A Chatty Stranger (who annoys me) & a 7-Eleven Sleepover | Taiwan Solo Bike Touring pt. 6
Seven years ago, my friends and I went on our first cycling tour in Taiwan. As you can see, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it again in 2024. So here I am on a month-long adventure with no fixed route and no fixed plan.
Good morning, it's 5.22 AM and it's already bright. There are already some people... opening a stall right outside the tent.
It's the temple (where I overnight). I didn't even bother to use this mat because... it was so hot inside the tent.
So I just slept right on the ground. My voice is fried. from the sound of some of the people who talked to me last night, seems like it's such a norm for cyclists to set up their tent here.
One lady assured me that it's a small village here so it's quite safe to set up tent here. She said, '台东是好山好水好多酒鬼', which means, Taitung has a lot of beautiful mountains Taitung has a lot of beautiful mountains and ocean. It also has a lot of drunk people.
She's kidding of course. But at night, there was this one guy who came and watered his plants...? Because I think he has this plant stall outside, so he came and watered his plants at around... 1 or 2 AM. That's the plant stall. I didn't sleep well because there were a lot of noises outside.
This temple is near to the main highway which is Route 9 and it's also along the main road in the village. So there were a lot of cars and motorcycles passing by. Yeah, not a good night's sleep but oh well.
It is what it is. At least I'm safe. I was filling up my water when the temple staff asked me if I wanted a water blessed by the Mazu Goddess. And I said, "Alright." So now I'm drinking holy water. Thank you.
I am on the 关山环镇自行车道, which is a bicycle trail that goes around the town of Guanshan. It's quite early in the morning, to me anyway. It's 8.30 AM. I just had my breakfast. So I'm just gonna go on this bicycle trail.
It's around 12 km. After this, I will continue my way to Fugang. There's a port in Fugang where I'll be catching a boat to Green Island. I was minding my own business la la la la la la when another cyclist showed up and started chatting with me.
He was very chatty. He kept talking... and talking... and talking...
Non-stop. Not gonna lie, I wasn't really in the mood to socialize at that time, but all the while, I had to pretend I was listening and responding politely, even though all I really wanted was to ride in silence. But to be fair, being a local, he knows the area well, like this bird-spotting hut. I wouldn't know this place if it wasn't for him showing me the way.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a naive idiot who would simply follow some random stranger blindly. I did my own vetting, and I could tell this guy wasn't dangerous, just a bit too chatty for my liking. All were fine and dandy, until... Ughh.
I am sleep deprived, and I thought I could have my precious alone time on the bicycle trail. But then this elderly man, he was cycling beside me, and he just kept babbling on and on and on. I don't even know what he was talking about. And I just, "Oh, uh-huh, uh-huh." And then he said, "Oh, let me take you to this secret place."
I was like, "Oh, should I?" But then I went with him anyway because I thought, like, why not? The secret place he was talking about is called "达谷梵秘境", which roughly translates to "The Hidden Realm of Dagufan." But then the way that he brought me is the other direction from where I'm going to. So I'm like, "Nah, maybe not." Because I didn't want to spend more time going in the opposite direction when I had to reach Fugang before nightfall. And then he sort of, like, he just scold me about not planning my time properly.
Like, what the f**k, dude? I didn't even plan on meeting you. I was planning to just go around the bicycle trail for a bit and then go from there to the destination, you know? And then you just came along, kept talking to me. and you have the audacity to scold me? Oh, I'm so pissed! So I just say, "Okay, goodbye."
And then I just turned around and left. Who does he think he is? Just because you know a secret hidden place doesn't make you superior or anything. Oh, and another thing, I wanted to fix my bike because a screw at the fender came off. It got loose. And then he was like, "Oh, you don't know how to fix it. Let me fix it for you."
I was like, "Of course I know how to screw on a screw." Oh my god, some men. They just think they know better than girls. Anyway, rant over. I did feel bad when my anger was over, but oh well, it is what it is. This is 关山月眉脚车道.
