6:00 AM. No rain. Lots of roosters (or other animals with loud noises). OK sleep. Spent the night being paranoid about sounds and a truck that parked near my scooter. Not sure what to do today after I return from Wai'ao. Maybe head straight for Taroko.
Way back in June, I was still writing about my Ultimate Scooter Adventure (click if you missed Day 1-3). Then I got sidetracked by some important things, like going home for a month, starting a new job, etc. The Adventure actually lasted 10 days, and I've only written about 3 of them. You wouldn't believe how many requests I've gotten to finish the story. So, here we are, a 9 month cliff hanger continues...
A keen memory will tell you that on Day 3 I ran into some misfortune regarding some personal belongings of mine. After getting a huge chunk of travelling out of the way (and risking life and limb in the process) I found that I left my phone charger, camera charger, and flashlight in the Inn where I had spent the previous night. 117 (188 km) miles away.I huddled under the light in the bathroom at the campsite with my map of Taiwan and planned out my rescue mission. There was no way I could continue on without my personal effects.
Day 4:
In the morning I took my scooter to the nearest train station, and abandoned the trusty bike for about 4 and a half hours. The closest train station to my bag of goodies turned out to be one of those really small, un-manned stations that a local train stops at maybe only 5 times every day. Luck was on side, and I waited, rather patiently, for only 30 minutes to catch a train back to my scooter in Nan'ao.
That took half the day, and the next half was on my scooter travelling down Highway 9, which was not even close to as scary as the previous day (probably because it looked more like a road and less like a river). The weather was favorable and there were a lot of good spots to snap photos of the vast Pacific. It wasn't before long that I reached my next stopping point on my itinerary: Taroko Gorge.
Ideally, I wouldn't have wasted almost 5 hours travelling north, and I would have spent all of Day 4 exploring Taroko, but we play the cards we are dealt. I considered myself lucky to have made it to Taroko, so I was content with finding and setting up camp.
Heliou Campsite is about 10 miles (17 km) into the Gorge. As finding it was my main priority, I drove through (and past) just about all the major hiking trails and scenic spots. It was a warm Friday night in the end of May, and despite Lonely Planet's advisory to arrive early to claim a spot, I could choose any of the 20 or so tent platforms. The campsite was awesome, by the way. There were showers, fire pits, and you really can't beat sleeping at the bottom of a canyon with the sound of rushing water lulling you to sleep.
I spent the rest of Day 4 in the tent finding food, reading, and planning out my hikes for the next day. So more on Taroko in the next episode.
New Ultimate Scooter Adventure Map!!!!!
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