Taiwan (August 7, 2005 - August 20, 2005)
After Japan Tent, I went back to Tottori for a few days then on the August 7th, I flew to Taiwan to start my 3 week vacation.
I decided to spend two weeks there and spend my last week in South Korea. My Taiwan ended up being one of my most memorable trips I have ever taken. My friend Roy, currently studies politics at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan so he was kind enough to spend two weeks with me being my tour guide. There were a lot of things and cities, that if I were to have travelled on my own, I wouldn't have seen. And what also made the trip extremely interesting was the fact that Roy is an even bigger political junky than I am, so we made stops at tons of political hot-spots.
ITINERARY
August 7 - 10: Taipei
August 10 - 12: Tiensiang (Taroko National Park)
August 12 - 13: Taichung
August 13: Lukang
August 14 - 18: Tainan
August 16: Kiaoshung
August 18 - 20: Penghu Islands
August 7 - 10 in Taipei
So I arrive at Chiang Kai Shek Intl Airport in Tiaoyuen and I get off the plane hearing everybody speak Chinese... well mostly Mandarin and the Taiawanese dialect. At this point, I haven't heard Chinese spoken in almost 5 months. And the sad thing is, I don't know any Mandarin... only Cantonese. BUT as I entered the city, a lot of Taiwanese thought I was Japanese so they spoke Japanese to me. This blew my mind.. I was actually relieved that the older generation understands some Japanese (Taiwan was previously under Japanese rule) cause I now have two back up languages. And Roy, a native Francophone Canadian, is fluent in Mandarin, so basically I have nothing to worry about.
After I met up with Roy, we took a bus from Tiaoyuen into Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. There we stayed with Roy's friend Oliver and his roomate Martin for three nights. Unlike a lot of areas in Japan, Taiwan night life goes until very late. The night markets are wild. Even though I found it to be a bit dirty and dingy (Ive been spoiled with Japanese cleanliness), it was an amazing experience. And the FOOD is amazing and dirt cheap. Bubble tea in Taiwan costs about $0.10 Canadian (whereas in Canada its about $5.00) and the night market. Roy is a vegetarian so we ate at a vegetarian buffet (Chinese vegetarian food is super expensive in Canada)... delicious and cheap. Other delicacies include smelly-tofu, Taiwanese shaved ice, "mah lat" hot pot (spicy hot pot), and other stuff I dont know the names of. The one thing that I found extremely annoying as soon as I walked the streets of Taiwan is the lack of traffic control. There are scooters EVERYWHERE. They weave in and out of traffic like animals. And the cars honk at any pedestrians that get int their way, even if its not their right-of-way. And the large number of scooters did help the air quality at all.
In terms of sight-seeing, we went to many politically-related places. Roy gave me the history and background to a lot of the controversies and politics (mostly Pro-China vs. Independence stuff... e.g. changing the name to Republic of Taiwan from Taiwan, Republic of China) behind Taiwan so it made these visits extra interesting. We visited the Presidential Palace, the KMT headquarters (the pro-China political party), "908 Taiwan Republic" - a private and independent organization which promotes Taiwan independence, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, and other relics.