A biking trail from Guanshan to I don't know where, but... it bypassed a lot of main roads, so that's nice. This is 武陵绿色隧道, Wuling Green Avenue...? It's a trail that goes through greeneries, I guess.
Not bad. It is indeed very green. A lot of shade, which is nice on this hot summer day.
There's this bridge, what used to be a bridge, it's the Minyue Bridge. I think it's already broken because there's no bridge connecting it to the village over there. Only this new one.
I took a long rest at Luye train station just now, and then when I was about to go to Fugang through the Route 9 highway, a taxi driver told me about another way, which is Road 197. He said that way is better because it's full of shade. It's also mountain road. *deep sigh* Oh well, taxi driver knows best.
I guess. I hope I won't be cursing later. To Road 197. Here. We. Go. Climbing uphill.
You better be right about the way, taxi driver. He said this will be a better shortcut to Fugang. I hope that's true, because with my climbing uphill speed, I'm not sure even that will cut the time short or not. Some villages.
Road 197. Uphill. The taxi driver is right. Here, it's more shaded and cooler because of all the trees. Route 9 will probably be hotter because it passes through a lot of towns and there are a lot more traffic, so it's gonna be hotter and dusty. Whereas here, it's so cool and less traffic, which is nice.
I am now at 300m above sea level. Go up a few meters more to 340m probably, then downhill, and then uphill again. 330m above sea level! Ruanshan Village. This is the highest altitude here, 340 meter. After this, it will be... oh, you can't see from here, but after this, it will be downhill...
and then go uphill again. I hate losing altitude and then gaining altitude again. Oh well, that's just like life right? C'est la vie, there's up and down. What goes up must come down, and then what goes down must go up. Welcome to another useless TED talk by Karo. You're welcome.
I think there's a monkey somewhere there. It keeps making some monkey sound. Anyway, this is the view. So nice. And that's my bike.
Okay... Going uphill again! Just when you thought... you're done climbing uphill to the topmost part, then around the corner, there's another uphill. F**k my life.
*pedaling hard* Keep going! Keep going! Keep going! Whoa, Jeezus. Look. Another (uphill) ahead. *laughing in pain* ^%$&#^&)@$&! Go, go, go, go, go. I'm so hungry.
Another uphill. Oh. Nice view! That's the ocean with the mountain ranges.
Oh my god, that's so beautiful. That was such a beautiful view. What a good reward. Makes the climb worth it. *pedaling hard* URGH... ANOTHER UPHILL?! %^@& Oh, my legs.
Still climbing uphill! From 340m above sea level just now... down to 100 something meter, and then up again to 300 meter. Why? Why do you do this to me? Can see Green Island... 绿岛 from here.
I think that's the Green Island. Lanyu is further away. *sigh in back pain* Downhill again. &*$&^* Uphill again?? I thought it's gonna be all the way downhill. *weird sound* Grrrr! Kay, kay, kay, downhill.
Quite sudden. Nice. Eek! Uphill! Ugh. Ah, that was short-lived. Another viewpoint. I think this is Taitung City.
I think that's the airport? That was fun. Oh, sh-- Got dust on my face! Finally arrived at Fugang at around 5.15 PM. *weird sound* That's the Green Island at the distance. There. And that's where I will be heading tomorrow. I am at Xiaoyeliu Geopark.
Behind me, there's a pavilion, which is nice to wild-camp. But... it's forbidden to wild camp in the geopark. I'm just waiting for the time to pass, because I'm gonna stay in 7-Eleven today. Because I couldn't be bothered to find a wild camping site. I'm too lazy to put up the tent and pack it up early in the morning, because tomorrow...
early in the morning, I have to catch a boat to Green Island 绿岛， This one here, behind me. Yeah. So I'm just gonna "camp" at 7-Eleven today.
Hopefully, the staff won't chase me away. And so I found myself spending the night in a 7-Eleven after grabbing some dinner there. Luckily, no one kicked me out, and I was grateful to have a roof over my head while it rained outside. Stay tuned for my next video, where I will be bike touring on Green Island.
2024-10-11 02:25
