I feel like I’ve been on my way home all week. Â Oh, wait, I have been. Â Stuck in Memphis due to the big Midwest/East Coast storm. Â Took a little over 5000 photos in Taiwan, and since my external hard drive died somewhere along the way, they’ve ended up filling my laptop. Â Which is now running only slightly faster than I can walk.
And I miss my bike.
That I’ve been utterly unable to stick to my plan to post daily about Taiwan isn’t just a testament to my ever present ability to overestimate myself, but also to the incredible amount of things we were able to see and do in Taiwan. I’m now in an LAX hotel (this would be hotel #14 in 15 days for me, I believe) and just beginning to sort out a plan for relaying what turned out to be one of the most incredible trips I’ve ever undertaken. From cycling through the natural beauty of Taroko Gorge to seeing the human faces behind the cycling industry, Taiwan blew right past my expectations. Stick around, if you’re interested in hearing more about it.
(click to enlarge photo)
I’m going to try to share all of my GPS tracks while I’m here, with basic descriptions. Then, as time permits, I’ll head back and expand the descriptions for each, with the idea that they may be useful to someone travelling here in the future.
Today was our first ride: a very easy, flat, but beautiful loop along the Guanshan Round-the-Town Bike Path, then tick-tacking through the rice fields as a shortcut to our accomodations at the Papago Resort Hotel. As a result of an unplanned trip into the water yesterday, I did this ride without a camera, so this short tourism video will have to suffice to give you an idea of the scenery. It’s not long enough to be a destination in and of itself for a touring cyclist, but it’s absolutely worth a stopover or diversion.
It’s already Friday here. Â Let’s start with Melody of a Fallen Tree, by Windsor for the Derby:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Jr0Yrox-M[/youtube]
And Lily Allen’s The Fear (Really. Â No apologies):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wGMlSuX_c&ob=av2e[/youtube]
And a bit of a mashup:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLrmYcHHSWs[/youtube]
Words are too much effort at the moment, so I went for a walk.
Today involved the first leg of my ~8,000 mile trip from home in DC to Taipei, Taiwan for the 2010 Taiwan Cycling Festival. What is that, exactly? Err, I’ll find out the details when I get there. Â Taiwan is trying to promote itself as a cycling destination, and is hoping to use this event to showcase what it’s got. And, courtesy of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, I’ll be giving you my take on the reality of that effort. I’ve been lucky enough to get around a bit, so I’m hoping that my well-considered take – which will be posted here over the next couple of weeks – will be useful to those thinking of trying Taiwan for a cycling trip.
That trip, however, comes with a pretty steep initial cost for Americans. Nevermind the actual ticket cost, I’m talking about the 14 hour trip from LAX (can’t be much shorter from SEA or other northern US departure points) to Taipei (TPE). At 6’1″, and recalling my 14 hour LAX-SYD flight last year, I’m dreading it already. I did a 16 hour flight from Newark to Hong Kong some years back, and it was miserable. That said, Hong Kong turned out to be one of the most amazing places I’ve seen on this planet, and was absolutely worth those 16 hours. So while the price can be steep, it’s quite possibly worth it. We’ll see.
Because I had zero interest in tying on the five hour flight from DC to LA into the LAX-TPE flight on the same day (for 19 straight hours of fun!), I decided to skip out to LA a day ahead of time. My favorite local airport, National, doesn’t do much in the way of direct flights to LAX, so I had to head out to the airport I often mock – Dulles (IAD). Â It turns out that I might have to ease back a bit on knocking it. Â In fact, it came off as a perfectly nice airport – one that might even eventually live up to the promise of its Saarinen-designed ticketing terminal.
First off, the moon buggies are mostly gone. In its place is a much improved security hall and rail transport to the terminals. And much to my pleasant surprise, Vino Volo, previously accessible only on int’l flights, now has a (much bigger) location at Terminal B. Like ATL’s One Flew South, it’s a great wine bar with good food. Much better than the usual regret-inducing airport fare.
