My internal alarm clock woke me at 3:29am. I immediately heard hustle and bustle beyond the hotel door. The train was scheduled to leave at 4:40am. As we made our way to the station, the weather was showing 14°.
The sunrise was beautiful! It would have been even more spectacular if I didn't share it with 200 others. One of them being a guy with a megaphone that talked for the half hour wait. It sounded like he worked for the mountain as he was selling tour packages and some specialties like tea, wasabi and various dried fruits.
Pete and I avoided the 6:20am train that went back to the village. We had some time to kill before the buffet breakfast was offered at the hotel. The breakfast was much like the room ... disappointing. I had some tofu, but that was all I wanted to brave. I was thankful for the yummy bananas and nectarines I had brought with.
The morning was spent following the trails and signs. People seemed to be everywhere, which is always the way in Taiwan. People certainly stared at Pete and I ... it reminded me of my first year in Taiwan.
Things of note:
I was asked on two occasions to stand in a photo. I never really did understand this. How do you explain taking a picture with a complete stranger to your friends?! 'And this is a foreign girl that was there ...'
Two different families brought pet rabbits. The first one I saw was at the sunrise. The second one was on a leash in the 7-11, of course.
The family in the room beside ours decided to bring their dog as it is a perfect place for that type of pet. They left it in the room for most of the day to whine and whimper and cry. Strange.
The air was clean and smelled so fresh ... I couldn't take in enough. We stopped at a different hotel in the mountains to have some lunch. The food was simple, but fantastic. After all that walking, the beer was equally fantastic.
Leaving the hotel an hour after arriving, clouds were moving at a very quick pace. There was another hiking trail we wanted to hit, but decided to wait until the following morning. We started back toward the village. Upon arrival, the rain had started.
We spent the afternoon in our hotel. We watched TV, listened to music, devoured a bottle of red wine and laughed at nonsense.
We ventured out after the rain for some dinner. The food, again, was simply delicious. I don't remember falling asleep that night. The heat from the sun, the fresh air, the good food, the wine and beer had caught up with me.
The following morning, the last morning, would be another early start anyway ...
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