy tasting stuff, which I put to one side. I ended up having cabbage and bok choy chicken soup with noodles. Ralf had ordered lamb and he enjoyed his. It’s an adventure. I think I will try and stick to vegetarian food.

Ralf went to take photos of the umbrellas and all of the stores were closed at 7:30. However, this angel was lighting the street.

Again, not a very exciting day, so not much to write home about.

Tainan Rest Day – Walking 13.6 kms

Wednesday 6 November, 2024

Tainan Rest Day – walking 13.6 kms. What a day, my feet are killing me.  We walked miles, but it was fun. Mark had told us about a great little breakfast place. We found Jays and had a crepe like thing made with scallions, with extra egg and cheese. It was really good, it kept us going for most of the day. As we walked to breakfast an older Taiwanese lady commented that we did not have jackets on, she shivered indicating it was cold. I laughed and said it is hot we are from Canada and she laughed.

Then we headed out on our tourist day of Tainan. A lot of people carry their dogs on their scooters. Usually they are small dogs like the Taiwan Shibu. Today we saw a golden retriever balancing on the bike. My sister-in-law Beate has two goldens, I am not sure either of them would appreciate this.

Tainan is the oldest City in Taiwan and it is celebrating its 400 year anniversary this year.

From 1624 to 1662 it was ruled by the Dutch they called the Island Formosa. The plan today was to visit Fort Provintia and Fort Zeelandia, both outposts of the Dutch East India Company.

We headed to Fort Provintia now named Chihkan Tower first, but got sidetracked by the Taiwan Design Expo at the old market hall.  I have taken these photos for my nephews. Wayne, is a designer of clothing www.Sharp-Apparel.com. He would have loved this expo. The exhibition theme revolved around food and clothing. Creators from the food and fashion sectors collaborated from sourcing to creative output. They have crafted a time-limited virtual brand for Tainan. Pineapple fibre, mixed with oyster shells. Some of the artwork on the material was fabulous. One photo for my other nephew Justin. Love you both.

We headed to Fort Provintia which has been renamed Chihkan Tower.

In 1625 the Dutch colonists gave indigenous Taiwanese 500 metres of fabric in exchange for a piece of land in Chihkan where they built Provintia Street to accommodate businesses, marketplaces, warehouses and hospitals.

In 1653 the Dutch erected Fort Provintia as a defensive building. It was commonly referred to as Redheads Castle. The Dutch were defeated and removed from Taiwan in 1662.

An amazing structure with upturned eaves and red tiles. Chikhan Tower has proven to be a very versatile building over more than three centuries. It was a Western Castle (Dutch) a Chinese-style pagoda during the Qing Dynasty, an army hospital during the Japanese occupation and currently a museum testifying to the past glory. In 1983 Chihkan Tower was designated a Class 1 historic building. It is currently undergoing renovations to the main building.

As we walked around the grounds there was a large Koi pond, Ralf got some fish food to encourage the Koi, so that he could take photos. We didn’t use it all and Ralf gave the remainder of the box to a young boy who thoroughly enjoyed feeding the fish.

As we continued our visit we passed the family again and the little boy, urged on by his Mom, gave us two small packets of crackers (Quinoa and salt crackers). So sweet of them.

In 1886 to encourage education the Taiwan county magistrate built Penghu Academy west of Chihkan Tower.

We walked through some of the old streets of Tainan towards Fort Zeelandia. There are lots of small alleyways that were all part of the old city. Then they spit you out on to a wide multi-lane road. You cross that road and disappear into back alleyways again with small eateries, fabric shops, and all sorts of little stores. Eventually we followed the canal to Fort Zeelandia, it was becoming very warm in the sun. We stopped for a cold drink and to cool down in an air-conditioned shop, then carried on.

Fort Zeelandia now known as Anping Fort was built in 1624 by the Dutch and was known as Orange City. In 1627 it was renamed as Fort Zeelandia and the city walls were gradually rebuilt with bricks. The fort was 916 metres wide and over 10 metres tall, consisted of 3 stories and were surrounded by inner and outer walls.

