Saturday, 20th January
A long, full day which offered a much needed change of pace and scenery (and company) as I transitioned from West Taiwan to East and crossed paths with other cyclists for the first time.
I left Little Liququ early – catching the 9.00am back to Donggang in good time to get out of there. My first night in my tent had not been the most comfortable one – I was still battling sinus problems, but was glad i’d managed to break the routine of cities and hostels.
From Dongang it was 20 or so miles of what I was used to by now – busy roads and congested towns, but finally mountains appeared in the distance, and as the road curved around close to the sea it was like the whole atmosphere changed. Everything was more saturated, like moving from black and white to colour – it was like a entirely new country to had opened up in front of me.
Almost exactly at this transitional point I met David (New York) and Hugo (London) two old friends who’d met up to cycle the island together. It was great to have some company and conversation and we set off together towards Kenting with the turquoise sea to our right.
We hugged the coast all the way around the little bump at the end of the country which sticks out further than the rest. It was worth the extra miles – quiet roads, often palm lined, small beach towns and the constant backdrop of ragged green hills.
The time and distance flew as we talked and pushed ahead to beat the sunset. My knee was in agony, the same niggling pain i’d had last summer. I knew there was not much I could do but push through it, knock back the ibuprofen and lavishly apply tiger balm. And stretch – I would be trying to do a lot more o that from now on.
We stopped at the Baisha beach – famous for being in the film Life of Pi. Easy to spot for the crudely sculpted tiger and the roadblock of coaches. This stretch of coast was a tourist trap but this of year at least it wasn’t too swamped, even for a Saturday.
Soon after we rejoined the highway 26 and made the last few miles into Kenting. We swapped details as the guys went off to find a hotel. I had my eye on a campsite a mile and half further on. I almost caved and looked for a hotel, but was happy to have pushed on and found the place. Like most campsites I expected to find here it was basic and scrappy, but it had ocean sunset views worth a lot more than the 150 I paid.
I was also happy to find Jack and Baraba setting up their camp too. They had left London 9 months ago, cycling all the way, and were now close to heading to Japan before taking a ferry to Canada. We shared a few tips and would talk more in the morning.
I headed back into town – walking a mile or so on a dimly lit highway in a high-vis jacket hoping I wouldn’t get arrested or murdered. I met David and Hugo and we walked around the busy night market. I ate deep fried squid and a barbecued octopus leg. It was my first night market in Taiwan and it didn’t disappoint.
After the rows of food stalls ended there were a few bars – little roadside places which dispatched drinks from the back or side of a van. We had three rounds of super cold taiwanese beers which had no flavour but tasted perfect. We agreed to meet back in Taipei. I wandered back down the dark highway towards my tent with refreshed optimism about the rest of the trip.
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