The departure from my airport of choice also involved a departure from my airline of choice (Delta).  This flight was on American, and since (in yet another departure from the norm) I’m actually checking a bag this trip (hard to pack clothing, cycling shoes/pedals, and a helmet in carry-on, it turns out), I experienced the joy of getting nickled ($25 for checked bag) and dimed ($39 for an aisle seat up front).  (Too many parentheticals?)  I don’t so much mind the total cost as the pettiness of dinging me for what I’ve come to expect as basics.  We’ll just avoid the matter of food entirely.  Personal thanks, though, to the flight attendant who took mercy on me and doubled my vodka tonic.
So I’m at the LAX Hilton now. Â Did you know you can snag pretty much any of the standard airport hotels (Marriott, Hilton, Crowne Plaza) for ~$65/night on Priceline? Â I used to mock a friend mercilessly for using them (and I still mostly avoid them), but that’s a regular and reliable halving of the price anywhere else. Â I’m trying to sort out a few more last minute things before I head off to uncertain connectivity, and then get a good night’s sleep ahead of what I’m sure will be something less than that.
But I’m really really looking forward to actually being in Taiwan.
Heard a similar story on the radio this weekend, and found it such a lightbulb moment that I thought it was worth passing along:
If you travel a fair bit, as I do, you’ve noticed at almost every airport that there’s an “ad hoc” (i.e., computer-to-computer rather than computer-to-WiFi) option called “Free Public WiFi.” It seems to be everywhere. I’ve never connected to it, because I know enough not to connect to an ad hoc offering, but I was always amazed at the fact that I see it in pretty much every airport I’ve been to. I had wondered if it was a honeypot scam for a while, but I couldn’t believe that scammers would be able to set up such honeypots in so many airports worldwide and no one would catch them and take it down. So how could there be such “Free Public WiFi” (which obviously was not what it claimed to be) in so many places?
The answer? Well, it’s all Microsoft’s fault.
Read on for the details.
As I mentioned, I’m heading off on a rather unplanned trip to Taiwan next week, to check it out as a cycling destination. I suppose the unplanned modifier is really unnecessary in my case – the only trip I’ve *really* planned for in the past few years was to hike Machu Picchu, and that was so derailed by the birth of my nephew that we ended up in Prague, instead (did I just blame a small child for my poor judgement? Yes. Yes I did. It’s not like he can argue with me.). In any event, I’ve done what I do for any trip – I bought another Lonely Planet guide, and have started surfing the web. Â I feel like I’m coming up a little short.
On one hand, the web’s already been good to me – Taiwan resident Michael Turton (who found me, out of the blue) has quite graciously helped me assess my itinerary, and the author of Taiwan in Cycles has solicited his readers to make sure I “get to see what [I] really should be seeing.”
On the other, well, that language barrier is significant. Â There’s a *ton* of Taiwan cycling info out there – and it’s all in Mandarin. Â Believe me, I’m doing my best to get the basics down before I arrive. Â But I couldn’t possibly gather up enough in time to sort out a trip with it.
There are some decent English-language resources – like the Tourism Bureau’s “Let’s Go Cycling in Taiwan” site. Â It describes cyclo-tourism routes (with Google maps – a serious plus), gives contact information for local resources, and appears to hit the high points. Â But I don’t see the sort of individual feedback that I think really adds value. Â For the folks looking for racing in Taiwan, Craig Johns’ Taiwan Racing seems to be the place to go.
There are plenty of English-language blogs to mine for info.  Swanky Frankie’s journey (complete with daily music tracks!), the Hungry Cyclist’s search for the perfect meal, and sites with a wider focus that briefly turn to Taiwan (yet produce useful stuff like telling you about “Ni you pijiu ma? You pronounce it: ni yo pee jyo ma? It means ‘do you sell beer?’.”).
But with all that, I’ve yet to discover a good site centralizing the basics – where, how, and how much. Â Which is fine enough for me – things are tastier when I have to work for them, instead of picking them off a platter. Â Can’t say that I’d turn down an assist, though.
