Sunday, May 30, 2010
the not-so-faraway bear
Greetings to all bears! I just crawled back home from Taiwan. It was a pretty nomadic trip, having to travel from one county to another. Tiring as it may be, but I'm glad to have achieved my aim of going for the first backpacking trip overseas.台北 / 淡水渔人码头, 淡水老街, 饶河夜市
Bought a Taipei MRT concession and 'hop-stop' at some attractions along the line. I must say that it's really worth it, since almost every attraction has a station next to it.
Set off next morning via train to 花莲..
花莲 / 太鲁阁国家公园 aka Taroko Gorge
Trekked on the Shakadang Trail which runs along the river cutting through the gorge. However, the river seems barren and dry at some parts, perhaps due to the weather. But it was still enjoyable, especially when we climbed down into the river and soak in its cool water. The water is literally blue in colour!
Along the way, we passed by the home grounds of the aboriginals, or 原住民. We got to know that most of them have already left the mountains, and set up shops just outside the hotel. It was interesting to see the pets and crops that they left behind, such as pineapple plants, roosters, rabbits.. but we had to cut short our trek when a pack of dogs suddenly appeared and blocked our advancement.
Next day..
I have to say that the hotel owner is particularly friendly. We had a good long chat throughout the night before, from talking about the park attractions to the history of Taiwan. He even whipped up our breakfast on his own!
The sun there surely rises damn early. The top left pic shows what it was like at 5am. Went for a ride (hotel provides free bicycle rental service) round the quiet neighbourhood.
Took a bus to 天祥 where we were supposed to backtrack 20km from there (the attractions are along the bus route). It was a little disappointing that the trail to 白杨瀑布 was closed, as it was the most popular attraction around there. The other main attraction was 九曲洞 (九 means 'many'). It is the site where rockfalls are quite common, so we had to wear helmets throughout. Sadly, there wasn't any incident. Darn, I was expecting some action.
It is advisbale to rent a cab so that you could visit the more inaccessible places and save time as well. I think we were the only ones there walking the entire route as we did not pass anybody along the way lol. In the end to save time and trouble, we hitched ride on a lorry all the way back.
高雄 / 高雄市
Nothing much to do since we were only spending a night there. Yes, polar bear is a brand in Taiwan lol.
瑞蘴夜市 is one amazing night market. Apart for its food, there are also numerous game stalls with some of them reminding me of a 1960s style amusement park.
澎湖 / 马公市, 跨海大桥
Headed to 澎湖 by ferry the next day. 澎湖 is an island by itself, known for its fine beaches. So, how could we forget to indulge in some water activities? Got a good deal that enabled us to try out different rides as many times as possible, like the banana boat, jet ski and some other floats which I forgot what their names were. I also had a first try at snorkelling, but I was unable to see much since I could not wear my specs. All I could make out were the corals?
Actually the main reason we wanted to go 澎湖 was for the annual 澎湖烟火节. It was absolutely fabulous!
嘉义 / 奋起湖
I think we were fortunate enough coz heavy rains came the moment we were about to leave for 嘉义. But the sea was damn choppy due to strong winds. Can you imagine sitting right at the front for a one hour plus journey? The ferry was practically bobbing up and down throughout, akin to that of an airplane when its alttitude drops drastically. You can really hear people screaming or vomitting on board. I saw the uncles beside me sleeping so soundly, so I copied their way of sitting. Push your feet against the wall in front of you. Indeed, it works.
Bad news came later, that a typhoon caused cave-ins along the road up to 阿里山 (it is the same road up to 奋起湖). Luckily, the hotel staff confirmed that the cave-ins actually occurred farther up the road, so it would not affect our uphill journey. By then, it was nightfall and no taxi driver was willing to drive us as it was dangerous. Eventually, we found an uncle who was willing to. For someone his age, he could actually drive on such a road. Cool. It was a relatively smooth journey, save for some bumps caused by fallen rocks and twigs.
Next day..
We had a free tour guide arranged by the hotel to bring us around. The region used to be an active logging industry, which explains for the presence of the many logging tracks. 阿里山 trains were used to transport the logs. (For your info, these trains are no longer running as the tracks were ruined by the 八八水灾 last year.) Trees of the bamboo species are also in abundance, so it was not uncommon to see many food stalls selling bamboo as a delicacy.
At nightfall, we were brought to view fireflies. It was such a beautiful sight, but a pity that they are difficult to be photographed. Fireflies will not appear during wet or foggy weather, so we were lucky enough. The ones you see flying around are mostly males, as females have to carry their eggs with them (too heavy to fly). Try to catch them, and you will notice that their light will flicker rapidly (as a sign of danger).
Nobody will believe when I say that you need to be up by 3am to catch the sunrise in full view. Actually it was because we had to climb up the mountain first, which would take an hour, depending on stamina. Armed with torchlights, we began our ascent. It felt a little eerie at first, for you would not know what would be lurking around you in that pitch black darkness. But after getting the 'momentum', excitement overcame everything else. Imagine hiking under the countless stars, while the next moment you will be looking at the sun instead.
The sight that greeted us at the viewing platform was truly breathtaking. Much better than the ones at Taroko, probably because this is at a higher level. We were wondering when the sun would rise as it was difficult to judge due to the huge clouds. Then, came the majestic moment when the sun ray shot through the grey clouds (like we always say, a ray of hope shone through the darkness) and grew in size..
Alright, it's back to reality for now. =)
deric
made a wish at 8:47 PM
0 visitors came knocking on my door .. without presents
0 visitors came knocking on my door .. without presents
