Near Aodi
Monument to resistance against Japan
4th Nuclear Power Plant, under construction
Showing posts with label Taipei County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taipei County. Show all posts
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Day 9 images
Near Aodi
Day 9 walk
Day 9. Mon, Feb 5th. Aodi to Shihcheng. 6 hrs.This was the first of my days walking while on the pre-fasting diet of strictly fruit and vegetables. I noticed very little difference in performance, although I seemed to feel like I had less energy. I think low and steady output activities like flat walking are not really affected by this diet. I set off from Aodi on a very sunny day. The beginning bit, getting out of town, was a bit weird, as there was no apparent clear route. So, I putzed around for a bit, then got back to the road. Now I could see where all those trucks had been going: I was walking right by the construction site of Taiwan’s 4th nuclear power station. At this point, it was just a grid of girders framed by huge angled cranes. Across from it was a traditional style building, which seemed to be the access point to a beach park. I paid my 60NT, and went through. Inside there was an interesting monument; a cenotaph dedicated to those brave few who fought against the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in 1895. Actually, Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonosheki after the 1894-1895 war, but many of the locals weren’t too happy about that. Below the monument was a lovely beach. It was golden sand, with a few little streams and rocky bits to give contrast. It was really a beautiful day, with a slight breeze and almost cloudless sky. I made my way happily down the beach to the adjacent, Fulong, beach. Between Yanliao and Fulong beach was a seldom-used part (except for fishermen) that was a bit garbeachy. At Fulong, there was nice view of the mountain across the bay, and a prominent ocean-side temple. I crossed the bridge over a small but deep river, and walked along the shore to the temple, splashing through a small stream on the way. The temple was beautiful, and filled with dragon sculptures. Along the coast further: I checked out the bus stops, and was slightly dismayed. Up to then, starting from Tanshui, there were always frequent intercity buses with well-marked stops very 500m or so. When I was done for the day, all I had to do was stop. Since Keelung, I had been using the Fulong to Keelung bus route, as the only other posted one, from Luodong to Taipei, seemed to be very infrequent, despite the promising-looking schedule on the sign. Now, after Fulong, there was no apparent regular middle-distance replacement bus. The danger was that I could get stranded on the road with no safe way home. Around this peninsula, the main east coast rail line met the coast, so if I could only make it to the first station, I’d be OK. Hmmm. I decided to go for it. I knew the peninsula walk would be a bit long, so I started to make time. I hoofed it along, enjoying the now-familiar view of mountain and ocean. To my right was Lingjou Mountain, to the left the sea. There were a few coves. One was in a place called Fulian, which was a small, traditional fishing village. It was clean and cheerful, and had preserved some old buildings well, near a wide easy walkway near the seawall. Next, I passed by the ***** rocks, which was overlooked by a big “God’s golf ball” radar array and the San Diego (?!) lighthouse, which was perched so high up on the surrounding hills that it could only be seen, and at that, partially, from a few angles. This is the most easterly spot on the island of Taiwan. The ocean rocks were OK, and as I passed through the fishing village I noticed what looked like an artist’s home and studio, with whimsical works of sculpture outside. Around the bend in the darkening evening: then, my first view on this trip of Turtle Island, which is much larger than Keelung Island. It is also further away from the mainland. In the sun-shadow of the eastward mountains, around 5pm, I passed the Lailai rocks, which compose, according to the sign, the largest wave-cut platform in Taiwan. Then, as it got darker and darker, I walked past sleepy, poor-looking villages with people having cookouts on the beach, and noisy dogs barking at me. Then, full darkness. Trucks zooming buy, with dusty gusts of wind behind. Headlights! The occasional scooter passed by, or nervous dog trotting along the shoulder, surprised at my presence. Then, a sign in the dark: Toucheng Township. I had made it to Ilan county. A few klicks down the road was Shicheng, a one-horse fishing village with a tiny train station. I waited at a promising looking bus stop, but a local woman on a scooter told me the train was better. An hour later, I was on the local. It stopped at every stop on the way to Taipei. An excellent way to increase one’s geographical knowledge!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Day 8 images
Day 8 begins: Left: Noel, Right: me
Looking north towards Keelung Mountain from Bitoujiao
Day 8 walk
Day 8. Fri, Feb 2nd. Bitoujiao to Aodi. 5 hrs.
