(Taiwan) Cycling from Gaohsiung to Taipei

(Jan. 1-10, 2024)

This was by far my longest overseas solo bike touring trip. I was quite nervous before the trip, so I chose the most bike-friendly place I know, Taiwan, to be my destination. It has proved to be a correct decision. Taiwan is not only bike-friendly (many bike shops, police stations and convenience stores along the way), but also a good place for solo travelers. I could find many low-priced hostels for backpackers, and I made many friends and gained much local information at the lounges of these hostels. When I got tired and wanted to skip a part, I just buy a ticket and popped into a local train together with my bicycle.

GAOHSIUNG

I took Eva Air, because they have direct freight from Japan, and do not charge extra, as long as my bike is packed within their size and weight limit (Sum of 3 Dimensions 277cm, max. 23kg). However, my bike carrier bag rolled out from the luggage belt, instead of carried out with a cart by the airport staff, as they usually do in Japan. With my bike carrier bag, I struggled to buy local SIM Card for travelers (which was a really good deal, unlimited data for the specified no. of days!), exchanged currency and took the Metro to my hotel.

Fortunately, my hotel located right outside of Exit of Formosa Boulevard station. It was easy to find. Also, there were elevator in this business hotel, and they allowed me to take the bike into my room, so I could relaxingly re-assemble my bike in my just-big-enough hotel room.

In my luck, the Liouhe Night Market was just a few min. walk, right behind my hotel. I had a 10 min. walk to the Gaohsiung station at evening, to check if I could get the train tickets for me and my bike a few days later, but they only sell tickets within 3 days. The evening walk was actually very quiet and pleasant. The traffic in Gaohsiung city was not so busy, perhaps because it was New Year time and a holiday, most of the people were having new year dinner with their family?

There were still plenty of people walking and some scooters riding through Liouhe Night Market. There were so many attractive food stools that I could hardly decide what to buy for my dinner. Also, I met a Japanese elder couple on the way, and we walked around the Liouhe Night Market together. Eventually, I bought fried soft crabs, Chinese beans Zongzi (also called “Chimaki”), and Chinese tofu and mixed beans dessert back to hotel as my dinner. Feeling kind of lonely, I turned up the volume of TV to eat dinner and assemble my bike alone…

GAOHSIUNG – FANGSHAN

Next morning, I took a walk around, but the Liouhe Night Market was nowhere to be seen. It became normal road again, full of traffic. I rode my bike our of Gaohsiung City, before the traffic became heavy.

First, I passed by and visited Formosa Wang Brothers Park. It was an extensive park, and some old dormitories were reserved, showcasing how the Wang Brothers started their huge business from small, where they worked and the workers lived… It was interesting to have a peek into the past history of Taiwan.

Later, I found myself riding on the quiet endless roads, passing bridges, over dried riverbeds and farmlands. The vegetation of Taiwan was much more tropical than Japan. In early Jan., the temperature was still above 20degC. There were banana and coconut trees that I almost never saw in Japan.

There were convenience stores in every town, mostly equipped with comfortable sitting area and toilets. I took many breaks and lunches at the convenience stores (especially 7-11 and FamilyMart) during this trip.

Sometimes I took small roads and rode along the coast, but it was cloudy and the sky was grey. I took too many breaks, ended up I arrived my guesthouse just before dark.

I was supposed to stay in a tent (with power supply) at night, but it looked like nobody was staying at the campsite. The main house was locked up, and looked like nobody either. I was shocked, as I was at middle of nowhere. The closest town was a few kilometers away. So, I called the phone no. shown on Booking.com (where I made the Booking). Luckily, somebody answered and said they’ll come right away.

That 5-10 min. was the most frustrating time for me. By that time, it was already totally dark. I did not want to ride again. Later, a young woman came to my rescue. She allowed me to change my booking into a room inside the main building, instead of a tent on the campsite. So, I could have my own bathroom, use the kitchen and other facilities in the main house. Also, she suggested me to take a train from Fangliao to Taitung, as the route No.9 I wanted to take was full of heavy trucks. Also, unable to take the tunnel as the cars, I had ride in long mountainous small road to the East. It would need to ride over 100km difficult route in a day.

