Taitung: Day 5

I'm writing this sitting in a bright, cool, rather Western style cafe in Taitung called Dante Coffee Shop. I came here for dinner last night as it was near my hotel and still open at the rather late hour in which I found myself looking for food. The motto on their sign says "Coffee Life Always Bright" and the young staff are very friendly and eager to see if they can get things right in English. It is cute and I love it here and will probably come here for the waffle brunch before I head off tomorrow.

Riding the Hello Kitty train!

I arrived in Taitung yesterday afternoon, on the delightful Hello Kitty train. The train left Taipei at 1pm, and wanting to make damn sure I didn't miss it, I left my hotel at 11am. The train station is only one metro stop from the metro near where I was staying, so my suitcase and I walked to Ximen and figured out where the elevator was (much to my hip's relief) and caught the metro to Taipei Main Station.

When I got up to the entrance to the train station, there were people everywhere! It was hot as sin and there was some kind of Muslim (I'm guessing) cultural or religious celebration going on. I don't know why, exactly, it was happening at the train station, but there were cheerful people picnicking and shopping and dressed in their finest across nearly every inch of the station. Which made wheeling a big suitcase around extra challenging, but I managed not to run over anyone.

Pauline Hanson's worst nightmare?

My first mission was to find the train platform. This proved pretty easy and I had a good chat with the woman inspecting tickets at the platform gate. Since I was ridiculously early, I figured I'd better go get myself some lunch. For whatever reason I decided not to get a luggage locker, so me and my ridiculous suitcase went back up through the crowd in search of a place we could sit down to eat. I ended up at a restaurant on the upper level, where I was overcome with heat exhaustion and ended up ordering a rather expensive meal that I couldn't finish. It wasn't a great start. I don't know why they'd seemingly turned the A/C off when there was so many people in the station?!

After lunch I decided to make my way back to the platform. I was still a good 30 minutes early, but, it was cooler down there and I had a book to keep me entertained. Despite me like quadruple checking that I was in the right place, I got increasingly anxious as 1pm approached. But, sure enough, I was in the right place and at 1pm the Taroko Express, in all it's kawaii glory, pulled up! I got on and found my seat, which, happily, was a window seat. There would have been ample leg room, but, I had to put my suitcase in front of me so I was a bit squished in.

Mountains and coast line

And then we were off! The train itself was decorated with Hello Kitty pictures inside and out. As we pulled out of the station people on the platform were taking pictures and videos. As we crossed the countryside people in the various towns and villages would wave, and pull out their smartphones to document our passage. The trip itself was pretty uneventful. It ended up taking about 4 hours to get to Taitung. I spent that time taking in the spectacular scenery. It wasn't all mountains and coastlines... there were rice paddies and industrial towns too. But it was a great way to get to see more of the country and I'm really glad I did it! I'll be taking the train back on the 14th - a normal train, not the Hello Kitty train. Hopefully it'll be as comfortable to journey! I think I'm on a slower moving train than the one I came here on.

When I got to Taitung I caught a taxi to my hotel. Having the address written in Mandarin on the hotel reservation was handy! There's very little English spoken here and I'm not sure how I would have managed otherwise. The now downgraded super typhoon Nepartak had hit here on Friday and the evidence is all around. Debris from trees and buildings has been neatly piled up along the sides of the roads and is gradually being collected. My hotel is without hot water as the pipe broke (it's ridiculously hot here so the water isn't exactly cold anyways).

Damage from the typhoon

On Sundays there is meant to be a massive, lively street market and I was excited to check it out. After getting settled into my hotel (where I have the same room number as at the previous one...odd) I asked the front desk if the market would still be on. They weren't sure, but gave me directions on how to get there. I set off as the sun sunk, hoping for the best.

Now, the thing is, everyone in Taitung gets around on scooters so there isn't much in the way of infrastructure for pedestrians. This coupled with the piles of debris from the typhoon along the side of the streets makes walking around something of a challenge. Then add in the redirected traffic as construction crews dismantle dangerous hanging metal signs and the general confusion and rubbernecking... I think I got close to the street where the market would be, but I gave up and opted to come back to my hotel instead.

