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Saturday, Hualien -> Chiaosi
(4/15/2000)
I woke up refreshed for the first time in days. The bed in
this hotel was still quite hard, but at least it was two box springs, not just
one. Unfortunately, our streak of unseasonably good weather appeared to have
turned: it was raining.
We had several hours before we caught our train to Chiaosi,
so we needed something to keep us occupied for the morning. Despite the
drizzle, we decided to go to the East Hawaii amusement park. (Ignore the fact
that we were west of Hawaii). "Amusement Park" is perhaps a bit of wishful
thinking on the owners' parts. It's more of a scenic re-creation with souvenirs
and "authentic" aboriginal dances. (Most of them Formosan aboriginal, not
Polynesian)
There were 6 other people visiting the park that day, so we
got to do all the rides whenever we wanted - provided that someone was manning
them: Downhill grass sledding, dry bobsledding, bumper boats… that was
about it, but it was fun.
After we left the park we headed to eat, and then drove
around town. When we stopped at a seaside park, I was confronted with my worst
Taiwanese nightmare: I was going to have to use a squat toilet.
For those of you who don't want to know about this sordid
aspect of travel in asia, just read on. For those others, click on the squat
toilet below to enter my nightmare.
…Thus having vanquished the Squat Toilet Dragon, our
hero continued on his journeys…
We caught the train heading north to Chiaoshi, which is in
Ilan County. We were still south of Taipei, but actually only 40KM away.
Chiaoshi is another hot spring area, with several resort hotels, situated up in
the mountains. We were booked in an attractive hotel some distance away from
the town. Being Saturday night, it was quite busy, and they had a number of
activities planned for the evening.
While waiting for them to begin, Chu-Wan and I went to their
game room and played some pool and Ping-Pong. I did manage to disprove any
misconceptions that all Chinese are better at Ping-Pong than westerners.
Once it was dark, they began the activities by launching
hot-air paper lanterns into the air, which was quite interesting and pretty.
Other activities included carnival type games, such as lifting a bottle using a
string, trivia contests and a game taken from a popular Japanese gameshow where
you attempt to navigate a rod through an obstacle course. One false move and
the alarms goes off.
My favorite was a game that might have some ancestry to
basketball. Two "goals" were set up, each with a paper basket (rather than a
hoop). In each basket there was a large quantity of firecrackers. Contestants
would take turns lighting firecrackers and trying to toss them into the basket.
The goal was to detonate the entire mass. It proved to be more difficult than
anticipated, but when it did finally go off, the bang was quite impressive.
Sunday, Chiaoshi -> Ilan -> Chilan
(4/16/2000)
As with every scenic place in Taiwan, there is a specific
"spot" where you have to get your picture taken to prove you've been there and
seen the sights. In Chiaoshi it's a local waterfall. It's a 50 minute walk from
town, but only 15 from our hotel.
Early in the morning, we set out on foot. It would have
taken less time, but we had to dodge an almost continuous stream of tour buses
that were disgorging their occupants at a frightening rate near the
waterfall.
Mr. and Mrs. Huang met us back at the hotel upon our return
as they had driven up from Taipei to join us that morning.
In the family car, we headed back southeast to the town of
Ilan. On the road I saw two workers who must really have the worst job in
Taiwan: they were painting the stripes on the sides of the highway.
By hand.
With a paint brush and a roll of masking tape.
We lunched in Ilan at a steakhouse, then stopped at a
bizarre store for provisions. The store only sold dried and treated fruits and
something called "Cow's Tongue" which Chu-Wan tells me has no cow parts in it.
I refused to try it, just as a protest to the marketing people who gave it that
awful name.
We left Ilan and headed for Chilan, a scenic area halfway to
Taipingshan (our destination for the next day). Chilan is virtually nothing
except a hotel, a garden and a cottage that Chiang Kai-Shek used to use for
retreats.
I learned that my father-in-law, during his term at
compulsory military service, was one of Chiang's military guards - the thought
brought a comical image to my mind of my brother-in-law and his upcoming tour
of service. I envisioned him wearing a smartly pressed and polished uniform
guarding the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial, then pulling his uniform up over his
head and doing a Beavis and Butthead imitation.
The gardens and grounds around the buildings are quite
beautiful, and after looking around the area, Chu-Wan and I headed up a trail
into the jungle.
The deadly snake warning signs were once again out in force,
but this time joined by a new sign: a warning about hornets or wasps. Near the
end of our walk, we encountered one of the wasps. It was HUGE! It was at least
3 inches long and looked pretty mean. Fortunately, it left us alone and we
escaped back to the hotel, just in time for dinner.
Meals were going to prove difficult for me. There is only
one place to eat in Chilan. - at the hotel, and the meals are decidedly
back-country Taiwan style. They count how many people are at your table and
bring that many dishes out. There is no selection; you just eat what they
cooked that day. In this case it was boiled cabbage, fish, cold chicken and
pig's feet.
I ate a cup-o-noodles back in the room, which I'd brought in
case of just such an eventuality. |
