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.

Taipei

Estas son las fotos de un fin de semana en Diciembre que fui a Taipei junto con Andrea, Adrian y Laura para competir en un maraton. Sin embargo, no tuve buena suerte, estuve resfriado. Tambien nos reunimos con Daniel y Irene, viejos amigos que vivian en Tainan. Juntos fuimos por paseos por Taipei.

Laura, Adrian Y Andrea










Adrian, Andrea and Dan. Irene









Taipei 101 por la mañana













Lost in the crowd

Michele in Taipei pt2

Well as the title suggests, our next stop after Tainan was Taipei. Getting there we used the High Speed Train which was just fantastic, no more 4.5 hours on a normal train, just 1.5!
Even though we spent a few days in Taipei, we only saw a bit of it, as we used the city as a base camp for setting off to areas around Taipei. As a matter of fact, we didn't see much of Taipei, only the CKS Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 and the shops of Ximending. I would have liked to have seen more of Taipei, but when you are on a two week time limit and you want to pack as much of the country in as possible, things need to be left out.
Still, I think Michele got a flavor of what Taipei is like, busy!

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial hall









It had just stopped raining when we had arrived,...















so lots of cool puddle reflection photos and...















great sunset colours















Unfortunately we couldn't go in due to repair work















Going to Ximending shopping area









If only it was not blurred!















Taipei 101















The lift's ceiling lights up to display a night sky















This time round, the views were much better, not so cloudy
























A bit of photo editing went on in this (2) picture

A day in Taipei....

and all I have to show for it are 4 photos. That's because I just went to Taipei to do 'normal' things; go shopping, walk around the streets, eat good food, catch a movie.

But by the end of the day, I was ready to return home to Tainan; I have gotten used to Tainan's small city/country town feel, everything runs at a slower pace of life. Taipei is just too big, too crowded, too busy. But what got me really me frustrated is that it takes so long to get around the city if you travel on the road, as everybody follows the law.

I have gotten used to Tainan's softer approach to the law, where it is commonly assumed that road regulations are 'guidelines' that you can choose to follow, rather than have to follow. A red light means 'we don't want to inconvenience you whilst driving at 60km/h, but you might want to take caution when driving across the junction', rather than 'stop'. Helmets can save your life if you have an accident, but then again, who wants to have 'helmet hair'. A flashing light can mean the police are around (so slow down), or it could mean, 'hey look, a betel nut stand, lets buy some and drive around high.'

hmmm, maybe Taipei isn't so bad.

1. Sun Yat Sen - founder of modern China 2. Vendor at snake alley selling something for 200 dollars, although it does look as though he is giving me the fingers.









1. Longsheng Temple 2. Opposite the temple, a play for the Gods.

Taipei weekend

Since I have been here I haven't done much travelling, so going to Taipei for the weekend was a welcomed break from Tainan.
Taipei is just fantastic, it is a really trendy place; lots of fun shopping areas, night markets, cool bars and cultural sights to keep me busy for the whole weekend.
And it is true what they say, Taipei has some of the best Asian food available. I can take my pic from local Taiwanese food, to the best of China, Korea, Japan and so on. Even the down and dirty night markets have good food.
At the weekend, I visited most of the famous sights.
The Chiang Kai shek memorial was impresive from the outside, but once I entered it, it was a bit of a let down. I was expecting more than just a statue of the man for such a huge building.

The Lonely Planet raved about Longshan temple, however, compared to the temples here in Tainan, it doesn't really compare. (By the amount that I have seen, I would assume Tainan has the most and some of the oldest temples in Taiwan).

The National Palace Museum holds the largest and probably the best collection of Chinese art. Whilst walking around the musuem, I was listening to the earphone guide which gave me a good giggle as it said things like 'Who hasn't heard of the Jadeite cabbage' or 'When you think of bronze vessels, the Mao-kung-ting comes to mind'. Firstly, I have never heard of the Jadeite cabbage, and I dont think I have ever paused to think about bronze vessels, so I am sure the Mao-kung-tink would never come to mind.

And last on the trip was the Taipei 101, the worlds tallest builing, and the worlds fastest lift. It probably takes the same amount of time to reach the 85th floor of the Taipei 101 as it does to reach the 8th floor of my apartment block!
The only reason I paid the expensive ticket to get to the top was just so I could say I have been to the top of the worlds tallest building. And the view form there was ....... crap. Taipei's smog blocked just about most of the skyline.

Still, it was a great trip, and I am sure I will be returning to Taipei again.











Chiang Kai Shek memorial




























Chiang's car









Longshan Temple










Ximending; the trendy shopping area




























Taiwan story land (a slice of Taiwan back in the 40s and 50s); an unexpected detour which turned out to be a lot of fun.


































Shilin nightmarket; lots of food and games



















National Palace museum

















Taipei 101