Day 5 - To ride around Taiwan, route no.1 is the road you ride. There are also branch routes set up which you can go sideways from route No.1. It is fast and well maintained which makes you move fast, but the downside is that you would not have a chance to see in local. Today, we had a slow-paced ride in the morning in which we went around many local spots by leaving from the main road.
Start from Kaohsiung, we took a bike trail in town which we were able to see developed area of the city. New buildings, Metro train system which the railway is covered with turf (beautiful and looks modern). We hit heavy traffic while we rode along highways, then we went to several interesting places - Wanjin Catholic Basilica, famous shaved ice restaurant in Chaozhou, Silin walking trail, and the gas station for a break. And, as usual, the temple (There are urinals located side by side so close - I do not know how to use them by two people - maybe a dad and a kid?).
It is day 5, our crew is getting a little tired and now many people take a nap after lunch. 100km every day is a big deal and there are so many things in every ride. After a slow, sightseeing ride in the morning, we went fast alongside the coast, and we arrived Hengchun around 6pm. Today we met many bike riders who seem to be traveling Taiwan like us. We cheered up together, and I had a chance to make new friends. They are traveling together from Tainan, and on the way to Taitung.
Hengchun sounded familiar to me, but I could not recall why. When I checked the map, there is an icon popped up which gave me a chance to remember. Cape No.7 (海角七號), a Taiwanese movie in 2008 was filmed in this city. There is a shop of the movie and I walked to the shop through an old street in the downtown area. There is an old gate, women dancing in the park, and stores closed or about to close. You'd think this is a local place, but there is Starbucks. I rushed to Starbucks to buy a dark coffee as I have not been able to drink coffee for the last 4 days. Great to recharge with a coffee, and now ready to sleep to be ready for hill climb starting from tomorrow.