Oliver and Roy at vegetarian buffet
Myself and Martin at vegetarian buffet
Roy in front of smelly-tofu stand
Myself and Roy in front of Huwei fort
Me in the streets of Taipei (in front of election signs)
Me in front of a bridge
Taiwan night markets
Taiwan Grand Hotel
Taiwan presidential palace
Chiang Kai Skek Memorial
KMT party headquarters
August 10 - 12: Tiensiang (Taroko National Park)
So on August 12th, we said goodbye to Oliver and Martin and we took a train to Tiensiang. Which is a small rural town in the east-coast of Taiwan. It was so rural that, certain public transportation vehicles only ran once a day. So basically Roy told me that we had to hitchhike. I have never in my life hitchhiked before, so I was kinda scared especially with those stories we hear in the western world about what happens to hitchhikers. But Roy and I basically had no choice but to hitch hike from the train station to the main gates of Taroko National Park. When we got off the pick-up truck that we hitched hiked on, I took my first glance at THE most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen in my life. These mountains are like those you find in tranditional Chinese paintings. They were extremely magestic with a great presence. And I thought the mountains in Japan were beautiful. Next we had to find another vehicle to take us into the park near to where the hostels were. We found local couple who lives in a town on the other side of the park, so they offered to give us a lift. This time, I flagged this car down. My hitch-hiking skills were improving... hahahahaha. The scenery inside the park was even more amzing and the mountain side roads look like those you see in movies and episodes of Road Runner cartoon and the coyote falling off the cliff. So when we arrived we had to search for a hostel, so we finally found a catholic daycamp for children that also provides accomdation. Even though its not a religion that Im particularly fond of, we didnt have much other choices. This area was even more rural than the area around the train station, with the exception of a really fancy hotel that didnt really fit into the rest of area. For the next two days, we had to hitchhike around the park to find the amazing hiking trails. On our way to a trail, we managed to stop a Mercedes Benz. This lady was super kind and offered to drive us to the trail. I joked with Roy that we were moving up the hitch-hiking class: from a trashy pick-up truck, to a Mercedes Benz S-class. The trails were absolutely AMAZING. Even though they were super duper steep and exausting, the scenery was totally worth it.
During the third day at Taroko, August 12, it started raining. We decided to leave cause there was no way we were going hiking on the steep and rocky trails with the increased risk of landslides due to the rain. We didnt finish all the trails we wanted to, but we didnt have much choice. So that morning, in the POURING rain, we left for the streets outside the hostel to try to hitch hike out of the park. This time it took us a bit longer to find a car that would stop for us since we were soaking wet in our bright yellow ponchos. Until this awesome family of four, mother father and their two young sons offered to pick us up. We wanted to go to Taichung next, and they were heading in the same direction as we were. They were generous enough to feed us. I guess they thought we were lost youth without much money. hahahaha. This was the longest car ride EVER. Roy, myself (both SOAKING wet from the rain), and the two young boys stuck at the back for 6 full hours. I was also freezing cause the road to Taichung goes up the mountain than down again. The climate at the top of the mountain is very much different than at the bottom. We got out to eat noodles near the top, and I almost froze my ass off.
Six hours later, we finally arrived in Taichung and said goodbye to the family for taking us allllll that way. NOBODY in the western world would ever ever do that. I guess its the culture differences.
Roy and I in front of the entrance of Taroko National Park
Me trying to hitch-hike into Taroko National Park
Us with a group of Taiwanese we randomly met
August 12 - 13: Taichung (via hitch-hiking)
So we finally arrived in Taichung after the loooong gruelling car ride. This time we met up with another one of Roy's friends named Erica. We are in Taichung for one night to basically pick up Roy's new laptop. Erica and his roomate has two scooters, so Roy drove one and I sat with Erica on the other. It was pouring rain and it was my first time sitting on a motorcycle-type vehicle so it was an adventure. And I got to see the night life of the city along the way. So twas fun. So around 11 pm we went to a night market to grab some dinner, ice cream, and some Taiwanese shaved ice. By the time we went back to Ericas we were all so tired and we just crashed in bed.
August 13th: Lukang
After leaving Taichung, we wanted to head to Roy's hometown in Tainan county. But there was a man we met at the "908 Taiwan Republic" Pro-independence organization in Taipei who invited us to go to a lunch in a small town named Lukang just a bit south of Taichung. So we decided to make a stop there... It was a small little town with lots of culture in its buildings and people. We went to the restaurant the organization was holding their dinner at and ate tons of food. They also had a lot of candidates for the upcoming municipal elections swarming around passing campaign literature. The organization made tons of speeches, which I didnt understand a word of. They also had a suggested anthem and flag for when and if Taiwan does becomes independent. So it was a nice experience even though I just sat there.