I enjoyed the quiet night view from my balcony to the campsite, eating instant noodles with eggs supplied for free in the spacious kitchen alone, and thought about my options…

FANGSHUN – TAITUNG

Next day was a sunny nice day, but I decided to take the train instead. I left the guesthouse in early morning, skipping the free breakfast, rode 15km backward to Fangliao Station. It was no problem to get the pair train tickets for me and my bike. I even had time to buy breakfast before taking the train.

The local trains only allow certain no. of bikes in each train, usually either the head or end cabin. However, there were usually several local trains in a day. Unless holidays or peak summer season, usually no reservation is required.

On the train, I met more people with their bikes. Some elder people like to take their bike to just ride certain part of countryside, then they take the train there and home. It was nice to talk to other people.

Furthermore, it was very sunny. After passing through the tunnel, I soon saw beautiful endless blue sea of the Pacific Ocean from the train windows. I was so glad to see that. I was sure if I had rode there instead, I probably would only arrive the East side by dark, and I would not have seen this beautiful sea. Perhaps I had cheated, but most important thing is to have a good time, and I did that.

My hostel was just 5 min. ride from Taitung station. I immediately felt so welcoming there, chatting with the staffs. I no longer felt lonely. Since it was still early afternoon, I decided to take my bike sight-seeing in Taitung city.

There was a Beinan Site and National Museum of Prehistory near Taitung station, so I rode there. There was an extensive park and grass field, only very few visitors. I looked at some interesting Beinan traditional housings and outdoor research site, but did not pay to visit the museum.

Then, I tried to ride to Taitung Forest Park close to the seaside, as the hostel staff suggested, but somehow the Entrance of Taitung Forest Park was difficult to find. By then, the weather suddenly changed, the sky became dark and very windy. It looked like going to rain, so I left and return to my hostel.

At night in the hostel, I made an interesting new friend. She took a year to walk around the whole Taiwan (about 1000km) part by part during her holidays. Also, she rode around Taiwan by scooter more than once. She gave me many helpful information about the road conditions. Also, more importantly, she cheered me up. We chatted till late night.

Next morning, we met again at the breakfast table. I loved that this hostel provided simple self-service breakfast, just bread, eggs, jam and some drinks, but it was enough to start the day!

TAITUNG – YULI

According to my new friends from the train and the hostel, there is very strong headwind (blowing southward) at the east coast of Taiwan in winter. Also, it could be very tough and no train running there. Finally, I decided to give up the inside road (route No.11) and take the mountain road (route No.9) instead.

Indeed, the inside road was pleasant and easy. It was actually running in the valley between mountains, so I could see the beautiful mountain-view surrounding me, but the road was wide and flat. For local Taiwanese, this inside road may be too boring, but it was 1^st time for me to ride in Taiwan, so I really enjoyed the countryside of Taitung. I even found a park, demonstrating many Creatures, made by bamboo and straw. People were very creative.

Before dark, I arrived my hostel. There were already many bicycles parked outside of it. The decoration of this hostel was interesting, showing a lot of old Taiwan style and handmade feel. I loved it. Both the host and the guests were very nice. I made friends with almost all the guests that night. There were tourists and cyclists from Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Canada. We chatted and shared dinner in the lounge, had a really joyful evening. There I finally tried the famous Yuli noodles (soup-less noodles mixed with heavy brown sauce)!

YULI – HUALIEN

Next day, I continued the inside road towards Hualien. It was not so different from the last day. I was gradually getting bored. I know one of my new friend from the hostel had cycled across the mountain and take the seaside road that day, but he was opposite direction from me (i.e. no headwind), also physically more capable than me, I probably cannot do it.

I stopped by a small shop for breakfast. I always love the “Rice Milk” in Taiwan. It is usually mixed with peanut, so it felt like drinking peanut butter, really delicious! I had warm handmade rice milk and egg pancakes for breakfast. It was perfect!

When I crossed some mountainous area, I passed by many tea fields. Turned out this was production place of famous Hualien Mi Xiang Black Tea, so I stopped by to try. I also passed by 1 of the 3 “Topic of Cancer” in Taiwan!