After Koxinga defeated the Dutch he renamed the area Anping Township. The Japanese rebuilt the Fort and renamed the Fort to Fort Anping. Today the only remnants of the Dutch period are the southern brick walls of the outer fort. It was a very popular place with school kids and tourists.

We, of course, climbed the tower.

Last night, Mark had told us about another place which he really enjoyed.  The place was Anping Tree House.

In 1865 the ports were officially opened to foreign traders. In a very short period of time there were foreign merchants and companies set up.

The British Tait & Co was set up and located in this area. The company mainly dealt with bulk goods such as opium, camphor and sugar. Opium was very popular in the 1800’s. After the Japanese occupied Taiwan the Japanese government took back the trading rights of bulk goods. Only Tait & Company continued to operate.   Eventually the Tait & Co sold the company to the Taiwan Salt Making Corporation. The merchants building was converted into dormitories for the workers of the Taiwan Salt Making Corporation.

The Anping Tree house was the original warehouse for the salt storage. It had a floor area of over 4,600 square feet. The warehouse lay empty for many years and the surrounding Banyan tree filled the void ultimately forming a living roof and walls. It was amazing to see how these trees had taken over the building in a relatively short period of time. The area has been renovated to include walkways above the warehouse. It was awesome and well worth the visit.

Banyan tree is a species that grows aggressively and it is an invasive species that will ensure that other epiphytic plants will not encroach on its territory. Banyan trees thrive in humid places because their aerial routes are capable of absorbing moisture from the air. The roots of the Banyan tree excrete an acid that dissolves limestone. Anpings Banyan Trees have utilized this characteristic to cling to the brick walls which were laid with a special mortar of ground oyster shell, syrup and glutinous rice. Obviously the tree love this mixture and have thrived.

All of the museum visits cost $70 Taiwan dollars which is about $3.00 each. Three museums for a total of $18.00 Cdn. A great day out.

Tainan Rest Day – 1

Tuesday 5 November, 2024

We left the Guest House/AirBnB after breakfast and headed to our warmshowers host. He is working today but gave us the instructions to get into his apartment. The instructions were very funny: Go down the small alley at the back of the shops, there will be a grey steel door. Put your hand through the opening and open the bolt. Then there will be another steel door, the key for that is on a small ledge, see yellow cord. When you have opened the lock, put your hand through that door and slide back the bolt. You will be in the storage area where you can leave your bikes.  Follow the stairs up three flights, I will leave my door open for you. He did, his apartment door was wide open.  Thanks Mark it made for a funny story and a good start to the day.

Before we got to Mark’s apartment we came across the statue of Koxinga on horseback. The statue is 8 metres long, 4 metres wide and 7 metres tall and weighs 200 metric tons. The statue was carved from Quanzhou White granite. This statue was presented to Tainan in 2008 by the society of Koxinga Studies, Quanzhou, China as part of intercity exchanges.

We investigated the garden area and found the shrine to Koxinga.  All of the information was in English and Chinese which made it more interesting. I also picked up a pamphlet explaining who Koxinga was and why this shrine was created for him. Koxinga was of Chinese and Japanese descent (Japanese mother). His father took him back to China where he studied Confuscious. However, he gave up his scholarly pursuits to take up arms against Qing invaders. He was born in the reign of the Ming Dynasty. In 1661 he headed to Taiwan to topple the Dutch colonial administration. He was successful in ending a 38 year colonial era (1624 to 1662). He renamed Fort Zeelandia to Anping Township. We are going to visit the Fort tomorrow.

Koxinga was held in very high esteem by the Chinese government of the time. However, he died at a young age of 39. (1662)

During the Japanese control of the Island a lot of the historic monuments were left to deteriorate. In 2008-2010 the Tainan City Government restored the shrine.

After we left Koxinga we found the south gate. This was one of seven fortified gates.