Afterwards, Roy and I went walking around the little town. The streets were very historic so it was a nice stroll around the city. And I decided to walk down the night market and try tons and tons of food that Ive never tried before. We left the town around night time and took the bus to Tainan.
Roy and I at the "908 Taiwan Republic" (promotes Taiwan independence) organization dinner
Me pretending to rip the campaign poster of Ma Ying Jiu (KMT leader and Taipei mayor)
The streets of Lukang
August 14 - 18: Tainan
So we arrived in Tainan at around 2 am in the morning on the 14th at Roy's place. He teaches English as a part-time job so he lives in a room above one of the schools. Its a really nice place but of course he had to abide by the strict rules of his landlandy/boss. It was nice to be back in the city where there are actually resources where we don't have to hitchhike. hahahaha...
Anyhoo, unlike Taipei, Tainan doesnt have a subway system so Roy went to his local bike shop and bought a used bicycle for me and for his future guests. For the next few days he took me around the city on our bikes, and he showed me his university: National Cheng Kung University. Its supposedly one of the top univeristies in Taiwan. For a couple of days, Roy had to go to work so I was on my own to travel around the city. I had got lost a few times, but I managed to find my way back. Tainan is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan so it had tons of relics and temples to see. The night markets here in Tainan are amazing. Here I tried smelly-tofu for the first time. It was quite yummy actually. And I stuffed myself with tons of other deliciousness. I never rode a bike soooo much before in my life until I arrived in Tainan. And it was one of those racing bikes so I had to arch my back for a lengthy period of time. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed myself in Tainan.
Roy and I eating Taiwanese shaved ice
Smelly tofu and noodles at a Tainan night market
Me at the Tainan Confucious temple
At a nice park in Tainan
The National Cheng Kung University gates
August 16 - Kiaoshung
On August 16th, while Roy was at work, I took a trip to Kiaoshung city south of Tainan. When I arrived, it was quite an adventure trying to find out what bus to take to go this mountain (I forgot the name) with an amazing hiking trail that supposedly had a nice view of Kiaoshung city. I was going around asking everybody and finally I was led on to this one bus, which ended being the wrong one. So I had to get off once again and change onto another bus. I finally went to climb the mountain and intersetingly there were monkeys along the hiking trail. I stopped at one point to take a picture of a pack with baby monkies and the mother started snarling and hissing at me so I decided to leave. I didnt want to be attacked by monkies in a foreign country. So after the mountain I took a bus to this beautiful lake that is surrounded by these two pagota towers and other religious looking sculptures. I was enjoying myself walking around and snapping photos, until it started raining. It was poooourrrrring like crraaazy. Since I got this lake from the moutain, which I had gotten to by getting lost.. hahahaa. I didnt know how to find my way back. So finally I decided to stop walking and go ask somebody at a gas station. They pointed me to a bus stop, even then I didnt know if that was the right one. Luckily there was someone there who actually was nice enough to guide me back to Kiaoshung station on the bus. By the time I got near the station, the rain had died down so I decided to go walk around the shops near the station. Then I took the train back to Tainan.
Mountain hiking trail with monkies
Pagota and sculptures along the lakeside in Kioshung
August 18 - 20: Penghu Islands
Our last stop of our Taiwan trip was the Pescadores (Penghu) Islands located on the western shore of mainland Taiwan in Taiwan strait. So on the morning of the 18th, Roy and I got up and we had to rush to catch the ferries. We brought our bikes with us on the ferry so we can actually travel around the islands. The ferry ride was interseting. It was soooo rocky that I had to go to try to sleep in order to prevent sea-sickness. But, typical of Chinese/Taiwanese culture, they blare corny karaoke versions of songs in the passenger area. I was going to rip my hair out, but luckily, I was able to fall asleep. So around 2 hours later, we arrived at the port of Magong city, the largest city in the islands. And just my luck, it was pouring rain. My host father in Kanazawa told me about something called an "雨男" (ame otoko) which means "rain boy" as in wherever the rain boy goes, the rain follows. And I am totally the rain boy.
