A Better Experience on Taiwan Trains

Taiwan – Stage 14 – Hualien to Toucheng Train (Sun 25 Nov 2018)

Weather: 17⁰C min – 21⁰C max, partial sunshine, afternoon showers

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“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Call me a wimp if you like, but today I caught a train from Hualien to Toucheng in order to avoid a scary section of highway (narrow tunnels with no shoulder and lots of big trucks). This time I made sure it was a Local train (#4377) so that my bicycle could travel unpacked. What a different experience to the other day when I had so much drama catching an Express train! After buying the two tickets at the station yesterday (one for me and a half for my bike), today it was just a matter of wheeling my bike, loaded with its two panniers, onto the last carriage of the train and securing it to a pole with my helmet strap, right next to where I was sitting.

There were three other bikes in the same carriage, two of them belonging to Amy and Joseph from Hong Kong who have also been riding around the island. The train journey of about 120 Km was hassle free and, in spite of stopping at 22 stations, was pleasant enough. When not passing through the many tunnels there were nice views of the ocean on the right and the steep mountain range on the left, so the 2 hours 12 minutes passed reasonably quickly.

I had noticed that Toucheng has an Old Street, so I headed straight there from Toucheng Station. Like all Old Streets in Taiwan it was an interesting part of the town, with plenty of food options.

Tomorrow, sadly, is my second last ride of the tour. Let’s hope the weather holds out because my 70 Km ride to Keelung follows the coast all the way and promises to present lots of photo opportunities if it is not raining.