This morning, Mel and I took the train from Hualien to Taitung, deep in the southeast corner of the country. Using one of my great travel strategies, I put Mel's ticket on my credit card and collected the cash from her.
Being a weekend, the train was chock-o-block and we had to sit on the floor for a good part of the journey. Mel didn't seem to care the same way I don't; she loves adventure and doing things the hard way. Like in Japan, the Taiwanese are generally quiet on trains and the attendant got out the translator on his phone to ask us to talk quietly. A couple of hours after we left Hualien we stepped off the train and into Taitung. We both booked a bed at Taitung Hostel, and the manager was helpful via Whatsapp in giving us directions and informing us of what bus to take. I'm extremely impressed by the hostels in Taiwan despite the country not being on the main backpacker trail.
Before going to the hostel I needed a coffee and a bite to eat, so we called in at 7-Eleven as usual. Taiwan has made great strides as far as recycling and environmental awareness, as there are recycling bins in many places. The bus cost only 25 Taiwanese dollars (about $1 US). From the bus stop it was only a short walk to the glass facade that's Taitung Hostel. After settling in we went for a walk in search of some geocaches. Mel is the first girl I've met to truly enjoy the game. When we called in at MOS fast food restaurant to visit the loo we'd be impressed by something futuristic: a robot that delivers your food to your table. I ordered some fries and she got a tea so we can have the robot come to our table.
For the robot to operate, you're given a card to insert into a slot at your table and then it delivers your food before returning to the front.
Mel told me about a friend who has an absolute disdain for travelling pretty much anywhere because places like Taiwan are perceived as being "too third-world" but she obviously has a very closed mind and she'd eat those words if she saw a robot at her table. We'd go for a night walk in search of more geocaches, including one on the property of a hotel for the coast guard military units. Whilst I love geocaching, I'm not big fan of caches located near prisons, police stations, military installations, government buildings, etc.
Geocaches have led Mel and I to some very interesting places but tonight we really hit the jackpot...again, as both of us have done so many times in Taiwan. Taitung Tianhou Temple is a gorgeous temple in the heart of Taitung. Dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea, the temple is beautifully lit at night and full of colour.
The outside is impressive but the inside is even more impressive! What impressed us most is the multitude of fine detail.
What you see here are hundreds of tiny Buddhist figurines. Tianhou Temple certainly wasn't built on a whim and would have taken a lot of time and people to build. Wow! I was in awe tonight at the detail.
Our love of night markets would continue as we visited the Siwei Night Market tonight. I opted for lamb steak with chow mein on a hot plate but food was nowhere near as good as the other night. Eating out isn't too expensive in Taiwan so mistakes aren't costly. After eating we'd go in search of one more geocache, and I ended up with nine finds in nine attempts today. Hand in hand, we'd walk back to the hostel and talk about all the cool things we saw and experienced today. To the future with robots and to the past with temples, we'd stay up late and chat over a few glasses of red.
