Green Island
It is Thursday 15th June 2006, And Myself, Pei-jen and Tsai Mama (Pei-jen’s Mum that is) set off from Tainan – destination Green Island AKA Ludao.
Train from Tainai to Taitung skirting round quite a lot of coastline to get to the East coast of Taiwan. Taiwan’s centre is very mountainous and so most routes go round instead of through.
The ferry left from a small port town where we stopped for a fresh lunch. Then to the ferry. Far-removed from the Channel Crossing we know… and… love?, where there is always space to walk around, go on deck etc. This was a smaller affair, no deck to go on and everyone in comfy reclining seats… bad idea – with no deck to go on, where do all those land-lubbers go to watch the horizon to steady their stomachs? Oh dear. What a ‘hurly-burly’ crossing that was. Amazing!
Well we made it over and made the short walk to the hotel. Glad I didn’t have another sea-leg relapse like on the Suzhouhao. I wouldm’t have been able to walk at all that crossing was so bumpy!
Ludao is a beautiful place. Well-named too, very GREEN!
Hotel nice! We had 2 scooters for hire… brilliant. Headed straight out for a snorkelling session. I’ve never been snorkelling with so much kit as here… we were fully kitted up in wet suit from head to toe, life jacket and rubber ring! We were taken out in groups on sort of rubber ring floating islands, which I soon got a bit frustrated with and began to leave the group to explore a bit closer to the sea bed…. Wowee! I have never seen such sea-life. The colours were simply vibrant. Coral reef and sea-life were amazing… sea snakes (or maybe eels), urchins, blue hermit-crabs, parot fish, long hairy-legged stair fish, cow fish and the uncurled straight cousin of the sea horse. I’d love to go back again and explore more.
After, we went to one of the only 3 salt water hot-springs in the world (other 2 in Japan and Yellow-stone, US). We bathed and lounged and relaxed and boiled our own eggs for our tea in one of the springs! So good. What a fantastic honeymoon destination I thought to myself!! (oooo… one day!)
We were at the spring til well after dark. And on leaving managed to take a wrong turn (this is pretty hard to do I have you know, as there is only one road on the island that is basically a big ring-road! Doh!) and went the wrong way round the island , and so had a tour by night. What stars though! Glorious! And a mystery giant shell-less hermit crab!
Next morning Pei-jen and I were up a 5am to try to catch the sunrise over the East Coast at 5.20am. Made it just in time.
We planned to make a hike over the top of the island to the other side after the sunrise so we left one scooter on the East side and drove to the West to start the hike. We turned into the road leading to starting point… and there on the path in front of us was a massive 5/6 foot long snake warming itself in the morning rays… Pei-jen breaked hard and wobbled to a halt. I tried to convince her that it was fine to continue as the snake had darted back into the undergrowth and even took over driving to continue a little further on the path, but she was shaking. aaarr… so we turned back to opt for a daylight tour of the island. Not before seeing a real life Ginseng fruit… A pineapple I hear you mutter but it is ginseng, I assure you.
What a magnificent little island. I have tried to put the photos we took back in order so you can see the island clockwise from West to North to East to South and back to East. Hold the mouse over the photo before you click to enlarge and the title of the picture should come up.
We paddled and rode and stopped and wondered and gazed and absorbed.
After the cruise round and picking up the other bike we met Tsai Mama for a pancake breakfast and then went on the tourist trail.
Green Island used to be a Prison Island for political prisoners in a shady part of Taiwan’s history. One of the prisons still functions but the other one is now open to the public. We took a look around but I was quite glad to leave it behind and go to the Buddhist temple where we had our fortunes read in an elaborate practise of pick-up sticks and wooden-croissant tossing! I managed to pick a good one in the end – phew!
We continued round the island, by which I was a little burnt, much to PJ and Tsai Mama’s amusement, picked our things up from the hotel and jumped on the ferry. (An even more ‘hurly-burly’ crossing than before – we litterally ran out of paper bags!- Incredible.) We got a driver to the station (all organised by PJ’s uncle, don’t ask me how but handy just the same) and after a massive double helping of sweet ice we took the long train home. We then went to the night market for dinner… perfect! Great day, great trip!
P.S. Pei-jen turned out to be about 10 times more burnt than me and consequently was completely red for a week! ;op
Tags: Taiwan-fun-fun!
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