We spent most of the 18th travelling around finding maps and what the intersting things to do on islands are. Basically there are three main islands that are accessible by our bicycles from Magong city. So we decided to travel those three within the next two days. In the first night we biked around the first island... in the rain.... that was an adventure. It was crazy. Biking uphill and downhill. We got to explore the many different areas of the island... in the rain. But it was quite lovely nevertheless. By the time we arrived back in our hotel/motel room we were both super duper tired and soaked with rain.
The next day was even a bigger trip. Luckily it stopped raining. We started off early in the morning biking starting our trip to the other two islands. The landscape was amazing. There were windmills, gorgeous seasides and this amazing bridge that connected two of the islands. By the time we hit the tip of the last island it was completely dark. At the tip was a military base with a famous lighthouse. By this point my butt was hurting and I was super tired. So we started making our voyage back which ended up being the longest ever. Taiwan is known for their stray dogs wandering around everywhere. So at the point I was super hungry and tired and exausted so I started to bike slower, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, this stray dogs jumps out of the bushes in front my bike. Instinctly, I got this surge of energy and started peddling like mad. The dog was chasing after me until it finally gave up. I was quite shaken up by this. At this point Roy was way ahead of me. By the time we arrived back in Magong, I had no energy left in my body. I had never been so tired before in my entire life. We biked almost 30 km. Finally on this very last night in Taiwan, I got to try the "mah lat" hot pot, which my dad kept telling me to try. I scarffed it down like an animal considering I was super hungry and out of energy at this point.
The next morning, we decided to travel around magong city to explore its attractions.
Roy on the ferry arriving at Magong
Famous oil tanks on port-side Magong
About to cross the famous bridge connecting two islands in the Pescadores
Whale hole
And by late afternoon, I had to take a plane out of penghu islands back to Taoyuen to transfer onto a plane to my next stop of my 3 week vacation to South Korea. I said goodbye to Roy and thanked him for everything he has done for me those two weeks. It will go down as one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken. This was my first time going to Taiwan. It was interesting to see the differences in culture between the oriental countries in Asia. Next stop Seoul, South Korea.
I decided to spend two weeks there and spend my last week in South Korea. My Taiwan ended up being one of my most memorable trips I have ever taken. My friend Roy, currently studies politics at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan so he was kind enough to spend two weeks with me being my tour guide. There were a lot of things and cities, that if I were to have travelled on my own, I wouldn't have seen. And what also made the trip extremely interesting was the fact that Roy is an even bigger political junky than I am, so we made stops at tons of political hot-spots.
ITINERARY
August 7 - 10: Taipei
August 10 - 12: Tiensiang (Taroko National Park)
August 12 - 13: Taichung
August 13: Lukang
August 14 - 18: Tainan
August 16: Kiaoshung
August 18 - 20: Penghu Islands
August 7 - 10 in Taipei
So I arrive at Chiang Kai Shek Intl Airport in Tiaoyuen and I get off the plane hearing everybody speak Chinese... well mostly Mandarin and the Taiawanese dialect. At this point, I haven't heard Chinese spoken in almost 5 months. And the sad thing is, I don't know any Mandarin... only Cantonese. BUT as I entered the city, a lot of Taiwanese thought I was Japanese so they spoke Japanese to me. This blew my mind.. I was actually relieved that the older generation understands some Japanese (Taiwan was previously under Japanese rule) cause I now have two back up languages. And Roy, a native Francophone Canadian, is fluent in Mandarin, so basically I have nothing to worry about.
After I met up with Roy, we took a bus from Tiaoyuen into Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. There we stayed with Roy's friend Oliver and his roomate Martin for three nights. Unlike a lot of areas in Japan, Taiwan night life goes until very late. The night markets are wild. Even though I found it to be a bit dirty and dingy (Ive been spoiled with Japanese cleanliness), it was an amazing experience. And the FOOD is amazing and dirt cheap. Bubble tea in Taiwan costs about $0.10 Canadian (whereas in Canada its about $5.00) and the night market. Roy is a vegetarian so we ate at a vegetarian buffet (Chinese vegetarian food is super expensive in Canada)... delicious and cheap. Other delicacies include smelly-tofu, Taiwanese shaved ice, "mah lat" hot pot (spicy hot pot), and other stuff I dont know the names of. The one thing that I found extremely annoying as soon as I walked the streets of Taiwan is the lack of traffic control. There are scooters EVERYWHERE. They weave in and out of traffic like animals. And the cars honk at any pedestrians that get int their way, even if its not their right-of-way. And the large number of scooters did help the air quality at all.
