Category Motorbike
I have covered up as well as I can, rain jacket, rain pants and even shoe covers, but the rain is pretty heavy and it gets amplified by my speed; though I’ve only been on the way for a few minutes, I can already sense chinks in my armor, little spots of cold where the water is starting to work it’s way through. It’s like nature wills me to hunker down and shy away, but I keep my back straight and my speed high, defying the elements, defying my own instinct. This will be hell to pay.… Read the rest
This morning we started by going to the seashore park around the corner from our hotel. We took a walk out towards the tip of the small headland, and looked at a cliff formation in the sea called the twin candlesticks.
View of the harbor and our hotel on the left side 
The view from the top 
The win candlesticks cliffs 
Tip of the headland.
We then got on the motorbike and headed inland toward Yangmingshan National Park. On the way we came across the gigantic rusting skeleton of an abandoned factory so we just had to make a quick … Read the rest
Last night Yini went to the hotel’s hot spring to relax, but since we had a private one in our room I stayed in writing last night’s blog entry instead. This morning we went down to the river in Wulai and found some natural hot springs. Since Yini did plenty of soaking the night before, she opted out but I went in to enjoy the waters. It is a really special experience, in my book it’s better than the resorts. You sit there in a small pool built from river rocks, in a mix of hot and cold water, one … Read the rest
This weekend is the Tomb Sweeping Day, which essentially just means we have four days off in a row. Renegade wife and I are making the most of it by traveling around and enjoying ourselves.
We started off lightly yesterday by driving out to a small amusement park just outside Hsinchu city. The park itself is small, old and pretty lame, except for a few really well executed optical illusions:
This tilted house is by far the best, I actually got a little bit motion sick just by … Read the rest
I’m speeding along towards the high speed rail station, the meter showing 80 kilometers an hour and a cool wind washing over me. Suddenly the buildings on my right give way to a large open space, and I wonder for a moment how that can be, before realizing that it is most likely one of the fish farming ponds. I take a longer look, and sure enough, beyond a low concrete barrier, the perfectly smooth surface of the water spreading out towards the horizon. It reflects the infinity of space above, so dark blue that it’s almost back. At the far … Read the rest
Just as it was getting more and more like spring it seems winter made a comeback because this week has been cold and rainy. Tired of coming home wet and and miserable, I suggested we go south for the weekend. Said and done, as soon as I got off work Friday, we got our bags, hopped on a high speed train south and went to the southern city Kaohsiung.
Yesterday we woke up fairly early, had a tasty breakfast, rented a scooter then headed out to explore the city. When we went to Taidong a few months ago, we spotted … Read the rest
Twilight, just before dusk, the sky overcast. It doesn’t seem to matter if I have my headlights on or not. I switch them off for a second, I see just fine without them, then turn them back on for safety. There is a continuous drizzle, almost unnoticeable when standing still but speed compacts it, I can feel a constant spray on the lower half of my face and the spattering on my visor blurs my vision and diffuses incoming light into glittering halo’s around its sources. It is cold, my face feels numb and a few moments without gloves is … Read the rest
Doufeng (兜風) is chinese and translates to “to catch the wind” basically to go for a ride in the fresh air. My favourite way to do doufeng is random exploration by motorcycle.
Some weeks ago me and Yini passed by an abandoned house at the outskirts of the city. We had no chance to get in and explore then but today we drove up there, better prepared. I jumped the low wall and started looking around when all of a sudden some kind of alarm went off. I guess the place was less abandoned than I thought (despite being dark … Read the rest
This weekend the wife and I decided to go for a mini vacation in Miaoli. We started right before lunch, took my motorcycle and went south out of the city. Before long we were entering the mountains and drove along a winding road through lush green landscapes. The road was so perfect for a motorbike ride, I just kept going along and soon enough we reached our hotel.
After checking in we went out again to explore the mountains some more, stopping here and there whenever we found something interesting. Here are a couple of pictures taken during our exploration.… Read the rest
I’ve only been outside for a couple of minutes but I’m already utterly and completely drenched. My shirt clings to my back like a wet dish cloth, my jeans are heavy with water, sticking to my thighs. Every time I brake or change gear, a torrent of cold water runs down my legs and sloshes around in my shoes. When I speed up the heavy drops pound my chest like a fistful of marbles, I’m suffering unmatched levels of discomfort. I see the light turn green and the riders preceding me hit a giant puddle on the opposite side of … Read the rest