Day 6 - Rest Day

I slept well last night waking at 7:30.  Before describing today's observations and activities I will mention yesterday's route.

Two days ago I departed from Dawu (right arrow) heading south to a planned destination halfway down the east coast.  The was rather hilly but eventually I reached the tip of Taiwan and started back north up the west coast. 

Yesterday I planned to reach Fanglio (left arrow) but as I reached it at midday I carried on eventually reaching Jiuru.

This morning I went for breakfast in the motel at 8:30AM.  On reflection that was probably a mistake.  All the food was laid out on stainless steel trays with no method of keeping it hot.  My selection consisted of the following:

• cold fried egg
• cold chicken pieces (complete with bones)
• cold pumpkin pieces
• half a hard boiled egg still with it's shell
• a banana
• a club sandwich
• cup of iced lemon tea.

Eating that with chopsticks proved to be entertaining! 

I then walked outside to check on the weather.   Sunny and warm!  Going back up the stairs to my room confirmed my legs were very rubbery.  I obviously need this rest day!   I went back to bed  and slept until noon.

The muscles need to be stretched and I went for a local walk in the afternoon.  My mind was already querying why this modern motel was situated in a less than salubrious area.

I hadn't realised it when finishing my ride but this small part of Jiuru is obviously undergoing urban rejuvenation.  The homes around the motel are quite modern.

Then there was one block of land on either side of the road containing a banana plantation.

On the other side of the plantation were older style dwellings.

One of the other similarities with buildings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Peru are the large water tanks on the roof.

In Saudi Arabia and Iran there appeared to be no water supply network.  Water was delivered by tanker and pump to individual roof tanks.  I'm not sure if it is the same here or the tanks are required because the water pressure is very low. 

My walk took me past the Jiuru Municipal Town Centre.  There was a small park here with basketball courts and a very clean public toilet.

No litter and no rubbish bins!

During my days of cycling I have often heard the musical sound made by ice cream vans.   I would have stopped cycling and bought an ice cream but never actually saw the van.  Today I came upon the vehicle making the tune.  It's rubbish trucks  in Taiwan that play the tune

I found a small shop selling fresh fruit and vegetables.  After taking a photo I bought a papaya for dinner.

This part of the town appears to be the night market with numerous eating stalls.  If I get hungry I might return tonight and eat here.

The principle road through most towns is dual carriageway with a scooter bike lane on either side.

I find riding these roads rather boring.  There is starting to be a "sameness" about the scenery and I also have to contend with all the traffic.  Hopefully I can find some more rural roads as I head further inland towards the mountains.