We spotted a small temple, which we went into just to get the Gods back on our side.

By the time we got to Mark’s apartment it was past noon. We sorted our laundry and headed out to the laundromat.

The area surrounding Mark’s apartment was the Blueprint Cultural and Creative Park. We investigated the area. Ralf took photos of the area. The collapsed historical space has been transformed into a 3D blue print sketch. The contours of the history of the building are outlined in white. The co-existing 2D and 3D sight lines morph from reality to illusion.

Other buildings represent old Japanese or Dutch buildings. Mark told us later that the area where the big shopping Mall is located was a Japanese prison and the area where the Blueprint cultural and creative park is located was the Japanese prison guards houses.

Unfortunately, Mark doesn’t have wi-fi so this will have to wait until we get to Kaohsing to post the next two days..

We had a great chat with Mark after dinner. We chatted about Taiwan’s political situation, with regards to Britain and other countries not recognizing it as an independent country. Most Taiwanese are not too worried about the situation with China. Although the Taiwanese government did go to the Ukraine to see how the Ukrainians managed to fight Russia and to see if Taiwan would be able to do the same. They determined that it would not be able to fight an aggressive China. They have decided to increase the mandatory conscription from 3 months to one year, in the hopes of getting more trained soldiers.

Taiwan is self-sufficient, in food, water, power and is the world’s leading producer of micro-chips. The banking situation has strict controls and has not had any major problems, even during the crash of 2008.

We discussed the school system and were amazed to learn that it is mandatory for kids to go to kindergarten at 3 years old. The middle-class want to ensure that their children speak English and will send their kids to an English kindergarten class. Mark teaches 4 to 5 years old. He teaches them in English – math, sciences (suitable for a 5 year old). He said part of his role as a teacher is to teach them to be self-sufficient and ethics. To be kind, to be helpful and to be independent. He said that by the time the 5 year old kids at his school  start Grade 1 their written and spoken English is better than his nephews who is in England. All students who go to university have to pass an English exam to be able to get into university. Mark said that some of his English friends found it hard.

We also talked about the cost of living. He pays approximately $300 Taiwanese dollars a month for his apartment which is one floor of a three storey building. The kitchen is tiny but everyone eats out or has food delivered. He pays about $NT 10 a month for electricity in the winter and $20 in the summer when it is really hot and humid. We didn’t discuss his pay but he indicated that most Taiwanese are not looking to buy property as renting is usually only about 7% of their overall income, whereas buying could be more than 35% of their income.

Chiayi to Tainan – 74.71 kms Elevation 221 m

Monday, 4 November 2024

Back on the bikes and what a day it was. It was a bit of a boring route, so not many photos. However, the ride was not without its excitement. Excitement we could do without.

Google found us a nice easy way out of Chiayi, along a rail trail. It was only about 5 kms long. There were toilets, and rest stops at every road crossing. Also there was an alien space ship along the trail!

However, before we left the main road, I almost got doored, and a car tried to cut me off.

We headed out on a semi-rural road and a bug tried to bite me, in my shock and trying to get it off my arm, I hit my front brake and ended up on the road. No real damage done, a little bit of road rash, bruises on my shin, and hip, and an egg-growing on my arm. Fortunately, I have antiseptic wipes in my bag, I was able to clean myself up and carry on. The bike was fine.

I figured that everything comes in threes, nothing else could go wrong.  Until a speeding car running a red light almost hit Ralf!! I shouted at Ralf, and he stopped as the car zoomed past very close to the front of Ralf’s bike. A guy on the sidewalk, said Sorry. Apologizing for his countryman’s poor driving. Although the driver didn’t stop, we caught up to him at the next traffic lights and he stared straight ahead. He would not make eye contact with us.

We haven’t stopped at a temple for a few days. I think we should next time just to get the Gods back on our side.

As I said the route was nothing to write home about. We followed another bike path called the sugar cane trail. The trail took us past Swan Lake, which was very pretty.