This hike was with Noel, ny friend from Oz. We got the bus from Keelung, after a bit of a wait at the bus stop, but fortunately we had a good chat. Started from Bitoujiao, on a windy day. The waves were really smashing up on the rocks. We checked out Bitoujiao for a while, and hiked onto the hill and cliff trails, which had lovely views. We passed by a coastguard radar station, a small lighthouse, and then along the beach rocks to the Longdong side. Along the coast, around the bay, and to the rocky part of Longdung, famous for its climbing. There was some slight confusion about the trail, so we set off around the rocky beach, thinking this was the main trail. We were soon more or less bouldering, as the trail got more and more hypothetical and the landscape more vertical. At one point, it seemed like we needed to get a bit technical to actually make it. We crossed a dodgy transition from one rock to another, only to discover that the way ahead was getting even more technical, and was even roped. There were two horizontal cracks in a sheer wall, one for feet and one for hands, with the hands crack being roped. I thought that was a bit much, for a long distance hiking trip with no guide, ropes, or knowledge of the trail ahead, so we opted to go back. Oops! Getting across the dodgy bit was much dodgier on the return! We would have to do it, for the beginning bit, backwards, so we couldn’t see what we were doing. Below was a 4-metre drop to shallow, rocky water. Probably a survivable fall or jump, but very easy to break a leg, or even something else… What to do? I started to go back, as Noel looked on. “Christ!” he said, with a look of extreme worry. “Noel! Don’t say that!” I chickened out. Hmmm… Then, we found another way, over a side boulder that was challenging but much simpler and safer. Ahhh!! Relief. We went back to the parking lot and found the correct trail, gaining, at the top, some excellent views of the cliffs. After following this path, we followed various beach tracks, and at times the road, until we arrived in Aodi. I remembered a good restaurant in Aodi, (Hsingang Seafood) which we were able to find, and were soon enjoying a delicious seafood meal. Ahhh! A fine end to an interesting day.
This hike was with Noel, ny friend from Oz. We got the bus from Keelung, after a bit of a wait at the bus stop, but fortunately we had a good chat. Started from Bitoujiao, on a windy day. The waves were really smashing up on the rocks. We checked out Bitoujiao for a while, and hiked onto the hill and cliff trails, which had lovely views. We passed by a coastguard radar station, a small lighthouse, and then along the beach rocks to the Longdong side. Along the coast, around the bay, and to the rocky part of Longdung, famous for its climbing. There was some slight confusion about the trail, so we set off around the rocky beach, thinking this was the main trail. We were soon more or less bouldering, as the trail got more and more hypothetical and the landscape more vertical. At one point, it seemed like we needed to get a bit technical to actually make it. We crossed a dodgy transition from one rock to another, only to discover that the way ahead was getting even more technical, and was even roped. There were two horizontal cracks in a sheer wall, one for feet and one for hands, with the hands crack being roped. I thought that was a bit much, for a long distance hiking trip with no guide, ropes, or knowledge of the trail ahead, so we opted to go back. Oops! Getting across the dodgy bit was much dodgier on the return! We would have to do it, for the beginning bit, backwards, so we couldn’t see what we were doing. Below was a 4-metre drop to shallow, rocky water. Probably a survivable fall or jump, but very easy to break a leg, or even something else… What to do? I started to go back, as Noel looked on. “Christ!” he said, with a look of extreme worry. “Noel! Don’t say that!” I chickened out. Hmmm… Then, we found another way, over a side boulder that was challenging but much simpler and safer. Ahhh!! Relief. We went back to the parking lot and found the correct trail, gaining, at the top, some excellent views of the cliffs. After following this path, we followed various beach tracks, and at times the road, until we arrived in Aodi. I remembered a good restaurant in Aodi, (Hsingang Seafood) which we were able to find, and were soon enjoying a delicious seafood meal. Ahhh! A fine end to an interesting day.
Day 7 walk
Day 7: Wed, Jan 31. Shenao to Bitoujiao. 4 hrs.
