Taiwan On

What a successful plan B! A good portion of students were skeptical, thinking Taiwan was a significant downgrade from famed Japan. Just more China right? Not in the slightest. Taiwan boasts some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. On an island nation no bigger than Florida, Taiwan offers everything from pristine coastal paradise, to jagged 13,000 ft. snow capped peaks, and Taipei; One of the four tiger economies of the 21st century. With the increased distance from Shanghai, our stay was reduced to three days, and as our last foreign port, we had no choice but to do it big.

The Explorer ported in Keelung on the Northern tip of the Island. Fresh off the ship, we skipped a train to Toroko Gorge. This was a roommate expedition with Dan, Craig, Will, and I. Buying tickets was a gamble. We had a local map with Mandarin characters, and somehow successfully managed to match the symbol of our destination with a symbol on the departure listings.

After two connections, we arrived at Sencheng station. Staying ahead of the crowd, I pinpointed the only scooter rentals in town. Unlike China, English lettering is like chicken scratch to these people. We passed the motorcycle license requirement with flying colors by flashing our shipboard ID’s. Unethical? Maybe, but I was then prompted to sign my life away on a rental contract that looked like an ancient oriental script. We doubled up on our cycles and hit the open road. Winding through the gorge with the wind whipping through my panda hat was liberating. The mountains lining the road shot strait up disappearing into the clouds

We stopped in at the visitor’s center to get the lay of the land before venturing off on a quick five mile hike along an emerald stream. We overshot the turnaround and ended up climbing 1/2 the way up a never-ending staircase before I called shenanigans and turned the group around for a much-needed polar plunge in the river. Refreshed, exhausted, and hungry, we raced the setting sun to the trailhead, hopped back on our scooters, and took off in search of food and lodging.

We stumbled across a small town a couple miles up; grinded some local cuisine, grabbed beers, and made our way up the road to a secluded hostel. It was the perfect place to unwind in the company of good friends and a deck of cards. The next morning came early, and we took to the streets for a brisk cruise to the peak of the gorge. Around each corner we made a new discovery; from suspension bridges, pagodas, and flower fields, to a Buddhist temple, and an eternal spring. Ironically, this place was a spitting image of the mystic mountainous Hollywood China portrays in Kung Fu movies. Bravo Taiwan. We did a daunting 45-minute Stairmaster hike to some pagodas before making our way to the train station to catch an evening ride to Taipei.

We showed up sight unseen, and after deliberating on what local flavor we wanted for dinner, we settled on Pizza Hut buffet for a little taste of home. In an attempt to live out our unfulfilled anticipation for Japan, we spent the rest of the evening in the Japanese style hot springs of Bitou. Which, by the way, may have been dangerous. The top pool was just short of boiling, so we were reduced to the coolest of the warm, and soaked the night away. On our way out, we ran into Nike, a Taiwanese military captain who took us under his wing for a couple hours to share the culture. He brought us to a lookout above the city and a local market for some late night food and drink. He then checked us in to an exclusive military hostel in the heart of the city. The accommodations were lavish so we capitalized and got some much-needed R&R.

With Hawaii around the corner, the next day was our last in a foreign port. We hopped on the subway to see Taipei 101; The second tallest building in the world. After several failed attempts to hike the fire stairs, we refused to pay the $15.00 NTD for an elevator ride, and set off to explore the city before our bus back to Keelung. What a beautiful ending to an incredible journey.