We stopped for lunch at about 40 kms and then carried on into Tainan. Google took us along a very strange path through an orange grove. We couldn’t turn back as there was a dog that didn’t like us on his territory. He had barked and chased us a little way.

We also cycled along a very large berm, the floodplain was huge, and the hydro towers were on platforms again.

When we got to the Airbnb, we had to wait until 4:00 p.m. before they sent the code. This is the place that has been sending Ralf dozens of messages to tell him how and when he can get into the building. Of course, with our luck today the code didn’t work. They asked Ralf to send a video of him using the keypad. Then they sent us a new code. Never booking accommodation that has self-check-in again.

We had a lovely dinner at a Pasta place. Yummy. Good end to a bad day.

Tainan is a very large city. Population 875,000. I will write more about the history tomorrow, as we are spending a day here. We have a warmshowers tomorrow night. Mark wrote the book Riding in the Clouds. Most of his routes are very hilly, but it will be interesting to talk to him.

Shizhou Walking in the Clouds – approx 10 kms

Sunday 3 November 2024

Today was another day off the bikes. This is not just a bike tour, it is a site seeing tour as well. We had planned to take the Alishan Railway, an historic railway up to the mountain region of Alishan. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get tickets and the regular train wasn’t running today. We decided to go up to Shizhou by bus and walk the Tea Trails.

There were several buses leaving for Alishan, stopping at Shizhou along the way. We got the 7:40 bus by my watch. As we checked the time later both Ralf’s phone and my phone indicated it was an hour later. I think there was a time change somewhere in the world and my watch didn’t get the memo, now my watch doesn’t match the actual time in Taiwan.

However, we had a wonderful time in Shizhou. The first trail was called the Mist trail , the second one was the Tea Trail and the third one was the Cloud trail. The various trails were quite challenging as we were at 1699 metres and climbing uphill until we got half way through the Cloud trail and then it was downhill.

After we got off the bus in Shizhou, we had to walk up the road for about 1 km before we found the first trail called the Mist Trail.

I think they should rename these trails, because we saw more tea bushes and people picking the leaves on the first section. As we crossed from that trail to the tea trail, the clouds rolled in and it was very misty.  The cloud trail can stay the same, as you are often walking above the clouds..

We went through three different eco-systems, very similar to the eco-systems that the Botanical Gardens had created in Taichung. Tea, bamboo and forest.

The tea grown here is primarily green tea. Shizhuo has its own unique advantages for growing good tea. The altitude of the tea area is between 1200 and 1700 meters. The temperature difference is about 10 degrees, with sufficient relative humidity. In summer, the highest temperature is seldom over 25 degrees. Tea leaves do not age due to growing too fast so the tea tastes mellow and not bitter. It grows well at these high altitudes and soils.

You could smell the tea as we passed the pickers. They were all shouting to one another. One of them shouted Good morning to us. I asked if we could take a photo and she said yeah o.k and then turned her back on us as the foreman was coming to check up on the workers. 

At the top of the cloud trail we came across a group of about 4 or 5 people stopped for a rest and snack.

One of the ladies offered us some food. We had no idea what it was until she broke the shell and it looked like a chestnut only softer. She gave us the whole bag to take with us, she also offered us eggs. We declined the eggs but we did take the whole bag of chestnutty things. Whatever the nut thing was it was really good.

Everyone on the walks were very chatty and helpful. It was lovely to be out forest bathing!!

On the way down, we took photos of the flora and fauna.

We were almost at the end when I spotted a very large spiders web with dozens of spiders in it, slight scream from me and walking very quickly away from them. Ralf took a photo and I think he has put it on his facebook page, with a warning for us Arachnophobics.

We got back to the hostel at 4:00 p.m. and are catching up on a few things before we head out for something to eat.

Back on the road again tomorrow.

Beidou to Chiayi – 61.85 km Elevation 171.9

Saturday 2 November 2024

What an amazing day. Google maps (and Ralf) did us proud, although the mapping sucks a lot of power out of Ralf’s phone and he begins to worry when it gets down to 10%, it did a great job today.

