Chris and Val departed on Saturday morning, but not before they enjoyed a different taste of Taipei Life. As reported last week, they were able to compare and contrast much more accurately than us how the city has evolved and changed over the years. We did our east coast trip in glorious sunshine on Wednesday before Chris and Val took themselves up to Danshui for the day on Thursday. They were given a mini school tour on Friday by Cassy and ended up getting some takeaway Indian for a quiet night in before their early departure, courtesy of Daniel.
The east coast trip just worked out really well. The weather took a definite turn for the better and we were able to have a decadently late breakfast (for a school day!) before getting organized to head off. In fact, the whole day felt deliciously naughty, almost like wagging school: it really is an amazing thing to be given two “personal” days by your employers, where, guilt free, you can have a working day to yourself. The eastern then southern then eastern (again) expressways were fully utilized, this time going back the other way through the incredible system of tunnels that we’d traveled through previously. It was very easy to get out in double quick time. When we got to Toucheng, there was a possibility of a ferry ride to Turtle Island, but we declined, partly because it would take too much time and partly because for two old seas dogs like Chris and Val, it would be a bit like “Ye Olde Worlde Piss Weak World”!
We wandered over to the large produce market and sampled all sorts of weird and wonderful foods, virtually having the place to ourselves at that time on a weekday. It was a great experience for all of us: Cass and I would often give this sort of place a miss, dismissing it as touristy, but you do miss out on some great experiences doing that all the time I think.
We traveled further up the coast, stopping in at Wushi Harbour and the “Taj Mahal”, two surfing breaks of note (although not in that day’s onshore breeze) before heading further along to Dashi, the most famous of the spots. We had a brief stop there at a temple at Dog Bay, the scene of Ross and my infamous riding of some massive left handers pulling out just before the rock wall some years ago. It was all calm on the day, however, so much so that we disturbed a few scuba divers going about their business.
Further along a spectacular coast of “tofu” striated and angled granite, we came to a delightful little car park and set of trails. We went for a brief walk along the coast, but noted the kms of trails to explore another day: really quite majestic scenes were available to us from various vantage points. We thought we’d brave the adjoining fish and produce market for a bight to eat and amazingly, I was again able to make myself understood to order some prawns and sweet potato and something to drink. I even cracked my first joke in Chinese…I won’t elaborate, it was pretty weak, but cracked a couple of the old girls up!
After more sights, we pulled into another vantage point and had a beautiful cup of coffee overlooking the coast. For a few moments there, it almost felt like home: I never thought I’d say it but Formosa does indeed live up to its name of “beautiful Island” every now and then. Nearly at the tip of the coast, we called in at the Sandiao lighthouse, before stopping in briefly at Fulong, the site of Cassy’s annual camp with the eighth graders. Our last stop before we got back on an expressway for home was at the strangely shaped sandstone rock formations at Longdong and Little Yeliou, notable for the rocks, of course, but also the mountains searing towards the sky from a standing start roadside: it really is quite spectacular.
Cass and I have felt a little strange today and yesterday as we are back in our room, the girls are re-adjusting back to their room and we’re without our house companions and Cass misses her “kitchen slave”! Photos are all of the east coast trip…I’m sure you’ll be able to match the photos with the descriptions of same in this blurb.
I’m just a little frantic at the moment…I’m off to Aberdeen, Scotland on Tuesday afternoon!!!