In terms of sight-seeing, we went to many politically-related places. Roy gave me the history and background to a lot of the controversies and politics (mostly Pro-China vs. Independence stuff... e.g. changing the name to Republic of Taiwan from Taiwan, Republic of China) behind Taiwan so it made these visits extra interesting. We visited the Presidential Palace, the KMT headquarters (the pro-China political party), "908 Taiwan Republic" - a private and independent organization which promotes Taiwan independence, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, and other relics.
Oliver and Roy at vegetarian buffet
Myself and Martin at vegetarian buffet
Roy in front of smelly-tofu stand
Myself and Roy in front of Huwei fort
Me in the streets of Taipei (in front of election signs)
Me in front of a bridge
Taiwan night markets
Taiwan Grand Hotel
Taiwan presidential palace
Chiang Kai Skek Memorial
KMT party headquarters
August 10 - 12: Tiensiang (Taroko National Park)
So on August 12th, we said goodbye to Oliver and Martin and we took a train to Tiensiang. Which is a small rural town in the east-coast of Taiwan. It was so rural that, certain public transportation vehicles only ran once a day. So basically Roy told me that we had to hitchhike. I have never in my life hitchhiked before, so I was kinda scared especially with those stories we hear in the western world about what happens to hitchhikers. But Roy and I basically had no choice but to hitch hike from the train station to the main gates of Taroko National Park. When we got off the pick-up truck that we hitched hiked on, I took my first glance at THE most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen in my life. These mountains are like those you find in tranditional Chinese paintings. They were extremely magestic with a great presence. And I thought the mountains in Japan were beautiful. Next we had to find another vehicle to take us into the park near to where the hostels were. We found local couple who lives in a town on the other side of the park, so they offered to give us a lift. This time, I flagged this car down. My hitch-hiking skills were improving... hahahahaha. The scenery inside the park was even more amzing and the mountain side roads look like those you see in movies and episodes of Road Runner cartoon and the coyote falling off the cliff. So when we arrived we had to search for a hostel, so we finally found a catholic daycamp for children that also provides accomdation. Even though its not a religion that Im particularly fond of, we didnt have much other choices. This area was even more rural than the area around the train station, with the exception of a really fancy hotel that didnt really fit into the rest of area. For the next two days, we had to hitchhike around the park to find the amazing hiking trails. On our way to a trail, we managed to stop a Mercedes Benz. This lady was super kind and offered to drive us to the trail. I joked with Roy that we were moving up the hitch-hiking class: from a trashy pick-up truck, to a Mercedes Benz S-class. The trails were absolutely AMAZING. Even though they were super duper steep and exausting, the scenery was totally worth it.
During the third day at Taroko, August 12, it started raining. We decided to leave cause there was no way we were going hiking on the steep and rocky trails with the increased risk of landslides due to the rain. We didnt finish all the trails we wanted to, but we didnt have much choice. So that morning, in the POURING rain, we left for the streets outside the hostel to try to hitch hike out of the park. This time it took us a bit longer to find a car that would stop for us since we were soaking wet in our bright yellow ponchos. Until this awesome family of four, mother father and their two young sons offered to pick us up. We wanted to go to Taichung next, and they were heading in the same direction as we were. They were generous enough to feed us. I guess they thought we were lost youth without much money. hahahaha. This was the longest car ride EVER. Roy, myself (both SOAKING wet from the rain), and the two young boys stuck at the back for 6 full hours. I was also freezing cause the road to Taichung goes up the mountain than down again. The climate at the top of the mountain is very much different than at the bottom. We got out to eat noodles near the top, and I almost froze my ass off.
