Here it is December, and my last day of cycling in Taiwan. The month has flown by!
I enjoyed another good hotel buffet breakfast. The restaurant was very busy on this Sunday morning, especially with families. I was joined at my table by a delightful family, including Mom, Dad, Grandma, and cute as a button kids three and five. Mom and Dad spoke English, and the kids are learning so it was lots of fun to chat. They gave me some ideas for my remaining time in Taipei.
They reported that there is excellent universal health care in Taiwan, so people who emigrate tend to keep their citizenship so they can return for care.
The busy breakfast room. It offered free coffee and tea 24 h, as well as free ramen noodle packets in a variety of flavours. But breakfast was the usual buffet of veggie, meats, tofu, bao, white bread, and congee with fixings.
The Danjiang Bridge over the Tamsui River is under construction. It will have a 920 m road, rail, and pedestrian deck supported by a single 200 m pylon. When completed, it will be the longest single-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world.
As clear from the photos, it was another blue sky day with no wind. I departed on my last ride just before 11, not wanting to arrive too early in Taipei since I wouldn’t be able to check in before 3 pm. Had the weather been bad, I could have taken the Taipei metro from Tamsui to my hotel.
I rode on bike paths pretty much the whole way. Sometimes they were very busy with cyclists and walkers of all ages. There was almost nobody on an e-bike.
I celebrated my arrival back to our starting point on the Taipei waterfront with ice cream, and arrived to the Hu House Hotel around 1:30 pm. That gave me time to get my bike packed up (in the lobby) before check-in at 3. All the hotels and home stays have been so welcoming of bikes.
As I packed up my bike, I found it strange to be listening to Christmas carols. It was a selection of Muzak, jazz, pop, and classical, with some non-Christmasy blues thrown in for good measure. Quite an odd mix, as I’m sure it would be if I chose Chinese music to celebrate the Lunar New Year. I was happy to hear that the Charlie Brown Christmas song made the list.
The trails were busier than my photos make them look.
Good detours were in place where necessary, unlike a few other places around Taiwan. Helmets are not common here, except on road riders. There were lots of those today too.
After getting cleaned up I went out to buy a few souvenirs and gifts, and then stopped by the Ninxia night market where I had an oyster omelet at a Michelin Bib Gourmand spot. Or maybe at the place next door - there were three omelet places in a row, and they all looked the same to me. It was an interesting way to order - I was sent up to the second floor where there were more tables, then dropped my written order down a chute. The food came up a dumb waiter. It wasn’t busy yet, since it was still before 6 pm, but it filled up with people before I left.
The night market had been disrupted by a construction project when we started our trip. But tonight it was back at the full width of the street, plus stalls in shops along the edges.
I spied what I think is a car turntable, to get into/out of a tricky parking area. Maybe I’ve lived a sheltered life, but I haven’t seen one before.
This man is making oyster omelets, which are a mixture of fresh oysters, eggs, leafy greens, a pancake-like batter, and a savoury sauce. The result is not pretty to look at, but it is delicious.
I tried taro balls, which have also received a Michelin Bib Gourmand recommendation and made for about a 10 minute lineup. But for me, they were bland and just meh. The piles are fillings of pork floss and egg yolks.
The wife rolled the taro balls, and the husband did the deep frying and handled the money. He touched the food only with tools. Food safety seems pretty good here.
Today's ride: 26 km (16 miles) Total: 1,305 km (810 miles)
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Rachael AndersonCongratulations! We really liked Taipei and New Taipei. They have an amazing number of great cycling paths! Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
