Day 40; April 12th: Gangzai to Joupeng + Road hike to Hsin Chuang in Pingdong

I was on the road just a whisper after dawn, and enjoyed the fine morning air and light. I crossed the beach in front of the large dunes, and on the other side came to the small road going south. But I was not to take that road further south today, as some friends had said they wanted to do that final section leading to Jaleshui with me.

Sand dunes on the beach



This was my last shot of the day as my camera battery died!

So, instead, I decided to test myself. I intended to hike as long and as far as I could and only stop when I started to feel really bad. I would follow Highway 200 to Hengchun, and from there could easily make my way home.

The first part of the journey was through Joupeng. This is a really small, farmy little community in a valley that mainly seems to subsist from cattle farming. There were cows and scatological evidence of their existence everywhere, with beasts meandering along the road and even grazing on the sports field at the elementary school! (Well, no sense wasting good grass now, is there?)

There was some tourism but it didn’t overwhelm the place. There was lots of local character, including groups of women chewing bin lang outside their homes and gossiping!

Then I was through it and following Highway 200 up gently sweeping hills. They were very lush, and there were dead snakes on the road and monkeys hooting in the trees. Below, I could see one huge rice farm that snaked up a green valley like a fat, emerald-coloured python.

After about 4 hours of walking, my feet started to hurt. This was after 30km with a medium pack the day before, and only light boots. I kept at it. Hours went by, and everything was great – the view, the temperature, my being on schedule, my overall energy level, my motivation – except my feet!

It wasn’t my arches, and blisters weren’t the main problem: it was just the whole front part of the foot felt sore to the bone! When I stopped to take a break, it felt much worse for a few minutes after I got started again.

After 6 1/2 hours of walking and about 35km, mostly on hard pavement, I had had enough. My dogs were barkin’! I stopped at a bus stop, in the town of Hsin Chuang, and thinking that it read “no afternoon bus except on Wednesday”, but being unsure, I asked a soldier carting boxes of water to read it for me. He confirmed what I thought. It turned out he was from Singapore, here on training. They don’t have a lot of mountains and jungle in Singapore for their soldiers to train in, so they often come to Taiwan. That explained the odd convoy of right-hand drive jeeps that had passed me earlier.

I got a drive back with an unlicensed cab, and the driver confirmed that it was quite common to see the Singaporeans in the area. We passed a few squads of the Singaporean soldiers out on a hike, mostly Chinese with a few Indian dudes thrown in. Then to Hengchun, and bus, TRA, HSR, MRT, home!

When I got home my feet ached and were slightly swollen for a few days.

Day 39: Daren to Gangzai; April 11th 2009

The beach at Daren

This was definitely one of my more interesting walks, from a scenic and logistical point of view, as it meant passing through the first of two sections along the SE coastline that lack roads near the coast for some of their length.

It started with another hyper-active morning of traveling from Taipei to the opposite side of Taiwan well before lunch: MRT, HSR, TRA, bus. Total time, 6 hours. I literally had to sprint through Kaohsiung Train Station to make my connection, with only seconds to spare! But I made it!

Now, in Daren, I was ready to start down the odd roads on this part of the island.
I hiked along the beach for a while, until the road came to flank it. The road was a smallish lane, ambling through pleasant countryside. The village was called Nantian, and it was clearly aboriginal. That is, it was poor, quaint, laid-back, and bedecked with local art. Dogs barked at me out of habit, but with no real malice. One guy saw me walking by and told me that there was no through road, and I’d have to hike a bit. No problem! (I hoped.)

Groovy houses, sleepy country roads in Nantian

After about 6 more km, the pavement turned into a dirt road. Then, it terminated in a small cluster of farm buildings. There were also some abandoned military buildings, (something I’d be seeing a lot more of in the days ahead) and then, literally, the end of the road – but not of the way forward.

Getting close to the end of the road.

Asphalt turns to dirt

And then, hikers only!

I followed the beach path to the trail: there it was, well tagged, going up a steep hill, with ropes for support. It was a bit tough going up, but good fun at the same time. The path first climbed steeply, then traversed laterally along a very steep slope facing the ocean. It was well marked but narrow, and was slippery in places as the soil was made of many loose pebbles. It wandered in and out of patches of forest. Somewhere in one patch of woods I left Taidong and entered Pingdong. Coming down the final slope was a bit tricky, what with the slippy conditions, but I made it all right, using the tried and true (if destructive to clothing) method of going down on one’s butt.

