Having made my way around the island on my first trip to Taiwan I wanted to do something different this time around. One option was to head south to Kenting National park, but unsure about the weather we would receive in March I didn't want to rely on a beach vacation. In reading travel blogs I came across some great reviews of HWY 11, and with someone to share the experience with, a road trip sounded like a good option. I did still want to incorporate a train ride into our vacation so we chose to travel to Hualien first, rent a car from there and then hit the road heading south, free to explore when and where we wanted.
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It's hard to believe that the first time I stepped foot in this country was ten and a half years ago. It was my first solo adventure, traveling during my summer vacation while teaching English at Buksam High school in South Korea. That period of my life feels both like yesterday, and a lifetime ago. Honestly, Taiwan was never on my radar, but having now returned for my third visit it's hard not to reflect on the turns my life has taken. In the years during and since COVID-19 we were all grounded and I almost forgot about the adventurous life I led throughout my 20's. I became an ultimate homebody and found entertainment between the pages of books, rather than my passport. As the world opens, and I'm back on the other side of the Earth, I'm beginning to quickly remember the wanderlust and adventure that once flowed through my veins. While my hunger to travel is still strong, the influx of travel bloggers, youtubers and influencers (sorry I still cannot accept this as reality), I have began to focus more on my intentions, what is it that I seek as I set off on each adventure? During my last visit to Chiang Mai I recognized that I was just tired, and wanted an escape, a few days to myself. This trip to Taiwan I got caught up in planning and playing tour guide (a job I love), but allowed that to distract me from my personal desires. What was it I was hoping to gain from this trip?
The first time I visited Taiwan I made plans to spend a few days in Danshui, a small historic district to the north of Taipei, but travel plans changed an I never made it there. Although it sounded a bit touristy I didn’t wan tot make two visits to the country and not even attempt a visit, I decided to dedicate my Monday to exploring the area.I considered getting up early and finding my way Guanyinshan mountain for a morning hike and then making my way to Danshui via Bali, in the afternoon, but those plans dissolved. I woke up later than planned, really wanted a long morning session of yoga and before long it was almost 12. Instead I decided to simply take the MRT direct to Danshui and explore the town by foot.
As my two weeks at the DADA school came to a close it was time for me to prepare myself for an entirely different beast, New Year's Eve in Taipei. This is kind of the whole reason I planned a second trip to Taiwan in the first place, a recommendation from an old friend, a good deal on a flight ticket and I was there. Our plans for the evening rotated back and forth between hiking to a good viewpoint of the 101 building, various hotel parties or just winging it. At almost the last minute Grant found what looked like a good event at Brklyn, near the 101 building so we decided to test our luck and go for it.
After nearly a month in Taiwan (on two different visits, two and a half years apart) I was beginning to feel like a helpless child. I was almost always following along with my friend Grant, other travelers or my hosts at the DADA school. Although I was invited to tag along on a camping trip to Kenting I decided to do a little exploring on my own. Upon the advice of one of the students at the DADA school and a little research of my own, I planned a [brief] two-day visit to Changhua and Taichung. I considered going further south to Tainan but ultimately didn’t want to spend the time or money in doing so.
As if removing myself from the hot sun and beaches of the Philippines for cold and rain in Taiwan wasn't enough I decided to add another curveball to the mix. While my 'volunteer' work at Seaside consisted of drinking with the workers I couldn't have done more of a 180 by plopping myself at an English school with 30 some children everyday. I thought I was going through culture shock with my first two days in Taiwan, and that was before you add in all the kids. To be quite honest I wasn't happy, there were multiple occurrences of checking flight prices and wondering if I could leave Taiwan early; plus it didn't help that Caroline was continually reminding me of the fun I could have been having at Seaside. I've come to realize that it takes me a few days to transition into my new environments so as much as I wanted to leave I told myself to wait it out, things would surely get better.
Despite the pleas for me to change [cancel] my flight out of the Philippines, I decided not to throw a few hundred dollars down the tube and leave things according to plan. I arrived in Taipei late on a Friday night and was persuaded by my friend Grant to taxi into the city, rather than waste time on the bus. I'd only been in the country for an hour and I was already tripling my spending's from the previous week. I arrived at Grant's and was greeted with a "How are your wrinkles doing?" and "I bought you this drink but couldn't wait so I finished it", just the type of greeting I'd expected from this old friend. I easily could have crawled into bed and fell asleep but instead, I decided to join Grant and venture out to meet some of his friends/coworkers.
Everyone told me that I would change during my year living abroad, and I'm sure they're right, but then again who doesn't change over the span of a year? Add to it the fact that I'm 23, still trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life, and living in a foreign country - yeah changes will be inevitable. Maybe it's that I've hit the 6 month mark, or maybe it was traveling alone, to another country (as if living alone in one isn't enough), but more than likely I think it was the long hours of hiking that led to a few realizations.
I think I like punishing myself - but it's all for a good reason, right? Another early morning wake up call and rush to the train station - that seems to be a theme of this trip, no? Anyway we got lucky with train times and caught the 7:10 train to Hualien, we even got seats (unlike our first trip to Alishan where we spent half the ride in the cargo car). I feel like i'm about to sound like a broken record but this trip was much like the beginning of Alishan, we rearranged some luggage, stored my large backpack in the baggage room and ventured out for a scooter and lunch. The woman we rented the scooter from was extremely friendly (even if we couldn't communicate much past body language and smiles). While Grant ran back to get his ID from our bag at the station she showed off her pet pig and even tried sharing her lunch with me. Lunch was a not so glamorous lunch box from the shop next door but cheap and filling - just what we needed. A few more stops for necessities like money, gas and a knee brace (finally, after 5 years of talking about it I bought one for my Grandma knees) we were on our way to Taroko National Park .
After our adventures in Alishan it was time to head South, on to the islands second largest city Kaohsiung. Thanks to the free WiFi at 7/11 and some luck we arranged to stay with another CouchSurfer, Boris a local from Kaohsiung with good (British) English due to studying in the UK for 7 months. Boris was nice enough to meet us at the station and stop by a night market for some more snacks before heading back to his place. I'm pretty sure as soon as my head hit the pillow I was wiped out, it had been a long day. The next morning I was up by 8 and getting ready as I was supposed to meet another CouchSurfer, Vanessa at the Kaohsiung main station. We were planning to spend the morning exploring Lotus lake and it's surroundings
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AsiaTaiwanThis country has a smell, I can't describe it and I actually don't know what it is, but as soon as I step out of the airport I know I've arrived. The land of night markets, bubble tea and so, soooo much food, your tastebuds will be tired. Archives
March 2023
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