There is lots to see around keelung, but I had set my sights on an island close to the harbor opening called Peace Island. It is densely populated and not much different from the city, but a park out by the sea is famous for it’s beautiful landscape. We went there the first thing we did in the morning, and although the landscape was indeed beautiful, it was a little too small and too touristic for my taste. There was a walkway leading off towards some more secluded cliffs but sadly it had been damaged and was closed. I think I kept the cold water bottle too close to the camera because the lens was covered in condensation and all my pictures became foggy, so I can’t show you the landscape. I think there are other places along the north east coast that are more worth visiting.

After a short walk around the park in the already unbearable heat, we got on the motorbike and headed back towards the city. While riding around yesterday evening, we had spotted some urban ruins but didn’t have time to stop by, so that became our next goal. It’s just a few remnants of walls still standing of what I suppose must have been some kind of factory or possible a ship wharf. It’s not the best abandoned place I’ve seen but pretty good anyway.

A bunch of shots from the abandoned wharf

By this time it was closes to noon and we knew we had a long ride back ahead of us. There were still many places we would want to see, but we really needed to get going if we wanted to get home at any kind of decent time. We rode along the coast, on roads that are almost perfect for a motorbike with lots of long sweeping curves, back to the 13 levels factory. There we turned inland and rode up into the mountains, our plan being to take a small detour via a road with some really good views.

The view from up there was really good, and so too, apparently,  thought a lot of dead people, because the hillsides were completely full of graves.

After enjoying ourselves riding this awesome road we came back down to ground level and stopped by in the tourist town Shifen. The places is known for sky lanterns, but the middle of the day is really not the best time for that kind of activity. Instead we had a quick lunch then headed back out on the road again. We had opted for the scenic rout through the mountains but shortly after heading out it started to rain which was a bit unfortunate but it was still nice.

When got to Taipei, Yini was feeling a bit sick so I let her off close to a subway station so she could go home by public transport. I on the other hand more or less retraced the same rout I took on Friday, avoiding the worst of the traffic on my way through Taipei, then following the expressway along the west coast back to Hsinchu.

Riding a motorbike vs driving a car is kind of a balance between comfort and fun. Sure, the car has comfortable seats, AC and music to listen to, but riding a motorcycle is just so much fun, you get a real connection to the machine, a real feeling of speed and you get so much closer to the surrounding nature. This weekend, I’ve been too hot, I’ve been rained on, and the seat has been uncomfortable at times, but I have really enjoyed myself thoroughly.