So many options!

This morning, after having a good sleep in, I headed out in search of breakfast. I seem to be staying on the street with all the coffee places, which is great! I went into a small, much less Western cafe and managed to order a breakfast of a ham croissant and coffee. It was completely delicious! I sat at my little table and finished reading an article I'd been working my way through over various cups of coffee. Then, armed with a sense of adventure, I set out to wander around the city.

Taitung is known for its vast array of fruit, and I have partaken in many a fruit drink in the short time I've been here! Lychee, grapefruit, honey peach, pineapple and dragon fruit... Finding new flavours to try out is a real joy. I've also got some sort of apple waiting for me back at my hotel, along with an array of yummy biscuits.

Taitung is a small city, so there's not as much space to get lost in. But, there's a lot less English, and the road signs are not as clear. So I've still managed to get lost. I've mostly found my hotel through being lost, though I do have a vague sense of where it is in relation to the shops I repeatedly walked passed in confusion.

Debris closer to the coast

After my morning stroll, which I forgot to mention also involved me wandering into some sort of cat store where I made cat friends and picked up a little present for my fur babies who are no doubt missing me terribly, I headed back to my hotel for a brief rest and then decided to attempt a stroll through Seaside Park.

It wasn't a long walk to the coastal park, but it was clear this area was hit hardest by the typhoon. Lots of people were out clearing up the debris piled on the roadside. And by lots of people I mean the military along with the locals. People seemed to be in good spirits though. I think the area gets hit with typhoons and tropical storms a few times a year, so this isn't out of the ordinary though the extent of damage is larger than normal. The damage is pretty extensive. I keep noticing more of it whenever I go out.

Watching the waves crash

Seaside Park is meant to have like a 20km cycle path and aboriginal sculptors and woodcarvings, so I was hoping to get in a good walk along the coastline. The path wasn't completely inaccessible, but, navigating around the debris would have been quite difficult to do on bike or scooter, let alone foot. I walked along the bit that I could and enjoyed the cool sea breeze and crashing of the waves. This is definitely not a swimming beach; the waves were quite big and the coastline much rockier than this picture shows. Looking at the beach and the sea I felt like deciding not to attempt a trip out to Green Island for some snorkeling was the right choice. Perhaps another time.

After my wander I realised I was quite hungry. Like, in that "OMG I'm not going to make it" kind of way. This was also probably because by this stage it was incredibly hot and my sun safety skills are incredibly lacking. I didn't realise how sun burnt I got today until tonight, but, my arms are very red and I'm regretting not packing anything for the burn! It took me awhile to find a place to eat too. I ended up wandering all over the city again, getting quite lost and feeling progressively sicker. I kept thinking I'd found a food place only to find that it was actually a juice/tea place (or, let's be honest, was too Western, or too Chinese for me to manage).

The most amazing tofu

Upon reaching the point of desperation I stumbled down a street and into a little restaurant that had quite a few people around it. I'd wandered in trying to get away from a horrible smell on the street, only to realise I'd found the source of the smell. But, from my guidebook I also knew that I'd accidentally stumbled into one of their recommended eateries: Lin Chou Doufu. This place is known for its stinky tofu. I'm so glad I found it!

The staff were very friendly and welcoming. They had some English signs but nobody seemed to speak English. It didn't really matter though because they only serve the one dish anyways. I sat down, got myself a drink, and was brought out a plate of delicious tofu. I was so hungry I ate it quickly and asked for another plate, which pleased the owner greatly. I felt much better after having my fill and getting out of the sun for a bit. I thanked the staff and said goodbye and headed back out into the sweltering heat of the afternoon to go back to my hotel.

Tomorrow I head off to the hot springs, which I'm pretty excited about! My plan is to take a bus from here to there. The bus station is meant to be about a block from my hotel so this should be easy. I'll have to get an earlier start tomorrow as check out here is at 11am and I want to sort out my bus tickets before hand so I'm not dragging my suitcase around unnecessarily. I also want to load up on snack foods as things will be more expensive at the hot springs (though breakfast and dinner should be included with my hotel). Maybe when I get back into town before I catch the train I'll have a chance to get some more of that tofu!