This is one of my favorite photos from our trip.  A lone bike on the open road.  What a way to travel Taiwan!

I found this inscription just outside of Chinma Tunnel at the entrance to the old Hehuan Mountain Trail. I paused to jot it down in my journal and thought it was only fitting that I post it here for the rest of you to enjoy.

I’ve walked the Central Cross Island Highway, through the magical changes of spring, summer, winter and fall, pausing at the wonders of dawn and dusk, the clear blue skies and stormy weather.  At the Eternal Spring Shrine, I am moved by the tragedies told in the structures of the tunnel of nine turns.  I gaze in awe at the cliffs rising overhead.  At Tienshiang, I marvel at the natural folds along the confluencing edges of rivers and at Hsipau, I am inspired by the work of the farmers who bring fruit from the land.  At Kuanguan, I sit amidst the clouds and peaks at Tayuling.  I see the wonderous sunken faults and at Hehuan Mountain, I am hypnotised by the snow and the firs.  Journeying along this road, I pass through time absorbing its memories, history and legends.                                                                      

                                                                         Anonymous

At Wuling Peak on Hehuan Mountain.  3275 meters above sea level.

We left Ching Jing early on the morning of the 19th of February.  We had just completed the southern fork of Taiwan’s Cross Central Island Highway, which took us over Hehuan Mountain, down through Wushe and on to Sun Moon Lake.   This time, we intended to cross back over Hehuan Mountain around noon, in order to follow the eastern route through Taroko Gorge and on to the east coast.

The Taiwanese believe that no visit to Taiwan is complete until you’ve made a trip along this road.  Now I understand why.  The scenery changes endlessly from lush valleys full of palm trees, to alpine forests, snow-capped mountains, steep cliffs, rocky streams, hot springs, rivers, lakes and sea.  How can anyone not be enamored with this beautiful island?

The highway was completed in 1960.  John and I marveled at how this road was made and could scarcely believe that it was only four years in the making.  The road is cut precariously into and along mountain sides.  It weaves and turns so much that I lost all sense of direction.  We would make a sharp turn and end up driving back the way we came.  We drove through tunnels that had been roughly blasted out of rock.  Thousands of people struggled to make this road and hundreds died or were injured while doing so.

The drive up the mountain was gorgeous and we were happy to see what we had missed under the cover of darkness two nights before.  We were traveling up the highest road in Taiwan on a 150cc motorcycle, easily hauling close to four hundred pounds of flesh and belongings.  Despite the warmth of the day when we started out, the bike engine soon started to whine from the strain of climbing ever upwards and higher into the cold mountain air.  Eventually, we were driving above the clouds through the Hehuanshan Forest Recreation Area at over 3400 meters.

We stopped to snap a photo of the dense valley of clouds below us.  Neither one of us realised that in a few short hours, we’d be driving through it.

It was bone-chilling cold, but I couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at the surroundings.   We passed below lofty peaks and towering rocks.  We drove through mist, clouds and alpine forests of chinese juniper, nanmu trees, pine and conifers.  It was so coldly, wonderfully beautiful.  Trees literally reach to the clouds and heavens here.  I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.

We only spent a few minutes on Wuling Peak.  It was too cold and we could barely see three feet in front of us.  We ended up stopping at Hehuan Lodge a few minutes later to warm up with some tea before continuing down out of the mountains.  Eventually, we stopped to take off our gloves, hats and scarves and gazed for a while at the beautiful valley of clouds that hung just below us.  Then we continued on until we hit Chinma Tunnel and the beginning of the old Hehuan Trail system, which brang us to the entrance of Toroko Gorge.

We stopped at a rest station to read about the local flora and fauna and then continued riding in the warm sun for half an hour before the trail took us across the mountain and out of the sunlight.  As soon as we crossed over to the other side, it felt like we were passing over into another world.  The old Hehuan Trail system is like something out of the movies.  The air grew moist and misty.  Everything was covered with a heavy green moss and the lush vegetation seemed to overrun everything.  Trees seemed to creep up on us out of the mist.  It was deadly quiet and eerie.

Then it started to rain and the roads grew slick and wet.  I barely relaxed for the entire two hours it took to drive.  I would’ve loved to snap some pictures, but the rain prevented us from doing everything but continuing on the course we were on.  The road continued to twist and turn like a dragon’s back and we went with it.  Sometimes I had to close my eyes in fear as we came dangerously close to the side of the road.  Everywhere we looked were warning signs for falling rocks and debris.  I was terrified and yet I’ve never felt more alive.  I felt small and insubstational compared to the awesome power of nature.

If you look closely, you can see the road is literally carved out of the mountainside.

Tianshiang was a most welcome sight after another six hour bike ride.  I think both of us were on sensory overload.  We had seen so much in three days that we were barely able to register our surroundings.  I was vaguely aware of being nestled in on all sides by jutting green mountains with a blanket of mist and clouds hanging far above our heads.  Our only priority was getting some warm food and a good night’s sleep so we could enjoy our drive the next day, as we knew the best was yet to come.

Sun Moon Lake was a real treat.  We completely enjoyed our time there and are looking forward to returning sometime next year to explore a bit more.  The area has so much to offer and we only saw a tiny portion of this wonderful part of Taiwan.  Originally, we had planned to spend the night in Puli, but after spending a wonderful night in the mountains the night before, we made a snap decision to return to Ching Jing.

