Last night I left the hotel at 6PM and went looking for something to eat. The first restaurant waved me away with the staff member showing me her arms crossed in front of her body.
I walked around the block.
Where I eventually found an eating area being well patronised by the locals.
Looking at the pictures above the entrance I pointed to what looked like roasted chicken and received three dishes for A$5.10
A bowl of watery soup with green leaves of some time in the bottom. I didn't eat the leaves but the soup was tasty.
The second dish had greens and cabbage with some type of dumpling and a tea boiled egg. The chicken was on a bed of rice.
When I woke this morning the first thing I did was to look out the window and see if I was going to get wet.
The mountain was covered in cloud. However it looked dry!
Breakfast came with the room and started at 7AM. I arrived a 7AM to find two bus loads of mainland Chinese locusts tourists devouring everything in sight. It seems the Chinese eat cold vegetables, tofu and noodles for breakfast. Toast was available. The spreads were some type of lemon paste, peanut butter and sweet strawberry jam. I ate… it's energy!
Only a 35km ride today but I have to go up 2000 metres. I had booked a room in Shepherds B&B 1300 metres below the summit of Wuling Pass.
The first half of the distance wasn't too bad. A relatively gentle incline with the odd downhill sections. I didn't particularly want downhill because that meant I'd have to again go up.
The pass is up there on the skyline.
The day was made interesting by the number of small villages and the scenery.
I'm obviously climbing but haven't yet reached the steep part.
At 11AM I stopped at a FamilyMart (competitor to 7-Eleven) for a drink.
And then visited the toilet to get rid of some excess weight
I hadn't noticed the local males were that short?
Taiwanese love their seafood and even on the side of a mountain you can find seafood restaurants.
Then the road started to get very steep. Switchback after switchback as I steadily gained altitude.
A brief stop for photos at the "Old England Hotel". A strange mixture of Tudor, Gothic and Elizabethan architecture.
The architecture appeared to go crazy with Swiss chalets and Japanese homesteads, to name a few. It's cooler at this altitude and I assume the locals think tourists will be attracted to European scenery.
Pedalling on and up for several more kilometres I reached Qingjing Farm.
This is both a sheep farm and a major tourist attraction. The sheep appear to thrive with the temperate climate and the grass is green and lush. I did laugh to myself when I read for TWD$30 you can purchase a bag of food (grass) to feed the sheep.
Continuing on several more kilometres I reached the upper portion of the farm on one side of the road and the Skywalk on the other.
I think the farm visitors were wandering around looking for sheep.
Whilst I noticed some fat and very healthy looking sheep hiding under some trees on a steep slope.
I didn't pay to go on the Skywalk. There have been plenty of opportunities and locations today for photos. Tomorrow will hopefully be the same.
Eventually I reached my destination for the day, Chingjing
A stop at the 7-Eleven for something to eat. Inside a hot cabinet was this doughnut.
Icing on top and mock cream in the middle.
The clouds were starting to roll down obscuring the peaks as I reached my B&B.
Let's hope tomorrow is clear and dry.
2 comments :
It's always so interesting seeing the sights, who would have imagined an Old English Hotel high up in the mountains. And I must say I'm enjoying sharing your food adventures with you.
Hi Jenny,
Yes the Old England Hotel as a surprise. You're probably enjoying my food experiences because you don't have to eat my selection :-)
Post a Comment