The weather was lovely, sunny, blue skies and not too humid. It did get a bit hotter in the afternoon, but manageable without the humidity.

You might think it odd that there is a picture of hydro tower. We have noticed these towers on our rides and this time we were able to get a good picture of one. Most of the hydro towers are on platforms, due to flash-floods and typhoons.

Leaving Beidou we followed the main road to the Xilou Bridge. The Xilou Bridge was built in 1953 and was the longest bridge in East Asia at 1,939 metres long. It spurred economic growth by linking the road networks of the northern and southern parts of Western Taiwan. It was very difficult to cross the Jhuoshuei river prior to the bridge being built. They would have to wade across or take a wooden raft “ferry”.

The new Highway 1 bridge further down the river takes all the commercial and major traffic away from Xilou. The Xilou Bridge is now a tourist attraction and only local traffic uses the bridge. It is a two-lane bridge with no shoulder for motor scooters or cyclists, but everyone was very respectful. If you are in a hurry you take Highway 1.

As most of you know, Ralf and I have had an ongoing competition spotting windmills ever since we visited Holland in 1986. Guess who was the first to spot a windmill. Ralf!!

We followed a short bike path on top of a berm. As we came down a small hill to the road we spotted this lovely statue.

We spent 95% on rural farm roads. I wanted to stop and take photos of all the different fruits and veges that were being grown. Everything from cabbage to bananas, even geese.  It was a lovely and relaxing ride.

We went through one major town which was a bit chaotic. That is where we stopped for a quick snack at 7/11. About 5 ks outside of Chiayi we were on the main road. It was a straight road almost to our hostel.

We arrived at 2:15 and could not check in until 3:00 p.m. They did allow us inside the hostel to relax and get out of the heat.

After checking in and having a shower, we headed to the train station to find out about the bus/train to Shizhou tomorrow. There is a Tourist Information Centre at the train station and she was able to give us the information about the bus and told us the bus stop was by the white bear outside. We went outside to find the correct stop. We found the stop and then a small Taiwanese lady helped us. She showed us the bus stop, the times it left the bus stop and told us we should be early as it gets busy. Her English wasn’t perfect, but we could understand her and she kept asking if we understood. I complimented her on her English and she said “no it is not good”. Her friend had her phone and googled the times for the return and we all had a nice chat. They were from the Kaohshing area and were visiting Chiayi. They wished us a safe trip and we thanked them for their help.

We walked back to the hostel and then carried on to the night market. We had a Banh Mi (Vietnamese baguette) for dinner and a waffle for dessert. It was a good night market. Lots of people but not overwhelming.

On our evening walkabout Ralf treated himself to a small powerbank. The assistant who helped us, told Ralf he should be able to get three full charges from the powerbank which will charge his phone from 0 to 100%. We told her that we were on bicycles and she was very careful that we got a lightweight power bank.

Smart Fish restaurant was really busy and is quite famous in Chiayi. There is always a long line up. Pearl Grouper Fish Head Hot Pot Smart Fish has been passed down for three generations. They insist on high quality and meticulously cooking, making their food a popular delicacy in Chiayi. The restaurant has three seating areas, and each one was full.

All in all a very good day. Until Ralf tried to book a hotel in Tainan. We are a day ahead of schedule and Mark our warmshowers host cannot host us on the first night in Tainan. We found a reasonably priced room near the train station and booked it. Now Ralf is trying to work out how to get the code for when we arrive. It is a self check-in place. He has to send a photo of his passport, name his first child after the hotel, that is what we are struggling with no babies. He finally went downstairs to get help from the guy on reception.  There is another APP he has to download. Ralf finally got it all sorted by 9:30 p.m. after a lot of bad words. The thing that really annoyed him was the amount of messages they were sending him, which he could not make heads nor tails of. They will send us the code for the room at 4:00 p.m. check-in time and not a moment earlier.