A day in the life of ...: March 2016

Random neighborhood hikes ...

After a month of solid rain, this waterfall is much bigger than usual! — at Yuanjue Waterfall (圓覺瀑布)

A very muddy hike out back of my community — at Cui Lake (翠湖)

A day of beautiful blue skies AND the sun! Discovering more new trails — at Jinanshan (雞南山)

So clean and bright after months of solid rain — at Jinanshan (雞南山)

Random neighborhood hikes ...

Hiking out back of my community — at Neigou Mountain (內溝山)

Blue skies AND the sun? There's been a whole lot of rain in 2016 — at Jinmianshan (金面山)

A cold, damp morning rediscovering some old trails — at Bailusishan (白鷺鷥山)

Returned on another wet morning to explore a few more new trails — at Bailusishan (白鷺鷥山)

Day 14 marked the last day of vacation in southern Taiwan. I made a quick stop at the Maolin National Scenic Area (茂林國家風景區) hoping to see hoards of butterflies after the overnight storm showers but had no luck.

On the other side of the Maolin mountain range is the small fishing town of Dawu (大武) . This was where I magically witnessed gazillions of butterflies last summer. Apparently they do fly over the mountain range in winter but perhaps there wasn't enough rain?!

I was going to take another quick tour around Maolin but it being Chinese New Year, people were coming into the area by busloads. We were very lucky to have the park to ourselves the week before!

I took off from Maolin fairly quickly and headed into Kaohsiung as I needed to drop my scooter off near the train station so it could be delivered overnight. I was hoping it would reach Taipei around the same time as I on Saturday and it did! So efficient! Until the next time, southern Taiwan ...

Pingtung 屏東 — Day 13 ...

Day 13's route shown in dark blue

On day 12, the Pingtung train station was bustling. I couldn't find anywhere to park my scooter, so I headed home for a day of rest.

I was up early on day 13, making my way to the Shoushan National Nature Park (壽山國家自然公園) in Kaohsiung. I wanted to conquer a few more of the trails before leaving southern Taiwan.

Much better views on this hike — overlooking Kaohsiung City (高雄市)

So many monkeys!

At the Lotus Cave (蓮花洞)

Pingtung 屏東 — Day 11 ...

The Ferris Wheel at E-Da World (義大世界)

Isn't the point of going on a water ride to get wet?

Pingtung 屏東 — Day 10 ...

A 1.5 hour wait to cross the longest suspension bridge in Taiwan — at 琉璃吊橋

The Liouli suspension bridge is 262 meters long and sits 45 meters above the ground. Groups are herded over the bridge one hundred people at a time based on a time card you receive upon your arrival. Once on the other side, one needs to join another long line up to catch a shuttle bus back to the parking lot. It was a whole lot of waiting for a five minute walk across a bridge ...