Taiwan cycle, Day 9

Jilong to Hsinchu
Not much can be said about this day expect it was wet, windy and cold, definitely a bad combination!
The northern part of Taiwan looked bleak and miserable under a grey sky. All we wanted to do was hit the most northern point of Taiwan and then as quick as possible make our way south.
Unlike its southern counterpart that everybody knew, the most northern point of Taiwan was a mystery to most people, everybody seemed to have a different opinion as to where it was or no idea at all. After riding for a long time, unsure of which place it was, we decided that this spot with an old stone bridge seemed as good a place as any to declare as the northern point.

With the obligatory picture taken we quickly rode our way to the western side of Taiwan, we were desperately looking forward to having the wind with us. We cycled through the busy port of Danshui and over its big bridges, cycled along the north western coast, passed a huge nuclear power station and through many nondescript towns.
And yet even though the wind's direction did begin to change, the cold and the rain persisted, the only place that offered respite were the 7/11s.








So by the time we reached Hsinchu (well, a small town near there) we were fed up. We found a love hotel as there was no other place to stay. (On a small side note, the love hotel was amazing, great service, private garage, breakfast, a comfy bed and reasonable priced!)
After discussing it a great deal, we decided to call it a day and get a train home to Tainan. Yes, we didn't complete the loop, but that didn't really matter. I had a fantastic time cycling around (part of) Taiwan with Adrian and Andrea, saw some amazing sights and made a lot of great memories.

However, this was not the end of the trip, even though we didn't complete the loop in one go, a few weeks later we came back to Hsinchu (when it wasn't raining, or cold or windy) and did the final leg, which will be the last post of the trip.

Day 8

Fulong to Jilong

We had high hopes for this day, we wanted to do a big cycle and get over to the western side of Taiwan so that we could finally have the wind behind us. That didn't happen. What did happen was the complete opposite.
When we left the hotel in the early morning, it was (still) raining and cold. Looking at the map there were two routes to Jilong, one along the coast, and one through the countryside. The coastal road looked a little longer and we figured the wind and rain would be worse, so we chose the country road. I knew the country road was going to be hilly as I had been in this area before, but we figured we had been on higher mountains, so it wasn't going to be a big problem.
At first the journey wasn't so bad, even though it was raining, the countryside and small villages were really quite picturesque.
Leaving the small villages, the road began to ascend, but not too far up I stopped at a police station to get some water. When I enquired about the water machine, the policeman barely took a look at me and waved me to the back of the room. He was too busy keeping the electric heater and TV safe from crime whilst reclined on the sofa, he made multitasking look so easy. I left the station with a slight pang of jealousy.

We continued cycling up, and up, and up. We couldn't see how far the road went as it was hidden in cloud, but we knew that Jilong must be near as the distance on the map was quite short. Jilong was near, there was only one problem, there was a very big mountain between us and it. The higher we went, the wind got stronger, the air got colder, and the rain got wetter! Soon we were lost in cloud. It didn't help that we wore sandals and no gloves; our hands and feet were freezing. When we reached the peak, we seemed to be the only idiots people up there. It really felt like we were atop a huge mountain. However, we were glad we were at the peak as we could now go down.
Going down didn't help, it actually made us feel a lot worse. The cold wind bit our hands, feet and faces a lot stronger.
After cycling a few minutes downhill, out of nowhere civilisation hit us with a bang. We found ourselves at the entrance of Jiufen old street, which was thronged with hundreds of tourists, all wanting to do what we wanted to do, get off the mountain!! There was an 7/11 at the entrance of the old street, so we all ran inside to devour whatever hot food there was. We could barely hold our drinks our hands felt so numb.
There were no gloves for sale at the 7/11, so we decided to buy some socks and use them as gloves. At the 7, we discussed what the plan was for the rest of the day. We were all cold, wet and eager to get warmer. So we decided to call it a day and go to the nearest city (Jilong) and get a hotel. Leaving the mountain was easier said than done, taxis, buses, scooters and us were all fighting for a space on the narrow road.

When we arrived in Jilong we checked out few hotels before we found one that was neither fully booked nor too expensive (thank you Chinese New Year!). After settling down, showering, and putting on warmer clothes, we headed out to get some food.
And yet even in warmer clothes, the cold rainy dampness of Jilong still managed to seep through our clothes and into our bones. I tried to do some sightseeing as Jilong seems like an interesting city with lots of cool alleys to explore, yet the bad weather sent me back to the hotel and has put me off from EVER going there again. I'm sorry Jilong, you had your chance and you blew it!

Taiwan Cycle, Day 7

Nan'Ao to Fulong

I think the weather in this trip can be classed into days. The first three days were pretty hot and sunny. The next three days were cloudy and windy but generally dry. And then from day seven onwards the weather turned ugly. Along with the ever present wind, it was now rainy, cold and damp. And as you can see by the few photos I took, none of us really felt like stopping to take pictures.

