My Taiwan Adventure

Yes, I DRANK THE WATER!

Of course it came from a machine on top of a mountain at a temple, but I'll still probably get typhoid. Just kidding. Let me preface this post by saying it was a fabulously excellent day in Ershui.

Today's adventure was, I must admit, a little foolhearty on my part. Not in the fact that I decided to climb a mountain, but because I didn't plan it a little better. Oh, initially it all seemed okay. Check out the Lonely Planet book, buy a train ticket and go... the book describes the 3km walk from the train station as an idyllic stroll through the forest where "you half expect to see Winnie the Pooh come strolling down the lane." Apparently the "way is gently sloped until the end where you must climb about 100 stairs."



My first real wild monkey sighting.


Okay, now for the real story. When I started the day I chuckled as a gentleman asked me if I was going mountain climbing. I thought from the look of the hill - that it was a HILL. I was wrong. It is indeed a mountain. You won't find any paths like this one in Lake Louise or Banff. Granted I'm out of shape but this was a steep path. The walk is idyllic yes, and wonderful yes and peaceful yes... all until you discover that the way is NOT gently sloped... Right after you get to the parking lot of the temple area its distinctly NOT a gentle slope. Maybe it's gentle to people who haven't sat behind a desk for, oh lets say, last 10 years. But my legs haven't seen a slope like that... EVER! All I can say is my oh my, the monks must have been determined to have a temple on the crest of the mountain.



And oh, the 100 steps they talk about are some cruel joke.... I hit a place with stairs and thought... "I'll count these just for fun." There were only 49. I thought that the temple was just around the next bend... and it wasn't. 15 minutes later, dripping with sweat and resting because I thought my heart was going to leap out of my ears I saw the base of the REAL staircase. Turns out there were more stairs after that... obsured by the beautiful greenery of the jungle around me. And then after yet another strategically placed resting spot to get your hopes up that the stairs are over - there was the-almost-never-ending-staircase that kept making switchbacks so you couldn't see where it was going. The good news is they were going to the very crest of the hill to the temple.


My reward for making it: stepping into a clearing paved with green marble surrounded by tall leafy trees and flanked on all sides by ornate carvings. Off on the left there was a tree shrouded kitchen, filled with gentle sounds of a meal being prepared. On the right stood a tourist view point. And ahead of me lay more stairs, but ones of the same beautiful green marble that beconned my eyes upwards past the guardian lion statues to the temple. And it was beautiful. Enormous and reaching towards the sky it called to me to go look inside. I climbed the now smooth staircase ever onwards to my goal and stepped forward into a parking lot. Of course there was a parking lot - really did I think the monks would get to live on a mountain top in relative peace in Taiwan?!


Top of the Stairs


Jungle view from Top of the Stairs

Dripping wet, being relatively exhausted and scared because it was halfway through sunset I was concerned about making the trip down with only a sip or two left in my water bottle. Thinking how nice the flashlight I left back in the apartment would be I was relieved to see a bank of payphones. After the long trip, why wouldn't I just take the easy way home or even better find a hotel and stay? A helpful Taiwanese man offered to share his flashlight for the trip back, and after a lot of very wonderful cross-cultural language-barrier confusion I accepted. After using the facilities and filling my water bottle at a machine that said "drinking water" (I hope I don't get typhoid!) we headed back. The trip down was much easier/faster than I anticipated, right after we got off the stairs from the great beyond... everything went well. We walked through the jungle in the dark all the way back to the parking lot. I got to see some rare Taiwanese pheasants? come run across the path one after another in the dark. There was also a squirrel in the tree and of course the monkeys. My new Taiwanese friend (yup, another one) gave me a ride back to the town train station and shared his card with me. For the life of me I'm embarrased but I can't remember how to pronounce his name, much less spell it for the blog. I was just very greatful for the kind assistance.



Rice Paddy in Ershui

If I wrote a movie about my experience in Taiwan it would be this:
Girl gets lost,
girl finds familiar landmark and gets unlost,
girl gets help from Taiwanese person, girl gets more confused than she was when she was lost, girl gets more help from more helpful Taiwanese people,
And Somehow girl gets home by nightfall.

Of course, what I learned today is that in the morning when I pack my knapsack I need to include my flashlight. So, next time when I'm not going to make it home by nightfall, I'll have some good light. Of course, I could have turned back any time, but there was always some encouragement to go forward and I so enjoyed being out of the city. I heard from the various locals (all of whom seemed eager to stop me on the road and chat) that there are 2 English teachers already in Ershui... which is a great deal for such a small town. Parts of me think I would like to live somewhere like Ershui - in the countryside with the jungle so close. Of course there were also viciously barking dogs up and down the lane I walked on. Plus something I think was a puppy mill.


All gripping aside, the walk was BEAUTIFUL. The plant life was stunning and I saw my first monkey! I took the scenic route earlier in the day to a winding road that went into the mountains. Ershui is agricultural country and with the orchards it reminded me of taking the road to Oyama BC except there were many more flowers along the way. I ended my "scenic" wandering about half way up the mountain at a culvert and took this very "flattering" photo:

I'm laughing so hard at not knowing where I am and the simple silliness of taking my own picture!


I'm sure on a clear day the view would be spectacular, as it was I saw some of the valley below and smog.






Family Scooting

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