Scooters and Parks

Taiwan is a country full of scooters.  Most are petrol, however electric scooters are becoming more popular.  Taipei is almost choked with scooters.  I assume this because of  traffic congestion and price.  It's quicker and easier to move around Taipei by scooter compared to car.  Moreover many of the roads are designed to ease scooter (and bicycle) movement.

Car parking is a problem.  There is a serious shortage of spaces and cars circle like predatory sharks looking for a vacant spot.  As one car leaves another promptly snatches the space. 

Running beside most roads is a marked one metre wide strip reserved for scooters and bikes.   At traffic lights there will be a marked stop line for vehicles.  In front of this line will be a painted rectangle for scooters and bikes.  This enables scooters and bikes to ride passed stopped vehicles and then queue at the lights in front.  In front of the scooter rectangle will be the pedestrian crossing.  Finally, there will be a further marked rectangle beyond the crossing reserved for scooters and bikes who have arrived from the left.

In the above photo you can see to the far left the scooters at the traffic lights in front of the vehicles.  Next the pedestrian crossing and then the scooters who had approached the intersection from the left (in this photo) and want to turn left.

The scooters in this front box actually came from the direction of the left arrow.  Rather than turn left across all the moving vehicles they pull to the right into this box and wait for the lights to change.  It's a much safer operation for the scooter and bike riders.

Scooters get squeezed into every available space.  In Taipei scooter parking costs TWD$20 per day.

Even the police ride scooters!

You don't see many police patrols in West Australia.  In Taiwan there are both police stations and patrolling police everywhere.

Taipei has some lovely parks

I didn't initially realise it but this large park had a large underground car park beneath it

This little fellow was so friendly he was at my feet.

Obviously a group of keen photographers with some seriously looking expensive gear.

Not sure what they were photographing?

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Lost at Longshan Temple

In a country full of temples Longshan Temple is one of the oldest and most unique.  Built in 1738 by settlers from mainland China, it is located in the oldest part of Taipei.  Whilst the majority of Taipei looks distinctly modern, Longshan Temple is located in the old quarter of Wanhua.

Taiwan is subject to frequent earthquakes and many of these have damaged the temple.  Each time the local residents rebuild.  It was also damaged during a WW2 bombing raid by America.  At the time Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese.

I found it interesting that the temple serves three different faiths, Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian.

Main entrance

Inner courtyard and temple area

The temple is located on flat land which makes the waterfall on the eastern boundary wall totally artificial. 

On the opposite side of the temple were fountains and fish.

Directly opposite the main entrance to the temple is a small park.

This young lady was wandering around the park approaching men.  I think she might have been lost and seeking directions?  None of the men she approached appeared to be willing to help and as I don't speak Chinese I decided I wouldn't have been of much assistance.

Taipei Gatehouses

Whilst walking around central Taipei I noticed a number of old gatehouses.  Apparently there are five and I believe I've now identified four of them.

The North Gatehouse is the most original and was built in 1884 during the Qing Dynasty.  It is located near the main railway station.

The others are within a kilometre

Apart from the gatehouses, all signs of the original city walls have disappeared.  Construction on the walls started in 1882 and they were completed two years later.  The walls ran for 5.32km and consisted of a sandstone brick exterior with rammed earth interior.  The stone was quarried locally and bought to the location by barge using the moat for the final part of the journey.

The Japanese demolished the walls and all but the northern gatehouse in the early 20th Century.  The other gatehouses were rebuilt in the 1960's.

Presidential Office and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

An interesting walk around central Taipei.  The first building I came upon turned out to be the Offices of the President.  Whilst walking there I came upon the street scene in the photo below.  What particularly caught my eye was the ladies shoe above the linear clock.  Is this a street that is full of shops selling ladies shoes?

I actually arrived at the rear of the Office of the President and needed to walk around it to view the frontage.

If you know something of the history of Taiwan you will recall at various times it has been colonised by the Portuguese and Japanese.   The Portuguese also had Macau on the Chinese mainland.  Many older Taiwanese have good memories of the Japanese as they undertook numerous infrastructure projects.

The last to arrive were the supporter of Chiang Kai-shek who fled the Chinese mainland after losing the civil war against the communists of Mao post WW2. Many of the ethnic Taiwanese weren't very pleased with the arrival of Chiang and his followers.  However they were battle hardened troops and ruthlessly crushed any opposition.  Chiang didn't just leave China with his followers.  He also took much of the wealth of China and he used some of that on infrastructure in Taiwan.  Interestingly, Chiang's objective was to recapture the mainland and claimed the mainland was part of the Republic of China (ie, Taiwan).  Of course the Chinese Communist Party claims the reverse.   Modern Taiwanese no longer believe China is part of Taiwan.  They want their democratic independence.

Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975 and the government decided to build a memorial in his memory.  Work start on the project a year after his death.  The memorial consists of a large open square with a white multi archway at one end and a domed four sided hall at the other.  On the other two sides are two large buildings. One is the National Concert Hall and the other the National Theatre. 

The square was renamed Liberty Square in 2007 and the inscription was also added to the main gateway 

Main Gateway

Concert Hall

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

After walking up the steps you enter the hall where there is a large statue of Chiang seated.

Two guards are present

The hall was full of visiting school children who were either busy taking or attempting to listen to their guide.  I think I was the only person to look up,

The National Theatre

It wasn't until I walked around the exterior of the building and down another set of stairs that I realised the entire underneath of the hall is a museum and exhibition centre.

