A day in the life of ...: July 2019

Saturday July 20th, 2019

Playing tourist at the Taipei 101 Observatory on the 89th floor

Taipei 101

Enjoying a hot mocha at the highest Starbucks in the world on the 35 floor of the Taipei 101 building

July Randomness ...

Playing tourist at the Taipei 101 Observatory on the 89th floor

MIT Summer Camp 3D pen art

Week 3: Pet Care ... I fed this python a live mouse and it was fascinating to watch

One of a number of outings this month ... this place was by far the most interesting

Saturday June 29th, 2019 (Part 3 of 3)

Stairs, stairs and more stairs up to the East Peak

We finished the Hehuan East Peak (合歡山東峰) at 5:30PM. So much for being back in Hsinchu at 6:30PM. At this point, I was thinking about the five plus hours it took us to get up the mountain. I calculated getting back to Hsinchu around 9:30PM or so. And remember, I still had a 1.5 hour journey back to Taipei, at least.

Our driver recommended a "famous" restaurant serving Hakka style chicken which I have had in the past. And while it is very tatsy, I wanted to get on the road home. I had packed enough food for the day according to the itinerary I was given.

It was 6:15PM when we stopped at the restaurant for dinner. It wasn't cheap. I was concerned about money and not having my ATM card. Dinner worked out to be NT$300/person. I certainly did not eat NT$300 worth of food as there were a number of seafood dishes that I didn't care to eat. After paying for dinner and the taxi I had to take first thing that morning, I had NT$600 plus change in my wallet which would be enough for the train and taxi home. Just enough.

It was rolling on past 7:00PM and we were still waiting on the chicken. I looked at Google Maps and it said it would take about 4.5 hours to get back to the Hsinchu train station from where we were. I was starting to get concerned about missing the last local trains back to Taipei. One of the drivers agreed to drop me off at the High Speed Rail station as the last trains go around 11:30PM.

At 7:30PM, we were still at the restaurant. I was becoming slightly annoyed by this point. I had been on the road since 5:40AM and was exhausted. I expressed my concern about getting home to the organizer and the driver suggested dropping me off at the Taichung High Speed Rail (HSR) which was only about two hours away. I agreed not thinking about the cost of getting home from Taichung.

I was dropped off in front of the HSR station at 8:51PM. I knew there was a 9:00PM train so I booked it to the ticketing counter to get a ticket. I told the lady I needed to go to Nangang and she told me it would be NT$725. When I opened my wallet I saw a 500 note and a 100 note. It was at this point that I remembered I had very little money. My mouth dropped open and I had to tell the lady I didn't have enough money. I opened the change part of my wallet well-knowing I did not have NT$125 in change but at this point I was shocked, exhausted, feeling weird from the high altitude and starting to understand that I may have just stranded myself in Taichung. I was overwhelmed.

The lady behind the counter looked at my handful of change and said I had enough to get to Taipei. I told her I needed to go to Nangang. She looked at me like I was a child and slowly explained that I didn't have enough money to get to Nangang. I wanted to cry. I was still staring at my money, mouth gaped open when she reminded me that I had minutes to catch the 9:00PM train. I told her to give me to the ticket to Taipei and I don't even think I said thank you before sprinting to catch the train. I had NT$24. That wasn't enough to take the MRT from Taipei to my neck of the woods.

For the second time that day, I felt defeated. My head was foggy and I had a slight headache. I felt angry at how the day turned out due to poor organization. I did learn a lesson that day. Even if there is an itinerary, bring your ATM card as you never know what may happen.

On the train ride home, I was chatting online with my friend who reminded me to focus on the feats I had accomplished that day. She told me to drop by on my way home and pick up some money so I could pay for the taxi. I reached my house just before 11:00PM. I dropped my stuff on the floor, took a hot shower, crawled into bed and was alseep in minutes. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I am very glad I went. And in the future, I'll prepare a bit better for things unexpected.

Hiking alone around the 600m mark and looking back at all the stairs I had climbed

Around the 800m mark, the stairs stopped and it became more of a rocky scramble

Clouds quickly rolling past on the Hehuan East Peak at 3,421m above sea level

Saturday June 29th, 2019 (Part 2 of 3)

About 200m up on the Hehuan East Peak trail

We finished the Hehuan Main Peak (合歡山主峰) around 2:30PM. The weather was starting to take a turn for the worse. According to our itinerary, we were supposed to be climbing the Hehuan East Peak (合歡山東峰) which was further up the road and heading in the opposite direction of home. Keep in mind that there is only one narrow road where cars are lined up waiting to pass. The organizer was unsure of what to do at this point and looking for suggestions. I said we could consider heading back towards Qingjing Farm. The elevation is a bit lower which may have meant better weather and it was on the way home. The itinerary we were given said we'd be leaving Hehuanshan at 3:30 and arriving back in Hsinchu at 6:30pm.

