Like I said…this is a slow bike tour of Taiwan. I an in no rush to get to any city. I am originally from New York City and dont find much joy in touring cities. Yes, at the end of my trip I will spend a day or two or three in Taipei.
Its funny how a person can speed past village after village forming an opinion of whether they like it or not just within moments of arrival. I know , I do that myself often. And when i arrived in Doulan yesterday I thought not much of it, and what is all the hype about .
As usual I had difficulty reading any signs denoting lodging. I stumbled upon a funky looking hand painted sign thinking it might be a funky place to stay. I was correct with that. Just across the street from the police station is where I am staying. Last night she put me in a single room that hat its own toilet shower sink right in the corner of the room (not in any separate room, just in one corner of the room. ) I felt like I was back in Solo NYC 1973 when a hundred dollars a month got me a slanted room with a toiled in the corner of the room. For 900 Nwt (thats about $30) I had my own place which felt like a castle after a long days ride.
She moved me into a cheaper (I guess less desirable room in her opinion, for $700). I have to use a shared toiled somewhere else, but I am in a funky little shack with a deck out back. I love it.
The day was spent bicycling every side road up to the mountains and down to the ocean that I could possible find. I was also in search for a bed in another hostel or hotel, since I decided to stay for their local music fest that takes place tomorrow. There is no room at this place and every other place I inquired about was also booked for tomorrow.
I decided that perhaps it was not meant to be and that I would start cycling again tomorrow despite it being Saturday and the worst day , perhaps, for buses on the road and for finding accommodations.
While wandering around I stumbled upon the tourist site called water flowing upward (or something like that). I saw it on one of the maps and two fellow Taitung cyclists told me that it would be fun to see. I was firstly amazed at how many dozens of tour buses were there with mostly Chinese lined up to see the attraction. It was certainly hard to figure out how the water could possible be flowing uphill. Folks kept dropping leaves and other things in the water and watching what appeared to be going uphill. The curiosity for me was just watching the Chinese and Taiwanese tourists during the short time I was there. Several people asked to have my picture taken with them, as I must have been just as much a novilty as the site itself. I could have made quite a bit of money charging for the photos.
A visit to a old site uphill (of course) led me to a Sarcophagus listed as being from the Neolithic age. I visited for a while and never saw another sole while I was there. After some riding of roads around town I also found my way to the beach, or at least one of them. Once again I was the only person at the beach, and although I arrived with my bathing suit the waves were quite high and I opted not to go in.
I was nearly giving up the possibility of finding a place for tomorrow night and thought I would have to bypass the festival that I hoped to attend tomorrow. II took the last uphill road out of town that I had not yet explored. I came upon a sign that clearly said ROSE is Roman script. I thought that odd since it is extremely rare to actually be able to read a sign. It was as if it were calling out to me since my name is Rose. I followed the sign further uphill as the pavement got smaller and smaller. Again another sign with my name on it. I couldnt turn around at that point since there were dozens, if not hundreds of rose bushes. I kept climbing. I came upon a beautiful but simple elegant home. A woman came out to greet me speaking some English. She asked if I wanted afternoon Tea (it was like a dream in a movie or something). I thanked her and said no, but told her I was looking for a place to stay for mingtien (tomorrow). She spoke with the owner that dressed wild in a pink brimmed hat and a flowing see through floral top and wild jeans and heels. She spoke no English but told the other woman I could stay tomorrow in the Minshu for 500NTD. I asked two more times about the price because , by the looks of her and the place I was sure it needed another zero. The deal was made to be there tomorrow at 1pm. I wanted to come earlier, but she told me two times 1pm. Concerned about traveling up the road at 10pm, but psyched to find such a beautiful pace to stay. Finding it in the dark will be an adventure in itself.
I had two more goals at that point. One – to eat some food and found a local hole in the wall with meat of unknown origin. The place I wanted to eat at was not open for another hour or so. A quite handsome young guy from South Africa led me to the place next door, not wanted to insult him I asked for one of this one of that and one beer (which led to two beers).I cant say I was thrilled about the food, but at that point I just needed to get something. My next goal was to obtain a ticket to the festival concert. Seems odd that the tickets were only available on line or through some ATM kind of machine at the 711. Either would have been a challenge for me. Once again the workers came through for me and I scored a ticket.
So you may think it was a wasted day, but for me it was wonderful. Great ride and more than that I had wonderful interactions with several Taiwanese and Chinese throughout the day. I wandered over to The Sugar Factory as well, no longer a sugar factory but kinda artist site. A few crafters, artist shops and I followed the sound of an awesome band up a metal staircase in the crumbling building. Poked my head in and listened for a while and thought how much I love Taiwan.
Expenses Room $24 Breakfast $2.50 Dinner at a hole in the wall $4.00 Candy $1.00 Ticket for tomorrows concert $20. Total $51.50
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