Five hours of cycling today and I travelled 90km. Again, more than I had planned.
I've learned my lesson about cheap accommodation and will endeavour to avoid making the same mistake. It was a broken night sleeping on the boards!
I had to take this amusing photo.
It's been some time since I last saw omni sandals
After leaving the 'homestay' I stopped at the 7/11 in Dawu for breakfast. A four cheese and sausage bun with a banana. The bun is a complete meal containing the carbs in the bun, protein in the sausage and the fat in the cheese topping. I also had another strawberry milk. Jenny I'm drinking the strawberry because I don't like chocolate or coffee. It's hard to tell what the "others" contain.
Looking back at Dawu. I suddenly realised there was a small fishing harbour
Very quickly things started to get difficult. A kilometre out of Dawu Highway 9 was blocked and all traffic was being diverted onto the old mountain road. It's narrow, winding and very steep. The next photo doesn't do the gradient justice.
I huff and puffed my way steadily climbing and endeavouring to keep clear of the numerous trucks and buses that would normally be using Highway 9. During some of the quiet periods, when I had the road to myself, Taiwanese monkeys would scamper across the road in front of me.
Still going up. That's Highway 9 down in the valley.
It would have been a much easier ride down there!
At last I reached the summit which had a lookout
Dammit…. It wasn't the summit. Back onto the bike and more climbing. How much higher? I think I saw a monkey with an oxygen bottle and mask!
I started the day at sea level
The summit at last!
And who was resting there? Marias the Latvian. He had spent the night 30km north of Dawu and caught the morning train avoiding the hills I'd cycled at the end of yesterday. CHEAT! Well to be fair he had already cycled that portion of the road earlier in his holiday.
We continued on together until we reached more hills. I can go faster up the hills (yes I also cheat) and left him behind.
This looked interesting. I think it's the entrance to a mountain resort where there are hot springs.
Up and down more hills
I waited for Marias once I reached the valley floor. You can see him ahead in the next photo.
This is the junction where I needed to make a decision about my destination. It was 1pm and only 5km to my planned accommodation. However it was also early and consequentially I decided to continue south and reach the southern tip of Taiwan.
An hour later I was at the southern end of Taiwan and had paid my T$20 to leave my bike in the carpark. In the end I failed to take a photo. the end of Taiwan looks much like the end of anywhere!
The road on the western side of the island is much wider and busier. I only travelled 12km before finding a 3* hotel with a ground floor room for T$2000 (A$100). Marias will arrive later this evening and share the cost 50/50.
The room comes with breakfast, so that should be interesting.
I explained to the receptionist (who didn't speak English) that I wanted a ground floor room that would hold our bikes. Google Translate was of immeasurable assistance!
Our room was in the adjacent building; bottom left!
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