The organizer decided to stick with the plan and head further up the mountain to the East Peak. When we got out of the van, we headed to the trailhead and this is when it started to downpour. Everyone began pulling out their rain gear. The organizer said she didn't want to hike in the rain and was going back to the car. With the quick disappearance of the organizer we were all a little hesitant. The rest of us found cover and waited out the heavy rain which lasted about ten minutes.

After the rain let up, the group looked at each other unsure of what the plan was. The organizer eventually showed up and said we were hiking so away we went.

The East Peak Trail is one kilometer long which may sound easy but I can assure you, it's not. The entire trail was a steep climb up with zero breaks along the trail. We hadn't even reached the 100m mark before the organizer started complaining. Around the 200m mark, the group had split into smaller groups and it was very apparent that everyone was struggling with the climb. By the 300m mark, more than half of the group had given up. I slowly made my way up with a few other determined hikers. By the 500m mark I was ready to throw in the towel.

At the 700m mark I was alone and feeling pretty defeated. A couple coming down from the peak stopped to encourage me. So close yet so far! At the 800m mark the only other girl from our group who had made it to the peak was sitting down and looking like she had given up. She told me to keep going so I did. I cursed out loud for the last 200 meters. Thankfully I was alone with no one to hear me!

Upon arrival at the peak, the first thing I did was plop myself down flat on the ground and let out a big WOOOO!!! This got a giggle from a few of the locals who were already up there! I was and am very proud of myself for completing the climb!

At the 800m mark along the East Peak trail and looking back at where I had climbed from

The last 100m of the East Peak trail

Happy to have made it to the Hehuanshan East Peak (合歡山東峰) at 3,421m above sea level

Saturday June 29th, 2019 (cont'd)

Some gorgeous views along the Hehuan Main Peak trail (合歡山主峰步道)

Mount Hehuan Main Peak at 3,417m above sea level

Saturday June 29th, 2019 (Part 1 of 3)

Hehuanshan Forest Recreation Area (合歡山)

I joined a group from Hsinchu on a one-day trip to Hehuanshan Forest Recreation Area (合歡山). It was a paid event with our own drivers. The itinerary suggested it would take three hours to get from Hsinchu to Hehuanshan. Before joining the event, I did confirm with Google Maps which suggested just over three hours. Since I was coming from Taipei, I had an extra 1.5-hour commute by the time I got myself to the High Speed Rail Station, took the high speed train for the 45-minute ride to Hsinchu and then finally a tiny shuttle train that would've taken me over to the Hsinchu train station. I ended up missing the small shuttle train and had to take a taxi to meet the group as we had a 7:30am departure time. Please note that I left the house with NT$1,200 in my pocket and no bank card. In my experience, one doesn't need much money when hiking for the day. I had everything I would need for the day according to the itinerary I was given. There is a story here which will follow later in a future post.

Hehuanshan has been on my list of places to see for a very long time. It's not easily accessible no matter which part of the island you are coming from as these mountains are in central Taiwan and are 3,000m above sea leavel. Accommodation up here can be hard to come by and expensive. Also, after climbing Jade Mountain (3,952m) and not feeling well for the final ascent and then attempting Mt. Fuji (3,776m) and not getting further than my hut at 3,100m because of more severe altitude sickness, I was hesitant to spend a night in the high mountains. A day trip sounded perfect! And it was amazing, BUT, there were a number of bumps along the way.

The first bump was that it took us over five hours to get to the Hehuanshan Main Peak (合歡山主峰) trailhead. It didn't help that the driver suggested we stop for "famous" tea in Puli. We had a group of thirteen and only four or five people ended up buying tea. This added almost 45 minutes onto our trip and was not great planning on the organizer's part. According to the itinerary we were given, we were supposed to be at the Main Peak trailhead at 10:30 yet we were in Puli at this time waiting in line at a busy tea shop so that less than half of the group could buy tea. Sigh. We made it to the trailhead just before 1:00pm. Unfortuntely, the moment I stepped out of the car I started experiencing altitude sickness. Dizziness. Puke-y. This was the second tiny bump. As much as I love the mountains, high altitude doesn't seem to agree with me. Thankfully these feelings passed fairly quickly and I was able to enjoy the day!

The climb up to Hehuan Main Peak (3,417m) is fairly easy and took no time at all

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