Friday March 25th, 2023.
For day 18 we decided to continue walking south on the West coast, and rather than start from exactly where we’d left off last time, we skipped a small part of the heavily industrialized coast and headed to the pretty YongAn Fishing Harbour to begin today’s walk. We met up at the Taipei High Speed Rail station for the 20 minute journey to Taoyuan and from there it was a 30 minute taxi journey to our starting point. It was rather overcast as we set off but the temperature was perfect for walking, being pleasantly warm but not too humid. Wandering though the busy working harbour, we passed fisherman mending nets or relaxing with an early morning Taiwan beer, before we saw the YongAn Conch Culture Pavilion. We popped inside for a quick look around and the congratulatory flower displays in the lobby showed it had only recently been opened. The Pavilion building and surrounding park were built with the full support of the Hakka Affairs Council and the “conch curved shell” building pays tribute to the fishing and conch blowing traditions of the local Hakka people.
After leaving the Culture Pavilion, we crossed the harbour bridge, which had great views of the coastal path we’d be following for the rest of the day. We turned a corner and noticed that the road ahead was completely blocked by diggers engaged in repair works but we managed to scramble past by getting on the rocky beach before rejoining the path a few hundred yards ahead. We were actually on a small side road at this point, but as there was almost no traffic and we were right next to the beach, it made for very pleasant walking. A few minutes down the road, we came to a tourist centre on our left and a driftwood structure on the beach to our right. We stopped so that Tim could do a quick imitation of a caveman fighting off a saber-toothed tiger, before admiring the murals and artworks in the tourist centre.
There was now a proper walking path to follow right next to the beach, along with nicely shaded side paths leading away from the coast. As it was still cloudy, we stuck to the main path and saw an old sentry box but apart from a lone fisherman and the occasional walker or two, we had the place to ourselves. We then passed a slightly bizarre rest area, made from driftwood and decorated with plastic bottles; it would have made a lovely beach bar but sadly all Tim had to toast us with was green tea. We now moved off the beach path and into a green corridor of trees, replete with lots of lovely flowers and followed a sign that led us to the Xinwu Stone Weirs Story House.
The Story House turned out to be a three-storey building, with the first floor featuring a display illustrating how stone weirs along this section of the coast had been used in previous times to catch fish. The female member of staff seemed slightly taken aback at the sudden appearance of three foreigners but was quickly put at ease when Tim flawlessly read aloud a long paragraph in Mandarin, next to the first display case. “How was that? Do I win a prize?” he asked, so the attendant laughed and gave us each a branded COVID mask.
On the second floor, there was a small workshop where a young lady was melting down recycled plastic and making small bags, key rings and other souvenirs. That may seem a very minor step to take against the overwhelming amounts of plastic we’ve seen washed up on the coast during our walks but they also do workshops for local schools and groups so they are also trying to educate the next generation. Finally, we went up one further floor to the roof, where they had a nice picnic area, so we decided to enjoy the fruit and nuts we’d brought with us whilst admiring the views of the ocean.
We headed back out to the shady path we’d left, but a short while later we were back on the coast, following a nice, red-tiled track. At one point we came across a curious fruit lying on the ground that we nicknamed a “glue apple”, as it had a white, glue-like substance oozing out of it. None of us were tempted to eat it though! Up ahead we came to a curious structure on the beach (Taiwan seems to have these everywhere you look), so we stopped for a quick photo.
At this point a wide river forced us to walk inland until we found a bridge and then we wandered along an almost deserted road through paddy fields and farms until we could head towards the coast again. A pile of large red boxes in the distance attracted our curiosity and as we got closer, we realized that this is where Pizza Hut boxes go to die. On reaching the coast, we saw that the sand was firm enough to make walking relatively easy, so we strolled along until we got to a small stream, whereby Elaine managed to sink her feet into some foul-smelling glutinous mud. Fortunately, a quick rinse in the sea got rid of the worst of the mud and we went over the harbour wall in front of us, via the sand dunes that had piled up on either side.