Six hours later, we finally arrived in Taichung and said goodbye to the family for taking us allllll that way. NOBODY in the western world would ever ever do that. I guess its the culture differences.
Roy and I in front of the entrance of Taroko National Park
Me trying to hitch-hike into Taroko National Park
Us with a group of Taiwanese we randomly met
August 12 - 13: Taichung (via hitch-hiking)
So we finally arrived in Taichung after the loooong gruelling car ride. This time we met up with another one of Roy's friends named Erica. We are in Taichung for one night to basically pick up Roy's new laptop. Erica and his roomate has two scooters, so Roy drove one and I sat with Erica on the other. It was pouring rain and it was my first time sitting on a motorcycle-type vehicle so it was an adventure. And I got to see the night life of the city along the way. So twas fun. So around 11 pm we went to a night market to grab some dinner, ice cream, and some Taiwanese shaved ice. By the time we went back to Ericas we were all so tired and we just crashed in bed.
Me and Roys friend Erica
August 13th: Lukang
After leaving Taichung, we wanted to head to Roy's hometown in Tainan county. But there was a man we met at the "908 Taiwan Republic" Pro-independence organization in Taipei who invited us to go to a lunch in a small town named Lukang just a bit south of Taichung. So we decided to make a stop there... It was a small little town with lots of culture in its buildings and people. We went to the restaurant the organization was holding their dinner at and ate tons of food. They also had a lot of candidates for the upcoming municipal elections swarming around passing campaign literature. The organization made tons of speeches, which I didnt understand a word of. They also had a suggested anthem and flag for when and if Taiwan does becomes independent. So it was a nice experience even though I just sat there.
Afterwards, Roy and I went walking around the little town. The streets were very historic so it was a nice stroll around the city. And I decided to walk down the night market and try tons and tons of food that Ive never tried before. We left the town around night time and took the bus to Tainan.
Roy and I at the "908 Taiwan Republic" (promotes Taiwan independence) organization dinner
Me pretending to rip the campaign poster of Ma Ying Jiu (KMT leader and Taipei mayor)
The streets of Lukang
August 14 - 18: Tainan
So we arrived in Tainan at around 2 am in the morning on the 14th at Roy's place. He teaches English as a part-time job so he lives in a room above one of the schools. Its a really nice place but of course he had to abide by the strict rules of his landlandy/boss. It was nice to be back in the city where there are actually resources where we don't have to hitchhike. hahahaha...
Anyhoo, unlike Taipei, Tainan doesnt have a subway system so Roy went to his local bike shop and bought a used bicycle for me and for his future guests. For the next few days he took me around the city on our bikes, and he showed me his university: National Cheng Kung University. Its supposedly one of the top univeristies in Taiwan. For a couple of days, Roy had to go to work so I was on my own to travel around the city. I had got lost a few times, but I managed to find my way back. Tainan is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan so it had tons of relics and temples to see. The night markets here in Tainan are amazing. Here I tried smelly-tofu for the first time. It was quite yummy actually. And I stuffed myself with tons of other deliciousness. I never rode a bike soooo much before in my life until I arrived in Tainan. And it was one of those racing bikes so I had to arch my back for a lengthy period of time. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed myself in Tainan.