The trail onwards

After a steep climb, a lovely view

And then a step descent

The path led down to a fairly nice wild and natural beach. There were some nice rocks and views of green forest-clad hills, and then ahead I could see a bit of road, which was a spur of Highway 199, which came to the beach, turning into Highway 26 going south. I followed that road, and it gradually got busier, with some local tourists, blue-collar types fishing and barbecuing, not the obvious city types I’d meet later on. In the distance, on a hill overlooking the ocean, there was a huge, impressive-looking military complex. I believe this is Taiwan’s main missile base. It is hard to see from up close because it is set back from the edge of the hill it is on, and thus obscured from the base of that hill. Then, I arrived in the small village of Syuhai. It was a pretty little town, tarted up for the tourists a bit with guesthouses and restaurants. There were loads of city tourists here: nice (if a bit boring) families in minivans, groups out bicycling on silly small-wheeled bikes, and teens yeehawing around in rented jeeps.

Poopoo cairn?

Back to the road

Distant view of missile base

When the turns from dirt to asphalt, you know you're heading towards civilization.

Which, of course, means tourists!

Syuhai

Despite a longish day, I decided to press onwards to Gangzai, another 8km. The road passed through a military area that was full of disused structures. I believe this an area that was formerly off limits to civilians. There were several checkpoints on the road, all but one – which was on a side-road up to the missile base – unmanned.

About 5km of abandoned military facilities along Highway 26

The day grew to a close, and I finally arrived in Gangzai, which is a nice little fishing village next to some fairly impressive sand dunes. I got a room in a guesthouse, (whose owner was humorously forgetful, like Barliman Butterbur in the Prancing Pony) and crashed out.

Days 37 and 38. February 28 and March 1 2009. From Jinluen to Dawu town centre, and from Dawu town centre to Daren.

Day 37:
The first coastal hike of 2009! Chinese New Year would have been a good time to get some km under my belt, but I had gone to Mexico for a family wedding instead. In any case, now here I was, on the road again! …But only after the usual elaborate transportation arrangements: MRT from Danshui to Taipei Main Station, HSR to Zuoying, TRA to Jinluen. I finally started to walk at around 11.45, after changing into exercise clothes in the train station.

Right outside Jinluen train station, the road was flanked by walls covered in bas-relief painted sculptures with aboriginal themes: snakes, warriors, etc. There were also some cute kids riding around on bikes, very pleased to spot and talk with a foreigner!

Onto the road proper: winding up a cliff, then back down to flat coast-hugging. It was a gray day and although the scenery was OK, it wasn’t anything spectacular or new to me.

However, I did come across something that I found interesting: A crew was installing a new wave-barrier wall of concrete tetra-blocks. I had never seen this actually being done before. Flatbed trucks brought in the huge blocks, and a couple of guys helped put the cable around the top of the block. Then, a crane lifted them off the truck and swung them into position, with the guys guiding the swinging block precisely into place. They were seemingly oblivious of the risk of being between a massive moving block and a stationary block, as they kept squirming carelessly between the two large masses!

Next to the new wall I could see how eroded and covered in sand the last series of blocks had become.

Risky yes. But well worth 200 NT per hour.

I moved on: The fading light found me in Dawu. It had a lot of restaurants and shops, so I figured it would be a good place to spend the night. I found a really cheap hotel – 600NT – and was shown my room. Aaagh! There were fresh wet spots in the middle of the bed, nice shiny ones too! Gross! It seemed like the traveling salesman had had a quickie with the farmer’s daughter. I asked for another room and was shown one a bit better, which I accepted. But it turned out not to be so great either. One thing I hadn’t noticed before taking the room was that there was no light switch for the interior light inside the room. The switch was outside, so I had to reach outside my door to turn the light on and off! Another bad point was that the bed cover was a shiny artificial fabric that kept slipping along the bed. But the worst thing was the stinky pillow! It must have been about 50% mite feces, and had been well sweated into over the years.