I had a bit of a rough time getting the right bus to my starting point. I had eyeballed a promising looking bus stop on the way back on day 6, but none of the busses that stopped were going the right way. Finally, I took one that I thought might be going the right way, but after being on it for five minutes it clearly was not. I had to get off, and take a taxi to the coast road, then wait a good 30 minutes for the right bus. But, eventually it came, and I got to my starting place about 1.30pm. Starting at Shenao was not terribly impressive, although there were some nice views of Keelung Mountain. The road at this point was usually the only reasonable option and it was obviously a busy truck route: and not small trucks either, but really big flatbeds and container trailers that zoomed along, often verging onto the shoulder. I passed a big oil storage facility, probably for the power plant, and then the road started hugging the NE side of Keelung Mountain, where it sloped down to the sea. The view of the sea was nice, but hardly a novelty at this point. The first point of interest was the outflow point for the massive drain the Taiwanese government has built to avoid flooding at Shijhih and other points along the Keelung River during typhoons. The drain goes from the Keelung River in the mountains not far from Keelung itself, and diverts a portion of the river underground to the ocean. The outflow point is big, but not huge. The next point of interest was the old Lile copper smelting facility at Chinkuashih, which really is a fascinating sight. The first interesting thing I noticed is the bay, which was discolored with a strong brown tint, which I could see from kilometers away. This tint got redder as I got closer. This strange area of water, with the brightly-tinted water contrasting with the dark blue of the Pacific, is often called the "Yinyang Sea". As I turned the corner into the bay, I saw strangely shaped mountaintops forming a near horizon, their tops twisted and deformed. There was a clear south view of Keelung Mountain, which I’d just come around; and on the slope leading down from the strange peaks to the reddish-brown bay was a huge old mine building. The building was seemingly covered in a thin layer of moss, so it was almost exactly the same gray-green color of the hillside. The land around was barren. The entire effect was quite striking, and had a slightly dream-like feeling. Onwards, after the bay, the twisting road became sandwiched between rocky cliffs and the stony seashore. From time to time, there were concrete shelters over the road, to protect it from falling rocks from the cliffs above. These were similar to avalanche shelters I’d seen in alpine areas of Canada. There were a few small parks and fish ports along this rugged route, ending in a very pretty one, Bitou Jiao, or “Nosehead Cape.” This is a quaint harbor, with a big hill protecting it from the ocean on one side. I climbed up the hill, then down to the shore, which was a wave-cut platform of exposed rock next to the sea. A sign said that this was some of the hardest limestone in Taiwan. I enjoyed walking along the simple fisherman’s trail along the platform, visible only because it was scuffed a bit whiter than the surrounding rock. Then, as always a long wait and return bus journey home.
I had a bit of a rough time getting the right bus to my starting point. I had eyeballed a promising looking bus stop on the way back on day 6, but none of the busses that stopped were going the right way. Finally, I took one that I thought might be going the right way, but after being on it for five minutes it clearly was not. I had to get off, and take a taxi to the coast road, then wait a good 30 minutes for the right bus. But, eventually it came, and I got to my starting place about 1.30pm. Starting at Shenao was not terribly impressive, although there were some nice views of Keelung Mountain. The road at this point was usually the only reasonable option and it was obviously a busy truck route: and not small trucks either, but really big flatbeds and container trailers that zoomed along, often verging onto the shoulder. I passed a big oil storage facility, probably for the power plant, and then the road started hugging the NE side of Keelung Mountain, where it sloped down to the sea. The view of the sea was nice, but hardly a novelty at this point. The first point of interest was the outflow point for the massive drain the Taiwanese government has built to avoid flooding at Shijhih and other points along the Keelung River during typhoons. The drain goes from the Keelung River in the mountains not far from Keelung itself, and diverts a portion of the river underground to the ocean. The outflow point is big, but not huge. The next point of interest was the old Lile copper smelting facility at Chinkuashih, which really is a fascinating sight. The first interesting thing I noticed is the bay, which was discolored with a strong brown tint, which I could see from kilometers away. This tint got redder as I got closer. This strange area of water, with the brightly-tinted water contrasting with the dark blue of the Pacific, is often called the "Yinyang Sea". As I turned the corner into the bay, I saw strangely shaped mountaintops forming a near horizon, their tops twisted and deformed. There was a clear south view of Keelung Mountain, which I’d just come around; and on the slope leading down from the strange peaks to the reddish-brown bay was a huge old mine building. The building was seemingly covered in a thin layer of moss, so it was almost exactly the same gray-green color of the hillside. The land around was barren. The entire effect was quite striking, and had a slightly dream-like feeling. Onwards, after the bay, the twisting road became sandwiched between rocky cliffs and the stony seashore. From time to time, there were concrete shelters over the road, to protect it from falling rocks from the cliffs above. These were similar to avalanche shelters I’d seen in alpine areas of Canada. There were a few small parks and fish ports along this rugged route, ending in a very pretty one, Bitou Jiao, or “Nosehead Cape.” This is a quaint harbor, with a big hill protecting it from the ocean on one side. I climbed up the hill, then down to the shore, which was a wave-cut platform of exposed rock next to the sea. A sign said that this was some of the hardest limestone in Taiwan. I enjoyed walking along the simple fisherman’s trail along the platform, visible only because it was scuffed a bit whiter than the surrounding rock. Then, as always a long wait and return bus journey home.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Day 2 walk