I was glad to arrive Hualien before dark, but the traffic inside Hualien city was very busy and complicated. There were train and cars running from all directions. I was confused.

At Hualien Wow Hostel, I was so glad to see 2 of my new friends again, from the night before. They happened to have booked the same hostel as me, so we got to meet again. Also, I briefly made a new friend in front of the hostel. I felt sorry, couldn’t spend more time with this new friend. However, I went to Hualien Night Market with the 2 friends. Hualien Night Market was not as great as Gaohsiung, so we had a good time and chatting and had dinner together. After all, traveling alone is about meeting new people and seeing new places, isn’t it?

HUALIEN – YILAN

I felt sorry that I could not spend more time in Hualien, so next morning I woke up before daybreak, woke 6km to the Qixingtan Beach Park to watch Sunrise.

The beach was so wide, clean and beautiful. There were some morning walkers and even a few tents. The sun rose over the sea waves were just perfect! I felt so peaceful that I almost did not want to leave.

Next morning, I took a local train to Suaoxin, skipping Suhua Highway. Although I heard that Suhua Highway to be very scenic, running along the cliff next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I also heard that this route is particularly dangerous, very narrow road with heavy traffic, and occasionally even rocks fall, so as a beginner, I decided safety first. I do regret that the train mostly went through the tunnels, so I could not see the ocean, while imagining how it would feel like riding a bike along the cliff and on the long bridges…

I arrive Suaoxin station in early afternoon, so I decided to ride to Nanfangao Fishing Port for lunch and sight-seeing. It turned out to be a really nice surprise. The fishing port was full of people, temples and restaurants and food stools. Also, it was interesting to see so many local fishing boats parked along the port. The port was actually quite large with winding roads. I even met a local lady, who introduced me to a great local restaurant (https://www.instagram.com/wuching_seafood/), with the best fish soup I had ever tasted! Also, following her recommendations, I spent some time at the Tofu Cape, before heading to Yulan.

Yilan was an interesting place. There were many rice fields, so many local roads were built between the watery rice fields. During Sunset, I could see the reflection of the sun on the water. Also, when I was riding on the bridge, I could see the railway and train running between water. It was quite a unique view.

At Yilan, my homestay was a house a few kilometers from the city center, so I thought maybe I could not go out for dinner. But then, I met a young teacher who was traveling with a rental scooter. She was planning to visit the famous Laodong Night Market, and agreed to take me behind her scooter. Yeah!

Laodong Night Market was by far the largest night market I visited in this trip. There were endless streets of shops and food stools. We had goat meat soup, and bought tofu dessert back to our homestay.

In this homestay, the visitors were mostly Taiwanese travelling by car or scooters, but they were still very friendly. I enjoyed the night there as well.

YILAN – JIUFEN

I was excited for a full day of riding with both sea view and mountain view, not knowing that it would have been my hardest and most unforgettable day of this trip.

First of all, I rode along the sea, and had lunch at a café in front of the beach. However, the road was not so steep, but I rode too slow because of mild headwind. Finally I arrive entrance of Jiucaoling Tunnel, it was already early afternoon. Some local people told me it was already too late to go into the mountain roads, but I had no choice, as my next hostel was in Jiufen. I had to get there. The local people told me to take the quiet & safe mountain road (route No.102) instead of the heavy traffic & dangerous seaside road (route No.2).

So, instead of riding relaxingly through the narrow long dark tunnel and old town in front of it, I rushed through it. However, I could not help but stop to take photos when I passed through the beautiful Pingxi district. There were a large river, which old towns on both side. It looked so beautiful.

After Pingxi, I started to run into mountain road (Shuangxi district). There was no train station, no shops, no town, just continuous uphill mountain road. Although route No. 102 was a car road, there were only one car or scooter every few minutes. I was riding or pushing my bike slowly up the hill alone. The scenery was actually nice, but it was getting dark and foggy, sometimes small rain, so I was getting worried, when I could arrive Jiufen…

In order to save power, I did not even turn on my head and tail lamps. I thought, in the worse case, perhaps I could stop a car or call the police for help. Eventually, I saw a few cars parked at the road side, so I asked those people, how far it takes to the peak. Then, they told me, it was already the peak! These people were actually there to enjoy the night view, but I had no mood for night view, just rushed down the hill as fast as possible.