I woke frequently throughout the night, each time feeling a wave of mild horror. Little did I know that this uncomfortable night’s sleep would lead to an interesting epiphany the following day….

(Day 38:)
The next day dawned in groaning, stinky-pillowed weariness. I felt like crap. A look in the mirror confirmed the sensation. I got dressed and packed, and went down to have some breakfast. Then, I started trudging dutifully out of town.

A km or so out, I felt the call of nature. Just ahead was a full-service CPC gas station, with toilets. Fortunately in Taiwan it’s rare for these to be enforced as “customer only”.

I found the men’s, located the door to the Western-style crapper stall and opened it up.

Hallelujah! Heavenly trumpets blared! I was instantly transported to a better world, a higher state of being. Inside the spacious, highly private stall, all was white, clean, new and gleaming. A window near the high ceiling let in air and sunshine, and the odor was of the great outdoors with a tiny bit of detergent. Compared to my hotel room, it was heaven! After making my deposit, I actually stayed on a bit longer, drank another small bottle of coffee and read the paper. When I emerged, it seemed as if the stain on my soul of the long dark night had been erased. I started laughing at how the toilet had cheered me up so much, and with that gentle self-mockery, the bad feelings of the previous night were swept away. Thank you CPC, for that wonderful experience!

As loyal as a dog, the East Coast never disappoints when it comes to beauty.

On down the road: In a few hours I came to Daren, where Highway 9 diverged from the coast to cross over the mountains into Pingdong. A small road, Highway 26, continued down the coastline. That would be my next route, for another day, as I guessed there was no bus service along this route. I was getting closer to the last bit of coastline in Taiwan with no road. In fact, the last two bits!

Sorry guys, but I think you got the swatikas the wrong way round!

Beautiful Daren township. The end of the main road for me.

A quiet sort of place.

Day 36: December 14th, From Taimali town center to Jinluen.

After a good sleep, I set off again. I followed the road out of town, looking for my way down to the ocean. I spotted a promising route, and followed it past a military base. Oh my God! I thought, as I saw the base. That’s strange! Wow! That’s really intriguing! But, unfortunately, I cannot say why, as it might constitute a legal offence to some boneheaded prosecutor. Sorry! If you want to know, go check it out yourself!



Past the base was the beach. There was nobody on the beach, and it felt strange and lonely. A river joined the sea here, and it joined at an angle, as it first cut right and followed a channel parallel to the coastline for a few tens of meters before joining it. The sea and river were separated by a band of gravel. Waves were crashing really hard on the band, making a terrific roar, and then sometimes spilling over the gravel and running into the river for a short ride back to the sea.


The Jones's from down the road, Austronesian style

It was an overcast day, and somehow the grayness of the sky and rocks, the fierce crashing of the waves, and the loneliness of the beach gave me a strange otherworldly feeling, like I had stumbled back to another time. It was of course merely a subjective experience. But it reminded me of how our sense of normality is so well maintained. We reinforce it as much as possible, to give us security. But how different our ideas, impressions and feelings can be if we are taken away from all that is familiar. Or, in this case, shaken into a slightly more sensitive state by a night in a shitty hotel in a slightly odd town, plus seeing the odd thing I can’t talk about, and then experiencing a raw and powerful beach alone. I think that it’s that novelty of inner experience that brought me to Taiwan in the first place; and that led me to take my long walk around the island when my day-to-day life had become too familiar.

The lonely beach in the distance

But familiarity breeds security, as well as boredom.
Security on this project to me was all about route planning. Where could I get a train to where I wanted to go to transfer back to Taipei, at what time and were seats available?

After the beach I kept on, and found myself taking the highway because the beach route looked tricky: lots of rocky points and cliffs, with no guarantee that I’d be able to pass all the way to the next access out. There were also rising tides and rogue waves to consider. Maybe it was doable but I couldn’t be sure. It goes into the “make up bin” of odd little bits of coast I’ll have to make up before I officially finish, if I discover that they were doable.

Teeming with life

Roadkill reptile

I walked along the road, dodging massive trucks, as the route climbed up on the cliffs again, as the terrain became reminiscent of the Su-Hua highway. In time, it rounded a corner to the small aboriginal town of Jinluen. It was a quaint little place, with a train station and a 7-Eleven.