Then again, sometimes you don’t need words at all.  Check out Ewa Kamila‘s video of her solo tour across Taiwan (including the brief unpleasantry  at 1:30):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l0q8EdjLk8[/youtube]
I don’t like checking luggage. Â At all. Â And I don’t see why 90% of the people that do it, do it. Â No need to check a thing, with a bit of planning, willingness to absorb astronomical hotel laundry charges (or – my usual choice – do your own damn laundry), and purchase of quality clothes in the the first place. Â As my kitchen-sink packing friends can attest, I’m quite proud of multiple-continent-multiple-week trips accomplished with a laptop backpack and a medium duffel. Â So, all that out of the way, these guys are nuts:
In what is potentially the most minimal “technomadic” experiment ever, Rolf Potts (author of one of my favorite travel/lifestyle books Vagabonding) has set out on 6-week, 12-country, round-the-world trip without a single piece of luggage.
That’s a bit of a promotional gimmick, but this guy appears to be serious:
How to take as much as you like in your hand luggage from Matador Network
He’s also a great illustration of the tragedy of the commons – his carry-on antics squeeze out  folks who would just like to put their bags in the overhead.  On the other hand, if you’re flying Ryan Air, you’re just asking for this kind of company.
~
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much you pack, but what you pack:
The Immigration Officer swiped my passport, glanced at his computer screen and almost immediately stamped me back into the country. But just before I started to walk away he asked, “So you went to Afghanistan and Pakistan. How was it?†The only reply that I could muster up was a quiet, “Very interesting.â€
He then called the next person in line and I turned away, relieved beyond belief at how well that had gone. Of course, that relief lasted a mere six seconds, right until the moment when a Customs Officer approached and asked me to step over to one of the inspection tables.
The following hour and a half of my life is a period of time that I will never forget and truthfully, never really want to endure ever again.
It’s a funny read. Â If you’re into black humor.
~
Speaking of jokes, everyone hates the TSA. Â Everyone.
~
A long long time ago, I used to be a WorldMate user on my Palm Treo. Â At some point I decided it wasn’t worth upgrading, and stopped using it. Â I just gave it another look, in Android version, and wow. Â Good stuff. Â Recommended.
So it turns out that I’m going to Taiwan next week, courtesy of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB). Â I’ll be checking out the cycling along the east coast of Taiwan (primarily in Taitung and Hualien) and in Taipei. Â The agenda is packed, but I hope to push out regular updates while I’m there, and then produce some more thoughtful pieces after I return. Â Free time will be at a premium, but if you’ve been (or are thinking about going) and have any suggestions for must-sees in the areas I’ll be in, please let me know. Â One universal response I’ve already gotten is Taroko Gorge, which I’m pleased to say I’ll be visiting.
I’m particularly excited to be coming at this trip from a cycling-specific perspective. Â While my personal travel has come to more frequently involve cycling (riding the Koppenberg in Belgium, mountain biking in Australia, or hitting the road in Nova Scotia), I’ve never made an overseas trip for the primary purpose of riding. Â It’s something that I’ve been thinking about (one day, to the Giro!), so I’m really quite excited to be doing this, and hope that – afterwards – I can help others figure out what’s involved in doing this themselves.
As you might already know, I quite enjoy writing about travel and all of its bits and pieces.  From the need to move, the means of getting there, and the destinations themselves.  Sometimes you can do it with just a photo.  Other times, many words are required.  And then there’s always music.  If I do this right, I’m sure Taiwan will give me all three.
Finally, I want to note that this only happening because of Richard Masoner, who was kind enough to connect me with the folks at the TTB.  He will be hosting much of the content that results from this trip at Cyclelicio.us.  If you’re into cycling, you’re already reading Cyclelicio.us.  And if you’re not, give it a try.  My larger travel pieces will be here (along with everything else . . . eventually), but the cycling-related stuff will show up at Cyclelicio.us first.  I’ll soon be posting more about the trip itself, but I thought this would be a good way to kick things off.
Photo by Alex Lin.
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