Taiwan - On the Ground

I landed in Taiwan and made my way to find out if I would be allowed in to the country due to my lack of foresight. Turns out that because I am Canadian, I do not need one. Good news. On the way from the plane to customs I stopped at a flu screening desk but was waved right through. I guess I didn't look sick enough. I followed my directions and caught a bus to Main Station in Taipei City. 

I was immediately blown away. Coming from Canada, I think that the construction going on in Korea on a daily basis is pretty nuts. But right after we got on the highway the construction started and didn't stop for the next 40 miles. Turns out that they are constructing a light rail to connect the airport with metro but the scale of it was pretty nutty.

At Main Station it took only a few minutes to find the guys. We had planned to leave on a bike trip when I arrived but the plans had changed after my bout with the sickness. Having vastly improved from the state I had been in, I convinced them that I was good to go so after a quick bite to eat it was off to rent some bikes.  

By the time we got the bikes we had been traveling for a while and waiting for the bikes to get set up and I was starting to feel it again, the fever was back with a vengeance, but I suppress the call to recover by asking myself how often I went on bike trips through Taiwan. Not often enough. We left just as night was falling and what a ride it was. I didn't feel much better but biking was a distraction so I soldiered on, gulping down the water and taking full advantage of the much to infrequent rest stops.

 

A few hours of following the winding roads, climbing their way through the mountains, we found ourselves in the town of Wulai. If I had done any research I would have known that this was a place to put on the old itinerary. It was a beautiful town up in the lush mountains that had natural mountain fed hot springs. Thankfully someone else and done their research.

We found a nice little restaurant that offered a delicious sounding platter of dishes that was enlarged with the bargaining of our Mandrin speaking friend. Needless to say, I did not feel like eating and so I spent the meal with my head in my hands on the table, healing.

After dinner there were a few errands to run but I, not so politely, cut them short by letting the crew know that it was time to find a place to spend the night else I would shutdown on the street. I had had enough, I was finished.

After a bit of a climb up a hill we managed to find a fairly nice room at a place called Spa World (or something like that) with a king sized bed, 3 portable beds that they brought in and an attached steam room. For how I was feeling at the time it was a great deal and breakfast was included. 

Breakfast was not to my liking, but they did have bread which made of my whole breakfast.

What will the day bring? Stay tuned to find out.