The East coast of Taiwan is in such strong contrast with the industrialised West coast that I at times thought I was not in the Taiwan I had seen up until then. Green fertile rice fields spread across the valleys as the railway track cut through the mountains. There was not one piece of land that was untouched by some form of agriculture. Fruit trees, coconut palms, rice plantations and huge mountains dominated the landscape as the train made progress to Hualien.
I stopped off in Hualien at the backpackers for the night and boarded another train to Taitung from where I took a bus to meet Estienne and Xenia in Dulan. Estienne knows about a hidden away beach house on the coast that they have rented several times before. The small house is the ideal weekend getaway spot and is situated very near the town of Dulan where you can buy all your goods and listen to Taiwanese groups perform music at night. We (me, Estienne, Xenia, Vicky and Michael) had an awesome creative braai using beach wood and it was good to eat a meal that I was accustomed to. The Taiwanese food has been something to get use to. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that I don’t know what I eat and I also don’t know what to order.
We hit town after the braai and clapped hands with the Taiwanese musicians as they energised the crowd.
My time is limited in Taiwan as the visa application has taken a lot of time and I am heading to Korea on Friday. I wanted to drive up the East coast on a scooter and camp on the beaches, but time has not allowed me.
