I saw Alex again this morning. He directed me to a nearby restaurant with breakfast.
Alex headed off on roughly the same route I’m following, but taking a train out of town for the first 40 km. That was a particularly good choice; not only was that 40 km all city riding, but construction marred 30 km of that part of the ride.
It’s hard to adequately express just how many scooters there are.
And I’m told that Taiwan is on the light side compared to the rest of Asia.
Arriving in Dongang, I checked into the hostel before wandering about the city. I found the King Boat museum, part of the Triennial King Boat Festival. The event lasts about a week and culminates in the ceremonial burning of a large wooden vessel known as the “king boat”, which symbolically carries the Ong Yah and accumulated impurities away from the community.
I had dinner tonight at another night market. It’s like having dinner every night at something that’s the cross between a state fair and a flea market, eating random things from various vendors, for about $5 USD. Total.
Tomorrow I plan to take a ferry to Liuqiu Island, known for its sea turtles.
I also keep stumbling across recommendations for Kenting National Park – the southernmost tip of Taiwan – and not currently in my route. Hmm.
I keep forgetting to mention just how friendly the Taiwanese are. The police officers the other day were the rule, not the exception. I have people everyday giving me a thumbs up, even slowing your scooter down to make sure I see them offering encouragement. Despite my complete inability with Chinese and Taiwanese, everyone greets my incompetence with a smile. That in turn makes me a lot more comfortable being clueless.
I figured out the GPX track for National Cycle Route 1, from the National Cycle Route 1 organization, isn’t correct for the next couple of days ahead of me. I’ve changed up my reservations to match my new understanding. The correct route adds about 60 km, putting me about a half day behind the schedule Alex and I thought we would meet up on. Still, he must have enjoyed my company because he’s trying to adjust his schedule to match. He has a long day of climbing ahead of him tomorrow, so I guess we’ll see how that works out.
80 km today.