An interesting find

Failure and a Success

After completing the cycling trip around Taiwan I've decided to return home earlier than planned.  My airline ticket allows me to do that at no extra cost.  I had read online before leaving Perth that it was very hard to contact Cathay Pacific by phone.  People were writing they had been on hold for ages and then the phone would never be picked up.  Cathay Pacific had been hit particularly hard by COVID and it didn't surprise me that they may have significantly reduced staff numbers.  I decided to walk to their offices in Taipei and communicate in person.  Kiri then very kindly offered to take me in her car.  She has been extremely helpful and I am very grateful.

When we reached the Cathay Pacific offices there was no one in the foyer.  No reception desk either.  Kiri corralled a staff member who had exited one of the office doors and she pointed to the phone on the wall.  Their capability to do reservations at the office had been removed.  I was back to waiting on hold being told my call was important to them.  Obviously not important enough to answer my call,  Kiri then corralled a second person who showed us how to change the booking online using Kiri's phone.  I couldn't read the Chinese characters.

The earliest available seat from Taipei to Perth via Hong Kong was Christmas Day.  I attempted to alter my departure date and then their website locked up when trying to accept the change. 

Kiri then corralled a third member of staff who took a copy of my original paper reservation along with my email address and amended departure date telling me she would arrange to have the reservation changed and email confirmation to me.  As of now I haven't received an email.

On a more positive note I went to the camera repair shop I had identified online prior to leaving Perth,  The shop is tiny.  It's probably the width of a corridor.

Camera Repair - 60 BoAi Road

A photo of the English text on the sign to the right of the door

  

The shop is so small only one customer can fit inside.  I found myself in a queue.  Moreover the staff appear to attempt to complete repairs whilst the customer waits. 

Eventually it was my turn.  Using Google Translate I attempted to explain I wanted the camera body cleaned and the lens barrel repaired.  The man didn't understand and went to get a young girl who spoke reasonable English.

With the requirement understood the camera was taken to a wizened old man (he was probably my age!) towards the rear of the shop.  The camera was inspected and cleaned before being returned.  The girl explained the technician had examined the lens and whilst the barrel was slightly worn it wasn't affecting the quality of the image and was unnecessary to replace at this time.  I should wait until it gets worse.

 

Slightly blurred image of the interior shop.  Photo taken through a plastic screen.

When attempting to have the work done in Perth I was quoted $90 to inspect the camera to provide a quote for the repair and the cost would be approximately $400.

The cost in Taipei was TWD$100 or A$5,

If you are in Taipei and have a camera that requires cleaning or repair then I can recommend this shop.

Taipei Main Railway Station is located at the right arrow in the map below.  The tiny camera repair shop is in an area locally known as 'Camera Street'

Camera Repair - 60 BoAi Road

Just as I was finishing this post an email arrived from Cathay Pacific.  My earlier departure on Christmas Day has been confirmed.

Day 15 - The Trip has been Completed!

Last night I wandered through the centre of Fulong township looking for somewhere to eat.  On the edge of town there was a small and empty restaurant with an old lady (yes… she was probably my age) standing at the food area.  She enthusiastically invited me over to look at the array of dishes she had on display. 

I thought "Why not!" and pointed to one of the meat dishes and two vegetable.  To this she added two more side orders, rice and a bowl of vegetable soup.  The meat was chicken and; as usual; came with its bones.

I was unable to eat all the food on the plate.  Using sign language I asked for the bill.   TWD$90.  About A$4.50.  Probably the best value for money meal I've had during the trip.

My homestay room was a disappointment.  It was cold, damp and the room smelt musty.  Fulong is a summer beach and surfing destination.  This is winter, so the "off season".  It suggests they don't get many guests. 

Breakfast was supplied with the room.  When I came down from my room the owner ran off down the street.  Obviously my breakfast was going to be bought.  It consisted of a cold fried egg and a bun.

By 8am I was on the road and pedalling towards Taipei.  Only one 400m steep hill to climb.  I didn't recharge the battery last night.  It was at 72% and I need it to be around 30% charged if is to be accepted for shipping.

The hill seemed to go up forever and then there was a slight levelling.  However the top of the hill hadn't been reached.  Then I noticed what appeared to be a tunnel portal.

It turned out to be one of two very long tunnels through the mountains.  All downhill until the outskirts of Taipei where there was a bike path beside the river.

The elevated Freeway was above the opposite bank.  Eventually the gps navigation app *Google Maps) had me cross to the Freeway side.  Bike are forbidden on the Freeway but that didn't matter as there was a cycle path.

 

I made it to the AirB&B by noon and promptly cleaned the battery in preparation for shipping.  Then I started cleaning and disassembling the bike and trailer.  By then it was 2pm and I hadn't had anything to eat of drink since the egg and bun.  Unpacking my hydration bladder pack I discovered the Latvian chocolate bar given to be by Marias.  That was lunch sorted. 

Kiri arrived and accompanied me to the local post office where she thought I could send the battery.  It had been delivered by Taiwan Post and she thought they would also send it to Australia.  They wouldn't.  In fact we spent an unsuccessful afternoon attempting to find a company that would.  FedEx told me they didn't ship from Taiwan to Australia.  If I correctly labelled the battery as Dangerous Goods and had the required documentation they could ship it to the USA where I would have to find someone to then take delivery and re-ship it to Australia.  Total cost was in excess of A$750.  That's what I paid for the battery!  UPS wouldn't accept it.  It's too small a consignment for any shipping company to be interested.  I'm looking for a local freight forwarder. 

For every problem there is a solution!

The cycling part of the trip is over.  It's gone faster than I had planned.  I conservatively estimated I would cover 30-40km daily and I've actually been doing twice that distance.  There were some long days and two very hard days.  However it's been interesting.

The Taiwanese people I have met have been friendly, hospitable and courteous.  Taiwan is clean and tidy.  I never experience or heard of any crime.  My experience was Taiwan is safe to visit.

I now need to find out if I can change my flight details and return to Perth early.