Indeed, it was all downhill. I soon saw the town of Jiufen, but then there were another problem. Jiufen town had many complicated narrow stairs. I followed google map, but I could only see long stairs under me. How am I going to get there?

I had no choice but to park aside my bike, and walk downstairs to look for my hostel. The old town of Jiufen was full of densely-built houses, complicated narrow streets and stairways. I soon felt that I was getting lost. It was dark, and I could not even remember where I parked my bike. I was so frustrated. It was a strong opposition to all these crowds of happy tourists around me.

I was inside the famous Jiufen Old Street. There was many touring buses dropping off so many tourists. The old street was so crowded that it was difficult to walk. I finally found my hostel. The host taught me a different route, so I could ride my bike on the car road to reach the hostel.

When I and my bike arrived the hostel, it was already 7pm. I was tired and hungry. I asked the host when the Jiufen Old Street would close. He said 7:30pm. I almost could not believe, I settled as quick as possible and went back to the Old Street. However, when I got there, many shops were already closing. I bought my dinner, but some noodle shops and dessert shops that I wanted to try were already closed.

I returned to my hostel, and met an American girl parking her bike. I was surprised to see her heavy loads. She was super friendly, and told me that she rented her bike (including side bags) from Giant, and she sometimes camped outside, so she carried a lot. I was happy to make another interesting new friend.

JIUFEN – TAIPEI

My new American friend told me that on the way to Taipei, I had to cross one more even steeper mountain. By that time, I was already sick of mountain roads. She told me another way is to take local train from Ruifang station. It was only downhill to Ruifang. Also, there were a food market at Ruifang.

I immediately welcomed this idea, and rode downhill to Ruifang next morning. I bought train ticket for early afternoon, then I went to Ruifang Food Market for lunch. The food market was smaller than I thought, but I was so glad to enjoy some handmade foods and desserts, not from the convenient store, and enjoyed some slow time there. Also, I stopped by Supermarket (PX Mart) for souvenirs.

When I arrive Taipei, I immediately felt a different atmosphere. People were much colder, and the traffic were much busier and faster. I wasted no time to ride to my hostel.

My hostel was actually located on the 7^th floor of the building. Fortunately, there was elevator big enough for bike. Also, the front desk allowed me to store my bicycle on the 7^th floor. They had a spacious lounge and enough space to store or disassemble my bike. The staff of the hostel was nice, but the guests were all cold and quiet. Nobody talks to me. They were all deep into their computer or mobile. I suddenly felt like in the city again. Anyway, I followed recommendation of hostel staff, took Metro to nearby night market for dinner. At night, I met a German girl at hostel that we chatted and drank beer together at night.

TAIPEI

Next day, I decided to visit the Old Town of Taipei. I walked to Yong Le Market, on Di Gua Street. The market was built in 1908. It is not only a fabric market, but also a food market. I bought some meat buns and sticky rice there, which tasted so good. There were also many other interesting shops, selling all kinds of foods there. Most of all, there were many old style buildings there built during the Japanese-occupied period. They have beautiful sculptures and decorations on top of the buildings and balconies. I have never even seen buildings like that in Japan. It was like time travelling back to before WWII.

After that, I continued to walk around Taipei city center. I walked passed some district that looked like Old Hong Kong Style, and some district that looked like Japan. It was really interesting.

On my last day, my freight was in late afternoon, so I decided to visit the nearby National Taiwan Museum in the morning. The ticket also included the Land Bank of Taiwan Bank Museum across the street. It was a nice surprise. I did not expect much, but the National Museum was actually very informative and interesting. There were historical exhibitions of Taiwan Bank and Land System, ancient extinct animals, insects and plants, as well as history of various Ethnic groups and their lifestyles. I was amazed to watch old video of Ethnic people living their traditional lifestyles. They no longer exist anymore.

Finally, I struggled to carry my bike carrier bag to the Metro, transited twice to get to Songshan Airport. I think if I ever cycled in Taiwan again, I’ll rent a bicycle from Grant, like my American friend. I still want to cycle the south coast and the east coast of Taiwan (routes No.26, 200, 9). I hope that I’ll be back.