Alishan by scooter- a near death experience


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April 14th 2008
Published: April 18th 2008
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We got up at around 10am on Sunday morning, and started to pack up for Alishan. Paul told me that we had two options for transportation- we could take a train and a bus, or we could take the scooters. He warned me that the scooter might be a bit uncomfortable, but that it would allow us to stop whenever we wanted and we could stop whenever I needed a break. He thought the ride would take about four hours.

It was a really fun drive- we stopped every couple of hours to get snacks at the 7-11 (I kept trying weird sushi triangles- ham, cheese and corn, pork bits, chicken- the food here is so strange!) Driving in Taiwan is nothing like home- there doesn't seem to be a speed limit, and half of the drivers on the road are on scooters. We weaved in and out of traffic, the whole time breathing in black exhaust fumes from the bigger vehicles on the road. It's safe to guess that emissions testing isn't a requirement here.

Six hours later we arrived at the base of Alishan, thinking we were close to where we'd spend the night. We were feeling
7-11 food7-11 food7-11 food

mouth watering...
pretty good abour arriving before sunset- it was just starting to get dark. We stopped into the visitor's centre to try to see if we could book a hotel there and were told that we were about two and a half hours away from the area where the hotels were.

I wasn't sure that my butt could take another two hours but we figured we should get going as quickly as possible to try to use the remaining sunlight.

In my entire life, I have never been as scared as I was that night- weaving up that mountain, in the dark, in the middle of a cloud. We could barely see five feet in front of the scooter and tour busses were flying down the road in the opposite direction, in the wrong lane. There were road signs everywhere that had cute illustrations of cars flying off the side of the mountain and giant boulders falling from the sky. I was pretty glad that we'd collected some luck at Mazu the day before.

Finally we reached the top and were greeted by someone from the hotel. We were all really looking forward to sleeping in a comfy
Pocari sweatPocari sweatPocari sweat

It's not actually sweat, it's kind of like gatorade. Here I'm holding a yummy ham and cheese sushi triangle.
bed- we were planning to get up at 3:45 to watch the sun rise. We were given our keys and walked into a room that had no working lights and two extremely hard (the floor would probably have been softer) beds pushed together in the middle of a very bare room. The pillows were actually harder than the beds.

Needless to say, none of us really slept- and we were moving pretty slow at 4am as we made our way to the train that would take us up to the top of the mountain. The sunrise was incredibly beautiful. My biggest regret is that I didn't bring my 3D glasses. Everyone else was wearing them- I think we missed out on something. There was also a man at the top with a megaphone who gave a play by play of the sunrise in Mandarin. Who needs the sounds of nature?

Hiking around Alishan was amazing- we saw trees that were thousands of years old and found a cemetary off the beaten track. It was so creepy- when we stepped onto the grounds, all of the leaves started falling off the trees and hitting us, and when we left,
Slightly lost...Slightly lost...Slightly lost...

Paul consults his handy Taiwan map.
the leaves stopped falling.)

My favourite part was definitely the scooter ride back to Yuanlin. The sky cleared and we turned off the motors on the bikes and glided down the mountain. We rode through rainforests, glided through areas made entirely of bamboo, passed ladies in the tea fields, stopped to sit by waterfalls, saw hundreds of butterflies... it's something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was so beautiful and peaceful out there.

We also bought some really cool face masks to wear on the way home so I didn't have to breathe in the exaust fumes. I had an amazing time with Janice and Paul- and I was so sad to have to leave but my flight to Hong Kong was the next day.

On to Hong Kong!


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Scariest drive ever.Scariest drive ever.
Scariest drive ever.

We literally couldn't see 5 feet in front of the scooter...
Assorted foodsAssorted foods
Assorted foods

The translations on menus can be pretty funny. We thought we'd give "assorted foods" a shot- not much of it was edible.


19th June 2008

scooters
did you need a license to ride the scooters? and how much was it to rent one? Just curious, cause I was thinking about doing that when I visit Taiwan in the fall.
9th July 2008

scooters
I don't think you need a license if you're just visiting and you only want to rent the scooter. you can usually get an international drivers permit at home before you go. I think some of the scooter rental places will accept your passport though. I've got to warn you, it's not like driving at home! the rules of the road seem to be just a suggestion there. :)

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