Articles tagged with: bike
North Cross-Island Highway 008 – Pingling and the Indy 500
Monday February 7, 2011
8:30 a.m. Pingling
Welcome to the Indy 500. Pingling is a small and traditional tea-growing village in the cool mountains south of Taipei. It is on twisty route 9, and the local motorcycle racing enthusiasts have claimed it for their own. That the police haven’t clamped down on these guys racing at unbelievably high speeds is typical of Taiwan. One pretty much never …
North Cross-Island Highway 006 – Lalashan and the Giant Trees
Saturday February 5, 2011
7:50 a.m
I’m back at my favorite spot in Baling and about to have what has become my traditional café latte. They make a very good cup of café latte here. It’s got lots of coffee flavor and is very hot.
I haven’t written very much the last couple of days despite a lot happening. That’s because it has been so cold both inside …
North Cross-Island Highway 005 – Meeting Travellers
Friday February 4, 2011
8:00 a.m. Having a coffee in Baling
I had a very interesting evening in Baling because of all the people I met. The first was a Taiwanese man in his forties named Carlson. He sat down in this restaurant where all the girls had asked me to sign their magazine. He looked over at me and asked if I was traveling alone, too. …
Fixing my 150cc Attila Scooter
One of the best things about living in Taiwan is owning and driving a scooter. They’re inexpensive. They’re reliable. They are cheap to maintain. And they are a lot of fun to drive, whether you’re navigating crowded city streets or zooming through the mountains.
I bought a 150cc Attila from another foreigner that was leaving the country. It was a legal scooter, and I had the …
Palawan Motorbike Trip 006
Getting out Nagtabon was a challenge. The road was very steep and I had to gun the engine in first gear like some kind of motocross racer. My rear wheel was bouncing all over the place as the bike jumped and skipped from rock to rock. By the way, I kind of changed my mind about the motorcycle. I was disappointed in it and thought …
Palawan Motorbike Trip 004
Saturday February 13, 2010
Nagtabon, Palawan
To set the stage, I’m sitting on the front verandah of my perfect little bungalow on my perfect beach. Coconut trees towering overhead. Beautiful white sand. Waves crashing on the shore. A bowl of rice and a complete fish on a plate for breakfast – served to me on my verandah with the usual starving puppy begging for scraps. I was …
Wulai Weekend 002
Sunday November 8
Well, it’s Sunday morning and my sojourn in Wulai is almost at an end. I did not get in my 200 km of cycling, but I enjoyed this very much. The hordes were out in full force yesterday evening, and after my train ride, I wandered about the place just absorbing the atmosphere. It’s nice to be in a place where you don’t …
SCIH 009 – Epilogue in Rainy Taipei
Sunday September 27, 9:00 a.m.
Taipei, Taiwan
Well, here it is – the final installment in this long letter. I’ve come full circle and I’m back in Taipei. And, fittingly, it is raining outside. I say fittingly because I associate Taipei with rain. It always seems to rain here. Perhaps it is also raining down in Tainan where I just came from, but I doubt it. I …