Over the Hills to Hualien

January 11, 2020

Thanks to the village’s crowing roosters, honking geese and chorusing birds, we were awake, up and riding by 8am this morning.

As expected, we had a hill climb to leave the quiet valley where the village was nestled. From there it was mostly an easy roll down to the river, then a few kms ride along the coast into the city of Hualien. The only slightly disconcerting part of the ride were a few tunnels. They were narrower than the ones we rode through yesterday, but nevertheless we felt safe enough.

On arriving at the city beach, we met a former Londoner, Nick, who now lives and works in Hualien. We had a long talk to him, then we did a 20 km circuit around and through the city. There’s an excellent bikeway which follows the harbour. It always led to a brewery which slowed us down for about 30 minutes.

We’ve now settled into the Motel TuBao not far from the railway station.

After a rest and a clean up, we cycled over to the massive Night Market. It was the best we’ve seen so far in Taiwan.