These are the four things I love to do, and this is one time of the year I get to do all of them at once. As I looked at Google Map trying to plan my route, I look at the route I am most curious about. Curious because I’ve not been on it, as well as trying to avoid the crowd. Here’s my plan for the trip.
1. Mt. Li Shan – Mt. Li Shan is well known for its fruits and everyone in Taiwan knows that, but not many have been to it, or rather, not many are keen to visit Li Shan because it’s simply too far away. It’s in the middle of Taiwan’s mountains and there is no easy to get to it, only by mountain roads that are constantly threatened by landslides and with endless twists and turns. The latter is exactly why I want to take on this route, because that’s also why I choose my car.
2. Mt. Hehuan – Mt. Hehuan is probably the number one mountainous destinations in Taiwan because it is the very few high altitude mountain peaks accessible by road, which makes it easy for anyone to reach. Mt. Hehuan isn’t actually too attractive to me, but it’s on the way and extremely iconic, there’s no reason not to plan a stop there. Also it is one of the most popular spot for iconic concentric star trail shots.
3. Dadu MTB trail in TaiChung – I’ve been a bit frustrated with Taipei’s MTB trails being quite technical with lots of steep climbs and descents instead of more consistent trails ( this is just my excuse for being lousy at riding ). I’ve always been drooling at the Dadu trail ever since I saw its photos online. It’s 3 hours away from Taipei so it’s going to be an all-day trip if I were to do it as a regular event. As a side program on a road trip will be fun!
4. Tainan – Just dropping by to visit my grandparents, but a mid-way stop to regroup myself.
5. Route 200 and 199 in Pingtung – This isn’t exactly a destination, but more of a route that I really want to try instead of the usual main road.
6. Taitung city – Food! Taitung city isn’t famous for food, but there are some personal favorites.
7. ChengGong township – This is where I served for one year, more like my backyard and where I actually feel home.
8. Mt. Sixty-Stone – Golden-Needle season as well as night photography which I’ve never had the chance to do before.
9. Route 193 from ChiShang to Taitung city – This is one road that I’ve been drooling for a long time but never had the chance to take.
10. Return to Taipei
This plan sounds like it took a lot of planning and organization, but it didn’t, because I only thought about what I was going to do next a few days before, so essentially this list took shape in a spontaneous way. I just didn’t want to think too far ahead and enjoy the moment.
For the first part of the trip, I had a friend to tag along which I am very thankful for. It made the trip that much more enjoyable and enabled me to go to many more places where I wouldn’t have otherwise. For the first night, I stopped at Su-Au Township where we would set off into the mountains the next morning. And off we went! It was a Monday morning, expected few tourists in the mountains but since it’s the summer, many family are out there like us. However the drive is still enjoyable. The weather was great, the roads twisty and our spirits high. The car was doing exactly what it should, to take on the twists and turns. 2 hours of continuous spirited driving is something I haven’t had too much time to do in Taipei. Partly because of the busy schedule, partly because of the heavy traffic. This, however, was great. I hope every weekend can be as delightful!
Snacks expand under the decreased air pressure in high altitude.
There isn’t many photos taken because we didn’t make many stops. All I wanted to do was to enjoy the driving, but I knew I missed many chances to photograph spectacular sceneries. Next time perhaps, at least now I know where they are. Arriving at Mt. Lishan, we took a bit of a tour around town before stopping at our hotel. It was a small town, literally a one-street town where there are shops and businesses. The area that are populated is large, but mostly orchards on steep mountain slopes. The main street is where most of the fruit farmers sell their produce, but there are simply too many of them and it’s hard to know who is the most trusted, so we asked the hotel owner.
“Just come back after 7pm and I will tell you which one to go to, but don’t let others know that I send you, otherwise the neighbours won’t be happy that I didn’t recommend them instead.”
And yes, the peaches were really sweet. The dates were delicious too! It’s hard to imagine living in this mountain environment. Everything is tougher up here and you need to plan more strategically because convenience is something that doesn’t happen here. However, express delivery service in Taiwan made the island smaller. The fruits we purchased would be shipped out the next morning, and by the following day, it will be received and enjoyed. To me, people who depend directly on the nature for their livelihood are much more resilient than city folks, and much more honest and true, because you can’t cheat the nature.
So there are still some day light left, time for a quick exploration in the mountain. One of the reasons why Lishan isn’t exactly a popular tourist destination is because it doesn’t have any iconic landmark. Tourists either stop at Wu-Ling Farm about 30min away, or Mt. Hehuan about one hour away. Mt. Lishan being in the middle of the two simply gets forgotten. Near Mt. Lishan is a place called Mt.Fushou, and there are a few small places to visit, including an old villa used by the late President Jiang, as well as a camping ground. We had no idea what to expect, but was rather disappointed by the scale of the site. Being in the mountains, there wasn’t any spectacular view, just simply great fresh air. I was, however, surprised and excited over two unrelated but indirectly related things.
As we entered the camp area, there was a local collecting entrance fee. It was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, and as the local man looked into the car to see how many passengers we’ve got, he noticed the bike in the car and asked, ”What kind of bike is it?”
“It’s a mountain bike”
“Oh, I’m a fellow rider too, I’ve got mine right in my van”
“Really? Can I see it?”
At this point, I was quite excited because it’s rare to bump into MTB riders let alone in this desolated place!
And holy crap, this guy is hardcore! A classic heavy duty downhill bike! It’s quite a piece of antique by today’s standard, but it’s definitely a potent piece of equipment, and judging by its condition, this guy does a good job maintaining it. He’s definitely a very seasoned rider.
“So where do you ride it?”
“I just find my own routes in the mountains, mostly down the small paths between the farms, but coming back uphill is a pain in the ass”
I am thinking, wow, looking at the gradient of the mountain slopes here, it must be a blast for downhill riders. For me, nope, I’m too pussy for this. I really admire his passion for riding, being that his bike is always ready in this off-road van, constantly looking for new routes to ride and conquer. Also living high up in the mountain means he can’t just go to those readily established riding spots near the city, he has to carve his own playground. What a way to live!
The second thing that I was quite excited about is the trails that were beside the camp site. These are primarily for causal hikers and campers to stroll on, but these to me are excellent cross country trails for my bike! It was so hard to resist the urge to get my bike off my car, but there wasn’t too many hours of day light left, and I just had to tell myself, again, “Next time”. Riding in high altitude will be an experience to have.
That night, we came back hoping to capture stars, but the cloud surrounded the entire region and our wait wasn’t fruitful ( ironic that we were surrounded by fruit farms). It was a disappointment, and I told myself, again, “Next time”.
One thing that really impresses are the truckers, the ones who transport produce down the mountains. These are large trucks that will ferry produces like cabbage, pears, peaches etc to cities and they take on the mountain roads in the middle of the night to deliver the goods to markets by early morning. The mountain roads are scary to say the least, let alone driving in pitch black and piloting such huge beasts on these narrow paths. They are also very quick, like LeMans drivers who have already remembered the individual turns like the back of their hands. The daily conveniences of quality produce delivered by these dare devil folks, you have my salute!
Incredible trails, although short, excites me!
Looking at the leaves far far away.
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