We left Puli around 4:30 and started the two hour drive back.  The sun set quickly and the air grew colder as we climbed higher.  We stopped at a local B&B just before Ching Jing to see if they had any rooms and were invited in for a cup of  tea to warm up.  I am still utterly beguiled by the hospitality of the Taiwanese.  It is seldom indeed to travel through a country and constantly receive warm wishes and kind invitations from strangers.  The B&B was beautiful but we opted to move on as the bed was really small.  John’s legs would have hung over by about a foot and a half!  We felt sad that we weren’t staying, but our kind hosts sent us on our way with smiles and reassurances that we would find the perfect place to rest for the night.

It was after six pm by the time we arrived in Ching Jing again.  We systematically stopped at each B&B on the way and would have gladly stayed at any of them, despite the exorbitant cost of rooms.  Unfortunately, during the day, the entire area had been flooded with tourists from all over Taiwan.  Most places had no vacancy and we were getting a little concerned again that we might not find a decent place to spend the night.

Chun Jing Hillview Villa.  An incredible view with luxurious accomodations.  Sorry guys.  I can’t claim credit for these photos.  They’re from the Chun Jing Villa website.  Phone 049-2802058

Despite the lateness of the hour, we decided to stop at the extravagant looking Chun Jing Hillview Villa, just to price the rooms for our next visit.  Upon seeing the opulent facilities, I was ready to lay down our money right then and there.  I really wanted to stay here.  The idea of soaking in a hot spring bath was practically making me salivate, but John wanted to return to the place we had stayed at the night before.  Unfortunately, when we returned to our happy little B&B, they were full up.

So, I got my wish.  I decided to treat John to the lavish settings and gave up my Chinese New Year red envelope money from work to pay for the night.  We went back to Chun Jing Hillview Villas and asked to see their rooms.  They were happy to see us and offered us a discount but we still paid a small fortune to stay there.  I considered it money well spent as it’s the first hot bath I’ve been able to indulge in over the last year.

The rooms were huge with a four poster canopied bed, sitting room and indoor or outdoor jacuzzi bath.  We opted for the opulent garden rooftop deluxe with the outdoor jacuzzi for two.  We immediately unloaded and ran a nice hot bath.  John ran to the local 7-11 and picked up some Heinekens and we sat in our hot tub that night looking out over the mountains and watching the locals light firecrackers before our very eyes.  It was gorgeous!

Our beautiful little jacuzzi overlooked some pretty amazing moutain scenery.

Unfortunately, our mood was ruined by the rather large and boisterous Taiwanese family next door who all came out to gawk at us in the hot tub.  The music and karaoke started right after we went to bed around midnight.  A few hours later, we finally had to call the front desk to complain about the noise.  We were surprised when no one answered.  John ended up going next foor and asking them to turn off the karoake machine and they obliged, but the screaming and singing continued until well past three am.  We barely got any sleep.  Plus, for a luxury resort, it felt like we were sleeping on a slab of concrete.  We didn’t feel that it was worth what we paid but if prices are more reasonable throughout the rest of the year, we might consider returning if they upgrade the beds!  It was most uncomfortable and we were both pretty cranky when we woke up the next morning.  However, we were on our way to Toroko Gorge and as I mentioned before, mountain air has a way of reviving even the dullest spirit.

I woke up early on the morning of the 18th to this incredible view.  We slept amongst the clouds and I am completely and utterly charmed by the simplicity and absolute breathtaking scenery of undulating mountain peaks on all sides.  Our B&B is the cutest little B&B in the area with the most gracious hosts.  They loaded us full of good food and plied us with literature and information on the area.  I highly recommend staying here.  We will most certainly return.

Norse Forest Homestay   Phone # 049 2980 0431 

We got another early start on the day at 9am.  I could barely face the thought of getting back on the bike after yesterday’s adventures but the fantastic mountain scenery and fresh mountain air soon woke me up.  We were treated to terraced orchards of rose apple, snow pear, cherry and plum trees.  Pink blossoming cherry tree orchards and white plum trees dot the ethereal green and blue landscape.   It looks like a picture from a book. 

We drove for twenty minutes down through mountains and stopped for awhile to gawk at all the tourists at  Ching Jing Farm, which is the main tourist attraction in the area.  Apparently, being able to walk on the grass amongst the sheep and cattle grazing on the mountain side is a real novelty for the Taiwanese.  We couldn’t understand the attraction, especially when sharing it with hundreds of others doing the same thing.  The crowds of people kind of spoiled the scenery a bit and we admired from afar but decided not to stop.  That’s the beauty of traveling by bike.  Throughout the entire trip we were able to pull over, take a break and snap some pictures pretty much anywhere we pleased.  We knew there would be plenty of these opportunities down the road. 

7-11 breakfast on the go.  We ate in the parking lot and marveled at all the idiots trying to drive the wrong way in the parking lot and then we hopped back on the bike with our sights set on Sun Moon Lake.

We just had to stop and sample some of the locally grown fruit.  John bought me a snow pear for a late evening snack.  It was as good as it looked.  We chatted with the local vendors for awhile.  They were astounded by John’s great height and wanted to know what he ate.  John constantly draws stares and comments no matter where we are.  Most people think his great height is quite charming and often want to have their picture taken with him.  I constantly watch people sneak up behind him when he’s not looking to measure themselves against him.  He’s 6’9.

Our ride down out of the mountains to Puli was terrific and our energy bounced back as the sun warmed our backs.  We passed mountain reservoirs and lakes and found hidden temples everywhere.  Puli is dead in the center of Taiwan.  It’s a gorgeous little city just north of Sun Moon Lake.  I would have liked more time to explore the area better.  Puli is famous for its air and water quality.  I particularly loved looking at all the terraced rice paddies, orchards and flower gardens.  We’ve both decided that we are going to come back here at a later date to explore a bit more.