Biking in Hualien

January 31, 2011. Written in Taipei, Taiwan.

Biking in Hualien.

The Brazilian girl Laura kicked me out of my bed at 5:30 in the morning. This day, we were supposed to go to an area called Hualien, famous for its beautiful nature. In the three hour train, I was sleeping like a big bear having a winter sleep and felt heartbroken when we arrived in Hualien.

That being said, the first thing to do was to get ourselves a bike. That was going to be a tough task though, because different from China, civilized Taiwan requires proper licenses for borrowing. I of course have no kind of license or whatsoever, and Laura (living in Australia) only has her Australian driving license. We tried a few rental shops, but without success. It was a huge area, difficult to explore without a bike or car. Luckily though, we finally found ourselves a place that was willing to rent us a bike after showing Laura's license. I guess it is a matter of not giving up!

Laura preferred to have me drive, and she went on my back. It was my third time on a bike since I started traveling. Last 2 times, I both crashed at least once. Lets see if I could have my first crashless day!

We first took a drive along the East coast of Taiwan. Surprisingly big waves were dancing on the seas. It seemed like a good place for surfers.
Sometimes the sun would suddenly show it's face, which created for a completely different look on the sea and the mountains. It is funny to realize how big of an influence the weather has on the way you look at landscapes.

At some lookout point we found a big German guy pealing an orange. We asked him to take a picture for us. He was an exchange student in Taipei, and had come to the area for surfing during the Chinese new year holidays.

On the way, we found ourselves a beautiful temple, especially because of its romantic location. There was a big Buddha statue at the top, and we climbed the long stairs.

While looking at the magnificent view from the top, I suddenly realized I had forgotten something. It seemed that Laura noticed the sudden change on my face, and asked what was wrong.
"I think I left the keys in the bike..."
"Whaat!? Are you stupid?"
I had to run the stairs back to save our bike. Luckily, it was still there.
"In Brazil, it would have already have been stolen 4 times" Laura told me.

Next, we decided to visit the Taroko gorge, arguably the most famous nature site of Taiwan. This was another drive of a small hour, and on the way it started to rain pretty badly. Once we arrived though, the rain miraculously stopped, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful view. There was one spot where you could view a waterfall right beneath a temple. This was a trulyremarkable, peaceful and beautiful spot. After having visited the Tiger Leaping Gorge in China, Taroko was my second gorge, and although probably not as famous as the Tiger, I liked it a lot better.

On the way back, it started to rain again, and this time it was serious. We got completely soaked an cold, but drove back to the Hualien station without one break. I couldn't wait to get a warm shower back at the hostel. But first, we were going to have to take the three hours train back. My shoes were like a swimming pool, and my clothes were like a pile of dirty mops. But then again, at least I had my first day on a bike without crashing! That was an improvement for sure.