So how do I get stuck writing about all the long distance scooter trips? Anyways, Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 was just around the corner and we didn’t really have a gameplan as usual. The Wednesday before the holiday began we made a trip to the train station and bought some tickets to Ali Shan 阿里山. For those of you who don’t know what Ali Shan is, it is the highest mountain in Taiwan. Everything went smooth, however we wouldn’t be able to depart till Friday. A whole day lost but thats the price you pay for procrastinating I guess.
Connie sends me a text later in the day and says the weather is going to be horrible in Ali Shan this weekend. She suggests we go to 宜蘭 Yilan, not a bad suggestion actually. We decide to scrap Ali Shan and make other plans. Wednesday night we search the internet for things to do in Yilan, Connie is dead set on scootering there, but I’m fighting a pretty bad cold and would rather ride a bus or take a train. Connie reluctantly agrees to take the train, and I tell her if we can’t get a train the next morning we can scooter to Yilan.
Thursday morning rolls around and its a cool, cloudy day. Not one of those nice cloudy days, but one of those grey, cool, wet winter days where you just want to stay in. We drive to the train station where I’m hoping we can buy a ticket to Yilan. The teller informs us that every train to Yilan is booked, the next available train is Friday morning. And our journey begins here.
Now getting around by scooter in Taiwan is tricky. We can’t just jump on the nearest freeway and across the island in 2-3 hours. Nope, scooters have to take long windy scooter roads that double the length of your trip, but the upside is you can enjoy some beautiful scenery.
The trip to Yilan was absolutely amazing. It’s hard to describe it in words and pictures won’t do it any justice. You have to experience it for yourself. Driving highway 7 takes you from Taoyuan county to Yilan county via the mountains that run through the center of the island. 
Along the way there were many cyclists riding the same route we were driving. I have to give them props, I could barely drive the route much less even think of cycling it. The trip to Yilan was rather uneventful, we did have a flat tire but that was before we got on the mountain. I’m very glad we gassed up and got our flat fixed before getting on the mountain, beause it is a 100km drive through there with only 1 town half way with a few restaraunts and shops. I don’t even think I saw a gas station.
In Yilan we bunkered down in a shady, but cozy love motel about 2 minutes from the train station. It was very old, but it had everything we needed, plus cable, for only $600 NT ($18 USD) a night. The best part of this hotel was the neighborhood kid who had a new puppy. You could hear him calling his dogs name 小黃 “Xiao Huang, Xiao Huang” as his puppy ran amok. Connie would later meet this puppy up close and experience one of Xiao Huang’s play bites.
Now Yilan city is very small. Smaller than Hsinchu in fact. But it has a lot of character. Things in Yilan feel really laid back and chill, I wouldn’t mind living there for awhile actually. The first night there we visited their night market, saw downtown and hung around their Department store. Overall Yilan City left a good impression.
The next day we headed out towards Luodong, a small township just south of Yilan City known for its famous hot springs. There wasn’t much to see in the town itself, but everywhere you drive in Yilan county you are surrounded by mountains on one side and coast on another. It’s a very nice drive. After seeing Luodong township we headed towards the coast. On the way we passed a river where dragon boat racing was happening. So we spent an hour or two laying on the lawn watching dragon boat races.
After our racing fun, we started heading back towards the coast. We eventually ended up at a small camping area by the beach. The water looked very nice and we had a great view or Turtle Island, but a camp Nazi was blowing his whistle at anyone who got within 10 feet of the water. Eventually we headed to a main port area near the town of Jiaosi where you could hop a ferry to Turtle Island, as well as watch dolphins. The price was right, however this trip would take up the whole day and we didn’t feel we could afford to spend that much time for one attraction. So off we went to lunch.
We found a local vegan restaraunt in Jiaosi township and enjoyed some dumplings and soup. Some of the best food I’ve had in Taiwan for sure. After exploring the township more we ended up hopping back on our scooter and driving over to a waterfall area. The waterfall’s themselves weren’t spectacular, but the walk was a good break from sitting on the scooter so long. We walked to the very top and saw a church of Mary there — apparently some climbers saw the Virgin Mary here and so they opened a church there in her honor. Afterwards, we drove to “Longtan” or Dragon Lake. Longtan wasn’t anything special, a few tour buses and a nice lake but nothing more. It was nice to sit on the lawn and enjoy the quiet, until some noisy tourists showed up and ruined it.
After Longtan we headed back to Yilan City where we had an early dinner. Cafe Grazie! A very tasty Italian chain here in Taiwan. Then we headed back to our hotel to rest up for the evening, where we ended up seeing a local concert near the department store.
Overall this was a very enjoyable trip. And the trip back to Hsinchu was even more amazing than the trip to Yilan because the sun was shining and weather was warm. On the way to Hsinchu we came across some bungy jumpers jumping off a bridge in the middle of nowhere. Later on, we made our own stop at a bridge to walk down and enjoy the river water. The rocks were pretty steep here and the water cold enough to take your breath away. The drive back was so much nicer, although there was a lot more traffic and a bunch of hold ups because of cars waiting for each other to round the tight mountain paths. 
And I’ll leave this post at that since I’m tired of typing :-).
