Taitung 台東 — Day 1 ...

紅冠水雉田園民宿 — the place I stayed at for 18 days just outside of Taitung City

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My room had two beds, a table with two chairs, a closet, a bathroom, a fridge, a kettle, two fans and A/C

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My first day in Taitung, I was without 老紅, my scooter. She was being shipped to Taitung via train. It seemed that I was in the middle of the country and there wouldn't be much to do without wheels.

By 8am, the day was already blistering hot. I knew I would need food and decided to walk over to the 7-11 that I could see on Google Maps.

The blue route was my first attempt at getting to 7-11. This small country road led me to the highway via a path under a bridge. Under this bridge, there were a bunch of men that seemed to be living there along with hoards of barking stray dogs.

One of the men got on his scooter and drove beside me asking me where I was going and what I was doing, etc. I certainly was out of place. He kept looking me up and down and with only my phone and wallet in one hand, I was a bit intimidated. The men were speaking Taiwanese and laughing and I could only imagine what they were saying. The guy on the scooter eventually backed off and I came to a highway with a bridge.

The 7-11 was on the other side of this bridge and walking across it seemed unsafe. Below the bridge were train tracks that were fenced on either side, so I knew I couldn't get across to the 7-11 unless I walked over the bridge so back to the house and past the men I went. The one guy on the scooter started following me again asking me questions about where I was from and if I was married, etc. He left me alone fairly quickly but I did notice there was a police car parked under the bridge just up ahead.

The green route was my second attempt at getting to the 7-11 and although a bit longer, it was the correct way. I picked up things for breakfast, lunch and dinner and headed back to my new home. I spent the day doing some research on my iPad about where to go in Taitung and getting acquainted with the family's outdoor kitty. I also finished the book I was reading and started a new one. All in all it was a very relaxing way to spend the first day of vacation. I was ready to start exploring and hoped 老紅 would be waiting first thing the following morning.

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