Day 2: Nov. 26: Sanzhih to Fuji fishport: 4hrs
As usual for this entire Danshui to Keelung route, I took the MRT to Danshui and got a bus along the main road. I found my last ending point no problem. I started walking at around 2pm this time, still a tad later than I had hoped, though it was a fine day. Along the highway I plodded, occasionally bursting into a slow jog, coming into the a little town after less than an hour. The waterfront of the town was surprisingly nice, touristy but tasteful. The beach, Cienshuiwan, was nice but unfortunately, swimming was prohibited. [I believe it is allowed now.] Soon I made a pleasant discovery: a proper bicycle path! The path led down past a working aquaculture area: a couple of ponds separated from the sea by concrete walls, a few corrugated aluminum buildings from which machine noises emerged, and some purposeful but vaguely mysterious human activity. Past the blue truck and some snarling dogs [chained, but at other times I’ve passed by there and they weren’t] was a nice boardwalk path by a rocky beach. A few guys were fishing in the ocean. The path wasn’t too long though, and soon it wound back through a small group of farm and residential buildings. Coming out of that, I was suddenly on a beautiful little country road, running past fields and old farmhouses. The road was crossed occasionally by others like it, but luckily my route onwards was marked by a big white stripe denoting the bike path. This bike route guided me throughout the day, occasionally turning down side streets that seemed like dead-ends but were actually the optimal onward route. For hours I wandered through lovely countryside, until I came once more to the seaside. There was a sandy beach, but the ocean there was full of flat slabs of rock, sometimes with sharp edges, and the water was shallow and full of seaweed. This is the area right next to the Baishawan Sailing Cooperative (PSC) and the property where the Canada D’eh party is usually held. Along this little stretch of coastline there was another excellent boardwalk trail leading to a small fish port. On the other side of this was the western end of the trail that led around Linsanbi Cape to Baishawan beach. It’s a cute little trail, with some interesting rock formations. Soon I was at Baishawan, which is a fine-looking kilometer long arc of white sand, just as the sun was starting to approach the horizon. I crossed the beach, admiring the big waves, and watching groups of teenagers fooling around and having fun. I could see a point of land past the beach, with a radar station on it, and a lighthouse at the tip. After the beach, there was a bit of a stretch where I had to walk along the road. I took an overpass and ended up at Fuji fish port, which was near the lighthouse. I grabbed a beer and found the path to the lighthouse, which is past all the seafood restaurants. I got there just in time to enjoy my beer in the sunset, watching small fishing boats setting out along the coast. Ahhh!
[As with Day 1, I missed some of the coast, but I did make up for it. See Related rambles]
As usual for this entire Danshui to Keelung route, I took the MRT to Danshui and got a bus along the main road. I found my last ending point no problem. I started walking at around 2pm this time, still a tad later than I had hoped, though it was a fine day. Along the highway I plodded, occasionally bursting into a slow jog, coming into the a little town after less than an hour. The waterfront of the town was surprisingly nice, touristy but tasteful. The beach, Cienshuiwan, was nice but unfortunately, swimming was prohibited. [I believe it is allowed now.] Soon I made a pleasant discovery: a proper bicycle path! The path led down past a working aquaculture area: a couple of ponds separated from the sea by concrete walls, a few corrugated aluminum buildings from which machine noises emerged, and some purposeful but vaguely mysterious human activity. Past the blue truck and some snarling dogs [chained, but at other times I’ve passed by there and they weren’t] was a nice boardwalk path by a rocky beach. A few guys were fishing in the ocean. The path wasn’t too long though, and soon it wound back through a small group of farm and residential buildings. Coming out of that, I was suddenly on a beautiful little country road, running past fields and old farmhouses. The road was crossed occasionally by others like it, but luckily my route onwards was marked by a big white stripe denoting the bike path. This bike route guided me throughout the day, occasionally turning down side streets that seemed like dead-ends but were actually the optimal onward route. For hours I wandered through lovely countryside, until I came once more to the seaside. There was a sandy beach, but the ocean there was full of flat slabs of rock, sometimes with sharp edges, and the water was shallow and full of seaweed. This is the area right next to the Baishawan Sailing Cooperative (PSC) and the property where the Canada D’eh party is usually held. Along this little stretch of coastline there was another excellent boardwalk trail leading to a small fish port. On the other side of this was the western end of the trail that led around Linsanbi Cape to Baishawan beach. It’s a cute little trail, with some interesting rock formations. Soon I was at Baishawan, which is a fine-looking kilometer long arc of white sand, just as the sun was starting to approach the horizon. I crossed the beach, admiring the big waves, and watching groups of teenagers fooling around and having fun. I could see a point of land past the beach, with a radar station on it, and a lighthouse at the tip. After the beach, there was a bit of a stretch where I had to walk along the road. I took an overpass and ended up at Fuji fish port, which was near the lighthouse. I grabbed a beer and found the path to the lighthouse, which is past all the seafood restaurants. I got there just in time to enjoy my beer in the sunset, watching small fishing boats setting out along the coast. Ahhh!
[As with Day 1, I missed some of the coast, but I did make up for it. See Related rambles]
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