Friday December 3, 2010

Taiwan HSR Train 123 Car 4 Seat 3A

8:50 a.m.

The train is scheduled to leave at 8:54, and I’m pretty sure it will leave exactly to the minute. Train trips out of Taipei are so easy for me that they are a real pleasure. Living right above the MRT station and one stop away from the train station has its advantages. Even the platform connection is good. My entrance to the MRT gets me right onto the subway platform so that when I exit the train I am right at the entrance to both the HSR and the regular train. One quick ride on an escalator and I’m right at the entrance. Last time, I was flummoxed by the scanner that they have, but this time I knew that the bizarre black blob on my ticket was not a work of art but some kind of scannable image.

I hemmed and hawed about going on this trip, but the fine weather forecast decided me. I’m going to the southern tip of Taiwan. It is called the Hengchun Peninsula, but most people refer to this area by the most popular local town Kenting. I tried to go by local train, since it is much cheaper, but I couldn’t get a seat. So I have to go by HSR. In real world terms, it isn’t expensive, but it feels expensive to me. I believe the distance is about 400 kilometers and my round-trip ticket cost about $100 Canadian. On top of that, I’ll have to pay for a bus to Kenting and back, three nights in a hotel, and three days of scooter rental. So this weekend will probably cost between two and three hundred dollars. At least for the rest of my life I’ll be able to tell anyone from Taiwan that I meet that yes, I did go to Kenting.

I find the HSR (that’s High Speed Rail) is a good symbol of the modern world. It is faster, more modern, and considered better than regular trains. However, the overall experience and comfort level is not nearly as good as riding on a regular train. I’m thinking in particular of the seats and legroom. Old trains have big comfortable seats and lots of legroom. The HSR trains have airline-style seating – cramped and uncomfortable. We get speed but sacrifice comfort. It didn’t have to be that way, but they needed to cram on as many seats as possible to pay for the billions it cost to build.

In terms of temperature, you can’t win on modern transportation. I generally underdress and then freeze to death. This time, I dressed to stay warm, and the train is very hot. They haven’t turned on the air conditioner. Maybe they will eventually. I’m hoping for coffee, but I’m not holding my breath. I guess I can survive one morning without coffee.

On the Bus and then In Kenting:

It has taken a little while but the excitement of travel has kicked in. It actually started the second the train started to move. It’s amazing what an effect the feeling of just moving has on me. I have to say that the west coast of Taiwan is basically flat and uninteresting. There are some interesting things, but I’ve seen it all many, many times, so I spent most of my time reading a book.

I feel a bit weird going on this trip. I had the sense that it was all going to be too easy and normal, and so far it has been. I don’t even have any casual clothes anymore, so I had to wear a pair of work slacks with a work shirt and my work shoes. I actually fit in with the crowd on the HSR, which was made up mostly of businessmen and their secretaries. I seemed to be the only person on the train without an iPod and a full laptop.

We arrived at Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung in exactly 90 minutes. We left at the exact correct minute and arrived at the exact correct minute. The Zuoying Station is very large and airy and pleasant, with a 7-11, a Starbucks and a bunch of other shops and restaurants. As soon as I stepped off the escalator, I saw a desk for an express bus to Kenting. The two women there spoke English and there was a clear sign that said the next bus to Kenting left at 11:00. I bought a round trip ticket for NT$600 ($20). A bus leaves in both directions every hour and takes 2 hours to get to Kenting. This is clearly the off-season, and the bus is nearly empty.

My ticket had a nice picture of the bus on it, so it was a simple matter to step outside and find the bus waiting for me. There were only three people on the bus. At first, they weren’t going to let me sit in the front seat. That was a priority seat. But considering the bus was empty, they let it slide. The bus was an express bus, but that didn’t really mean anything. It was very slow and meandering and took over 2 hours to get to Kenting.

The trip to Kenting was about what I expected. The route went over the top of and sort of through Kaohsiung, which meant that it was all industrial and urban – concrete and junk for mile after mile.

I knew that I wouldn’t really enjoy the HSR + bus approach to Kenting. That’s why I tried to get here from Taidong on the east coast last time. I didn’t make it because I couldn’t rent a scooter in Taidong. It worked out for me in the end, though, because I went to Green Island instead and had a fantastic time.

I really knew nothing about Kenting. I had a vague idea that it was beachy and surfy and that there was some nice natural scenery. However, the town itself turned out to be very commercial. It is essentially a long strip of restaurants, bars and nightclubs, surf shops and hotels. I always think of Grand Bend, Ontario, whenever I see places like this. There was no bus station of any kind and the bus just dropped me off in the middle of the strip. I didn’t have any clue as to where to stay. I thought it would all be clear when I arrived. I guess if I had been with someone, I would have looked for a nice place close to the beach and in a nice natural setting. Being on my own, I decided to just stay somewhere convenient on the strip. I figured I could use a scooter to get out of town and go to nice places. In the meantime, I might as well be where the action is.

Tags: HSR, Kenting Trip, scooter, Taiwan, train