The Land Where It’s Already Tomorrow, Chapter 33: The Gods are Kind

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The Gods are Kind

Therefore, this week I took pictures instead of wrote notes, and my weekly missive is a photographic essay as opposed to a verbose one.

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Photos

Getting Ready for Hualien by Scooterback
Paul and I did a video and still filming spin around Hualien on a quiet Sunday morning.

Buckling Up a Brain Bucket
Nearly everyone wears one, so I guess the cops enforce that particular law.

Paul Rowe
My trusty colleague and friend.

Passing a Bus or Anything on the Right...
...at home would you ticketed--or killed. It's perfectly legal and safe here, as long as you make sure always to be where the driver can see you.

Signs are (Mercifully) Bilingual
English is the language most commonly understood by foreigners, but native-English-speakers are the minority of foreigners in Taiwan.

For Some Reason...
...people like to ride motorbikes with their jackets on backwards.

Left Turns are Fine When You Learn the Rules.
Oncoming traffic does not have the right-of-way. It's kinds of like shuffling a deck of cards to get around the corner.

Sexist Advertising.
If even I think it's sexist, then it is.

The Omnipresent 7-11
It's a wonder they can all make money--there are so many of them so close together.

Big Electric Signs...
...make the city very colourful at night.

The County Magistrate...
...gets his face on everything.

Pizza in General...
...and Pizza Hut in particular, are gross in Hualien.

Jung Shan Lu
The novice rider's worst nightmare, Jung Shan Lu is quite comfortable for me now.

I don't Know Why...
...trucks have the licence number painted on the tailgate. It must be the law, because everyone does it.

The Speed Limit is Usually a Suggested Minimum...
...until traffic volume does a better job than the cops of slowing everyone down.

Going Along Jung Shan Lu Again.
Someone described riding a scooter in Taiwan as riding a bicycle that goes fast.

On the Way to Li Yu Tan (Carp Lake)
The tree-lined country road reminded me of France.

Flood Management is a Serious...
...and expensive business in Taiwan.

Paddle Boats at Li Yu Tan.
It's nice out on the water.

Packing Up to Ride Back
It was a great morning.