Still, there were some interesting things in this leg of the trip.

After eating a measly breakfast consisting of a banana wrapped in toast, we left Nan'ao in the dark. We stopped off in Su'Ao to get a bigger breakfast. We didn't hang around as the town was ugly. The only thing that is memorable about this place was a dog that kept falling asleep standing up.
Cycling further north we passed a huge nuclear reactor that had a small town near it which probably served the people who worked in the plant. We stopped off here to get some lunch, big mistake! The food was mediocre and the restaurant was empty save us and three other people; a drunk girl, a guy making cat noises and a very old lady who looked like she wanted to die because she was stuck with those two. I am sure that living near a huge reactor is bad for the health.

As we were reaching the north eastern point, we stopped off to ask for directions to Fulong. A lady told us that there was an old railway tunnel somewhere behind us. So we could either cycle 5km around the cape, or take the 1km tunnel that cuts through the mountains straight to Fulong. The tunnel closed at 5pm and we only had 10min to find it. The tunnel couldn't be seen from the roadside, so we frantically rushed up and down small roads to find it. Thankfully we did.

By the time we reached Fulong it was getting late. yet we were still able to find a hotel. Two things about this hotel stick out, firstly, the shower door was frosted glass, so if you stepped too close to the door while showering, shapes could be made out!! And secondly, the room was so damp that water droplets were forming on the ceiling. Still, it was relatively cheap and the lady who ran it was very nice.

After eating dinner, Adrian and Andrea went back to the hotel room and I took a walk around the town to take some pictures. There was a small lantern exhibit in the middle of the park which was really amazing. Yet even the lanterns couldn't keep me out for long, the rain and wind soon drove me back into the hotel.

Taiwan Cycle, Day 6

Hualian county to Nan 'Ao

This was the first official day of the Chinese New Year holiday. The night before seemed to be one huge party on the streets, with firecrackers going off throughout the night.
With the start of Chinese New Year, this meant that everybody would be leaving their homes to go to their family home, so the roads were going to be busy. Luckily, because we were going north, the traffic was quite light as most Taiwanese work up north but their homes are in the south, so at least the traffic would be going in the opposite direction.

A very early start in Hualian, and yes, I am holding toothpaste and a toothbrush in the photo. I forgot to pack them away.









This turned out to be one of the best mornings, the skies were clear and the sun was out. It was pity it stay like that the whole day!

























After this picture, the mountains on one side of the valley began to grow smaller the closer we got to Hualian city; the East Rift valley road was coming to an end.
By the time we reached Hualian city, it was getting time for lunch. We found a bakery and got some cakes. The sugar rush was greatly appreciated.
Once we left Hualian, the only road we could take to go further north was the coastal road. I had heard a lot about this part of the coastal road; the Hualian to Su 'Ao section is a narrow two lane road that skirts along high cliffs, up and down hills, and through numerous tunnels. It was going to be an exciting leg!









One of the tourism information signs along the road went into the history of this road, I won't go on too much about it, but it did say that many people had died in the process of constructing the road. It's incredible that they were able to build a road along here, the rock is hard and the cliffs are steep.

At certain points along the road, we had to cycle through tunnels. At first, this caused us some confusion as at the entrance of the tunnels, it said no bikes allowed. Well, firstly, if no bikes are allowed, how could we go on with no other road available, and secondly, I don't think any of us were prepared to turn around. So we decided to ignore the signs and cycle through.
The tunnels were really exciting,




















The line you see in the photo below is the road we had to cycle up, and it didn't just stop at the end of the photo. When the road turned the corner, it just kept going up and up. However, before cycling up, there was a tiny town at the base of the road which was full of people all grateful that there was a place were one could eat, rest, go to toilet, etc. We took advantage of a small shop to buy some drinks and sweets for the road ahead.




















The clouds above me are a sign of the rain that was to come.












And with the start of the rain the plastic raincoats come out.

Taiwan Cycle, Day 5

Today's entry takes place mostly in Taidong County. As we had cycled the Coastal road on a previous occasion, we now wanted to try the East Rift Valley road which connects Taidong city to Hualian city.
The East Rift Valley seemed to be where most of the produce for Taiwan is grown, we cycled by numerous rice, bamboo, corn and other vegetable fields.

As the name suggests, the East Rift valley takes us through the centre two mountain ranges. However, thankfully the road is mostly flat.




















When you are hungry, there is no need to go into a 7/11 for a snack, there are plenty of roadside stalls that sell delicious fresh food. We bought some corn from this woman, who as I got talking to her, found out she was from Vietnam. She then offered us free of charge some sugar cane because as she put it 'we were all foreigners here'. Very nice lady, and very nice sugar cane!




























Police stations are great, they offer free water, bike pump, and bicycle repair kit. And if you have a tent, you can camp on their grounds and use their shower and toilet facilities for free! These police men had to take pictures of each cyclist who used their station, so we decided to use this opportunity to also get a photo of them for our collection.