My plan was to get back to Taipei by taking the Southern Link railway from Taidong to Kaohsiung and then transferring to the High Speed Rail. Because of this, I stopped at mid-day so I could get back no problem and figure out the timing for future trips. After I got my ticket, I had some food and beer at the 7-Eleven. It was amazing how much more confident I felt in the 7-Eleven than in a small place with a red mouthed local guy saying “Hi man, check it out!” and then laughing at his own intense wittiness. I was back on the grid: I had a train ticket, was at 7-Eleven, and had figured out the next few hikes on the map. I was back in my route security happy place!

Jinluen

Day 35: December 13th, From Taimali Township to Taimali town center.

This was the first time I actually flew down to go on my trip; a bit pricey but much faster than the lumpy old train. Taidong Airport is a bit challenged in terms of bus options, so I walked from there to the highway, through a rural neighborhood where they either had been or were in the process of burning the dried remnants of the rice crop. They were also seeding it with grass to restore the soil.

After the harvest, let the stalks dry out and then burn them.

Then, seed with grass to protect and improve the soil for the next crop.

At the highway, I found myself on ground I had covered on my last trip. The bus stop information sign promised an hour’s wait, so I stuck out my thumb and got a lift within 5 minutes with a nice young couple from Taidong. They were off to Kaohsiung to find out the sex of their unborn child.

They let me off where I had finished last time, and I was once more on the move! I found a road that led to the sea, though an old graveyard where many of the headstones had been damaged and not repaired. This was no doubt a sign of some problems in the family, and to the superstitious, a good reason to expect an unhappy ghost to visit relatives in their dreams.

Lovely, calm seascape

By the sea, all was again sunny, breezy and fresh. I carried on along the beach for several hours until I decided to cut inland for lunch. Soon thereafter, dark clouds threatened serious rain. I found myself in the town of Taimali, so I thought I’d just hang out here for the rest of the day.

Tying on a rice bag

I checked into a rundown hotel, and wandered around the town, hiding under bridges or awnings when the rain pelted down, exploring the small, mixed aboriginal and Han village when the going was good. It was a bit decrepit: not destitute, but not prosperous either. It was untouched by tourism, as far as I could see, so it was authentic. There were lots of repair shops for farm equipment and motorbikes, simple shops for clothes and groceries, and many simple restaurants. An old woman scolded her husband on the street; another old man dozed in a doorway. Some kids hung out in a tiny Internet café, playing computer games. Along the highway just east of the town, there were dealerships for farm equipment, and other types of businesses that suggested this town was a hub of sorts for the local area.

I walked up the hill west of town a bit, and saw lots of signs of aboriginal culture in the paintings outside the local high school. But other towns I had been to were much more quaint than this one.

I went back to my hotel, only to realize how shitty it was: it had a dull background stink of years of cigarettes; there was no hot water and the toilet leaked at floor level when flushed! But the bed worked.

Between cloudbursts

Yo man, check it out!

Day 34. November 1st: Around Zhiben

This day I decided to do something different. Instead of continuing along the coast, I decided to hike around Zhiben a bit, to get some relief from the unrelenting sunshine of the beach, and to see some mountains and forests for a change.
For those unfamiliar with Zhiben, it is a small, lush valley with steep hills and a clean river that comes from the high mountains. It’s about 10km south of Taidong city center, and about 5km from the shore. High mountain areas are just inland from Zhiben. It has natural hot springs, and it’s a famous resort area that was started by the Japanese.

The Zhiben River

A beautiful, almost unspoiled area

I got a bus to Zhiben no problem, and set out from the last stop, which was quite close to the Chipen [sic] Forest Recreation Area. But as I shlepped along towards it, I saw a sign indicating other trails. I followed it, and made my through various tracks and shortcuts until there was a clear mountain road going up to the hills (850 meters?) on the side of the valley. I saw some little hot spring facilities –blocks of concrete with pipes coming out of them, all shrouded in steam - loads of bin lang trees, and some jungley-looking woods, and a waterfall. At the top of this road there were some magnificent views.