Roy and I eating Taiwanese shaved ice
Smelly tofu and noodles at a Tainan night market
Me at the Tainan Confucious temple
At a nice park in Tainan
The National Cheng Kung University gates
August 16 - Kiaoshung
On August 16th, while Roy was at work, I took a trip to Kiaoshung city south of Tainan. When I arrived, it was quite an adventure trying to find out what bus to take to go this mountain (I forgot the name) with an amazing hiking trail that supposedly had a nice view of Kiaoshung city. I was going around asking everybody and finally I was led on to this one bus, which ended being the wrong one. So I had to get off once again and change onto another bus. I finally went to climb the mountain and intersetingly there were monkeys along the hiking trail. I stopped at one point to take a picture of a pack with baby monkies and the mother started snarling and hissing at me so I decided to leave. I didnt want to be attacked by monkies in a foreign country. So after the mountain I took a bus to this beautiful lake that is surrounded by these two pagota towers and other religious looking sculptures. I was enjoying myself walking around and snapping photos, until it started raining. It was poooourrrrring like crraaazy. Since I got this lake from the moutain, which I had gotten to by getting lost.. hahahaa. I didnt know how to find my way back. So finally I decided to stop walking and go ask somebody at a gas station. They pointed me to a bus stop, even then I didnt know if that was the right one. Luckily there was someone there who actually was nice enough to guide me back to Kiaoshung station on the bus. By the time I got near the station, the rain had died down so I decided to go walk around the shops near the station. Then I took the train back to Tainan.
Mountain hiking trail with monkies
Pagota and sculptures along the lakeside in Kioshung
August 18 - 20: Penghu Islands
Our last stop of our Taiwan trip was the Pescadores (Penghu) Islands located on the western shore of mainland Taiwan in Taiwan strait. So on the morning of the 18th, Roy and I got up and we had to rush to catch the ferries. We brought our bikes with us on the ferry so we can actually travel around the islands. The ferry ride was interseting. It was soooo rocky that I had to go to try to sleep in order to prevent sea-sickness. But, typical of Chinese/Taiwanese culture, they blare corny karaoke versions of songs in the passenger area. I was going to rip my hair out, but luckily, I was able to fall asleep. So around 2 hours later, we arrived at the port of Magong city, the largest city in the islands. And just my luck, it was pouring rain. My host father in Kanazawa told me about something called an "雨男" (ame otoko) which means "rain boy" as in wherever the rain boy goes, the rain follows. And I am totally the rain boy.
We spent most of the 18th travelling around finding maps and what the intersting things to do on islands are. Basically there are three main islands that are accessible by our bicycles from Magong city. So we decided to travel those three within the next two days. In the first night we biked around the first island... in the rain.... that was an adventure. It was crazy. Biking uphill and downhill. We got to explore the many different areas of the island... in the rain. But it was quite lovely nevertheless. By the time we arrived back in our hotel/motel room we were both super duper tired and soaked with rain.
The next day was even a bigger trip. Luckily it stopped raining. We started off early in the morning biking starting our trip to the other two islands. The landscape was amazing. There were windmills, gorgeous seasides and this amazing bridge that connected two of the islands. By the time we hit the tip of the last island it was completely dark. At the tip was a military base with a famous lighthouse. By this point my butt was hurting and I was super tired. So we started making our voyage back which ended up being the longest ever. Taiwan is known for their stray dogs wandering around everywhere. So at the point I was super hungry and tired and exausted so I started to bike slower, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, this stray dogs jumps out of the bushes in front my bike. Instinctly, I got this surge of energy and started peddling like mad. The dog was chasing after me until it finally gave up. I was quite shaken up by this. At this point Roy was way ahead of me. By the time we arrived back in Magong, I had no energy left in my body. I had never been so tired before in my entire life. We biked almost 30 km. Finally on this very last night in Taiwan, I got to try the "mah lat" hot pot, which my dad kept telling me to try. I scarffed it down like an animal considering I was super hungry and out of energy at this point.
The next morning, we decided to travel around magong city to explore its attractions.
Roy on the ferry arriving at Magong
Famous oil tanks on port-side Magong
About to cross the famous bridge connecting two islands in the Pescadores
Whale hole
And by late afternoon, I had to take a plane out of penghu islands back to Taoyuen to transfer onto a plane to my next stop of my 3 week vacation to South Korea. I said goodbye to Roy and thanked him for everything he has done for me those two weeks. It will go down as one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken. This was my first time going to Taiwan. It was interesting to see the differences in culture between the oriental countries in Asia. Next stop Seoul, South Korea.
posted by Arthur Kong at 4:10 PM
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