A nice wide path now stretched out beside the coast and it began to get very hot as the sun, contrary to the weather forecast, was now beating down on us. “Who’s got the sun cream?” came the cry – but blank looks all round and some very red arms at the end of the day showed the folly of believing the “cloudy all day” predictions on our weather apps. Fortunately, before too long, an alternative tree lined route presented itself, and glad of the shade, we ambled along before stopping for a quick break, which allowed Tim to go through his “Hung Gar Five Animals” Kung Fu form.
Shortly thereafter, another wide river barred our path and forced us into a long detour inland. The path alongside the river was pleasant, with views of a large temple but the pedestrian bridge was closed for repairs and the only way across was via a road bridge, followed by a tramp under the freeway. We were rewarded though as the road back to the coast soon led past beautiful trees, some random buffalo statues and then a large duck farm.
Our aim was to get to Potou Harbour and then head inland to XinFeng Railway Station and find a restaurant before boarding the train. We were hoping to find a coffee shop or at least somewhere selling cold drinks but sadly the harbour was completely deserted and a quick look at google maps informed us that it was another one hour 15 minutes’ walk to the station. We promised ourselves that we’d stop at the first convenience store to buy liquid refreshments and break the last part of the journey and set off in the direction of the station.
The area ahead was sparsely populated apart from paddy fields, small factories and the occasional house and we trudged on hoping every corner would reveal a source of refreshments, only to be continually disappointed. We reached a busy main road but still nowhere to get a drink! Finally, after an hour of walking, we saw a 7-11 sparking in the distance at the top of a hill; we punched the air with delight and with renewed energy put on a final spurt. Our joy was short-lived though, as we discovered the 7 hadn’t yet opened and was still in the process of being fitted out. Fortunately, a couple of minutes further on we came across a betel nut (檳榔) stand, which also sold fizzy drinks and cold Taiwan beer. Ah, the ecstasy of that first cold beer after a long day walking in the sun.
We were now very close to the station so we pushed on and made our way to a local SzeChuan restaurant, pausing only for Tim to take a picture of some pampered pooches outside a pet shop. (Tim has developed an obsession with taking pictures of dogs in prams, a common sight in Taiwan, and has even re-worked the Duran Duran song “Girls on Film” into “Dogs in Prams” ).
We arrived at an empty restaurant at 5:45pm but at 6pm the two large tables next to us filled up with locals and a familiar scene unfolded as both parties quickly grabbed cold beers from the fridge and produced bottles of whisky. The decibel level quickly rose as toasts were yelled and food orders were shouted. A friendly guy from the nearest table came over to welcome us to Taiwan and was surprised and delighted when we told him we’d lived here for more than 30 years and were on day 18 of our walk around Taiwan. Now we were being included in all the toasts and the place got noisier and noisier. Tim got up and did a kung fu kick, yelled a greeting in Taiwanese and the place erupted. Greetings were bellowed in Mandarin and then Elaine caused a further stir by chatting to everyone in Taiwanese. “Lim Loki, Lim Loki” (喝下去 Down the Hatch in Taiwanese), we roared and time after time glasses were raised. We could have stayed all night but we had a long train journey back so eventually we got up to go and everyone else in the restaurant stood up and cheered, high fiving us as we left. We’ve all experienced so many nights of friendliness like this in Taiwan but this was certainly one to remember. All that remained was for us to take the short walk to the station and then the long train journey back to Taipei, having covered over 25km during another wonderful day.
Total distance 25.4km.
End of Day 18. Richie Rich.
That’s a long way! Will use you as my inspiration for my trek in June! Any advice on footwear/stopping blisters?
Hi Diana,
Thanks for your comments and good luck with your walk in June . Don’t worry about your feet – the main thing is to stay hydrated so just drink lots of beer each evening. It works wonders for us.
Rich