Small road leading up to the high hills

Electrical wire up to the top, just dangling there

A trickle of a waterfall

I came down and entered the Forest Recreation area. This is actually fairly good, and has some nice short trails through old forest. There are some magnificent banyan trees, with buttresses and roots, and lots of other interesting plants. The shady fecundity of the forest was welcome after so many days of beach walking. I saw a bunch of monkeys, but got the impression that I was happier to see them than they were to see me! Then, as I slogged along, a short round deer suddenly plopped out onto the path from the bushes about 3 meters in front of me. It gave me a nervous glance, and then shot into the bushes on the other side! Time elapsed, two seconds, but long enough for a good look. Later on informative signboards along the path told me that these native deer (Formosan Reeves's Muntjac, also known as barking deer; Muntiacus reevesi; Chinese: 山羌) are fairly common in the area.

Green beauty: inside the Chiben Forest Recreation Park

Finishing my 90 minute hike in the park, I went to the “Don Tar” ( [sic] should be Dong Tai, as in Tai Dong) hotel’s outdoor spa, which was just great: 43C water, AAHH! Then the 17C cooling pool. OOOH! Nice views of the river too.

It was drizzling in Zhiben, but when I got to the train station nearer the coast it was hot and sunny.

Day 33: October 31st, 2008. Taidong to Taimali township.

This day started out with a late night journey to Taidong on a train that left Taipei Train Station at 11pm and arrived in Taidong at 6am. I’m OK at sleeping on trains, planes etc but needless to say it wasn’t a terribly restful night. It was a lovely morning that awaited me in Taidong city though. I took a cab and found a nice cheap traditional small hotel – which may have also functioned as a Love Hotel. At least, their blanket wrap concept seemed a bit erotic. Or was I missing my wife already?

I walked through the town to get to the Taidong Forest Park on the northern edge of town, right on the south bank of the Beinan river. It was pleasant enough, and had a long, shallow lake enjoyed by several swimmers despite the signs saying that it was of course INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS!!

Beinan River flowing under the Zhonghua Bridge

IDF training maneuvres

I went to where the Beinan river enters the ocean. At such places there is always a sandbar, and it’s interesting to watch the complex interaction between the river current and the waves: the current accentuating the surf, as it slips along its ever-changing path of least resistance.

Complex interaction of river and surf

After that, for most of the next four hours, it was a straight beach walk. Taidong has a great beach. It’s a bit rough and gravely for a swim in many places, but there were calmer spots. Loads of driftwood. There is also a lot of nice parkland right on the beach, some of it tarted up a bit for tourists.
The sun burned through thin clouds and I started to become very aware of its strength, but I had on enough 50SPF sun block to keep a vampire alive. It was sweaty work, and I drank about 4-500 mL of water per hour.

Framing the sky?

Past the town proper, the beach became wilder, but still easy to hike. I loved the visual effect of the bands of colour: dark cerulean sky, sparkling blue sea and silver-gray beach, brightly and warmly alive in the noonday sun.
I cut inland a bit on a farmers’ road that ran parallel to the beach. Although I’ve seen my fair share of farmland in Taiwan, there’s an intense vibrancy and fertility in the appearance of the rice and other plants in Taidong that I haven’t seen elsewhere. There were also loads of birds, reptiles and insects. Non-human life in general seemed more “full-of-beans” than anywhere else in Taiwan, whereas the human life seemed to move more slowly. I guess that’s a hallmark of the real tropics.

Traditional dwelling

Today is a good day to fish

Vibrant farmland

After alternating between beach and farm road, I finally cut back to the highway to get some food and liquids. I trundled along for an hour or so, and got to the end of Highway 11, where it intersects with and becomes Highway 9, in Taimali Township, just south east of Zhiben. Then, I waited at bin lang place with a wide room and tables where, the boss said, the bus would stop if I flagged it down. They sat me inside in the shade (I was in OK shape, but definitely a bit tired and sweaty) and I drank a couple of very cold bottles of Taiwan Beer. AHHHHH! As much as I love a pint of Guinness in a cozy pub with good company on a Saturday night, cold Taiwan Biru after a hot hike in a rural locale is still better.
Inside the large shack, flies buzzed around. Some old guys with badly bin lang-ed teeth shot the shit, while the younger owner and his wife rolled bin lang. A skinny, starey-eyed cat wandered around. Then, one of the guys suddenly offered me a ride to Taidong! Great!

Bands of colour