Our previous walk (Day 29: Aogu Wetlands to Budai Fish Market) had been a full five and a half months ago, and we were raring to get back on the road. Increasingly aware of possible mission threats (such as sickness or old age!) all four of us had become conscious that we need to speed up the project and complete the walk while we still can! To this end we decided to trial a two-day walk with a night in a local hotel. Rich, Elaine and Martyn travelled down from Taipei to alight at Chiayi HSR station. Elaine had made the smart move of mailing a few items for the journey from a 7-Eleven two minutes from her home to a 7-Eleven near her hotel in Tainan. It only cost her NT$60 (around GBP1.50) and was so convenient – and greatly lightened her load! Tim was glad that he only had to travel the short distance from Tainan to Chiayi as he had arrived on a long-haul flight back to Taiwan the night before.
Delighted to be together again for another adventure, the fantastic four set off in a taxi from the HSR station to the starting point of the walk. The taxi driver was, as is usually the case, completely bemused by our request to be driven to a god-forsaken, wind-swept destination in the middle of nowhere and commented “Even Taiwanese don’t go there!” We then, as usual, explained that we are on a mission from God to walk the whole way around this beautiful island, sticking as closely as we can to the coastline. Indeed, all of us were excited to be heading back to desolate landscapes, having a weakness for bleakness. Even though he was fresh off a long-haul flight from the UK, Tim’s blood was now up at the prospect of flat, barren swathes of deserted fish ponds and uninhabited coastal plains littered with abandoned machinery. It was great to be back in the saddle!
We started Day 29 from the other side of a small river estuary which separates Bu Dai Fish Market, where we had finished our previous walk, from our new departure point – Hao Mei Li. We set off at the northern most tip of this area – the Hao Mei Liao Wetlands (好美寮溼地), a stretch of coast which forms part of the Coastal Natural Environment Protection Plan approved in 1987 by the Executive Yuan.
Walking these beaches brought back many memories for Elaine as she used to bring her boys to this area for recreational activities and quad bike riding. In one particularly dangerous episode, the wind flipped her quad bike and she was stuck under the bike, unable to move (her hair tangled in the bike chain), while the tide was coming in. This awful ordeal was brought to an end when her boys found her, extricated her from the overturned bike and rescued her from a watery doom.
Elaine’s terrifying tale prompted us all to recount other near-death experiences during which we had each used up several of our nine lives. Walking along the beach we noticed the amount of driftwood that had been washed up at high tide. After walking a mile or so along the top of coastal flood barriers we moved inland and walked along country lanes skirted with irrigation channels, crossing the Yin Hai Bridge (吟海橋) and eventually crossing the border from Chiayi County (嘉義縣) into Tainan City (台南市). Tainan City was merged with Tainan County in 2010, to become a single special municipality, so although areas of Tainan City are extremely rural, they are now technically part of “Tainan City” – but there is nothing remotely urban about them!
While ambling along some of the small tracks between disused fish ponds, there was a minor emergency when Tim discovered he had lost his phone. Retracing our tracks we found it nestled in the undergrowth next to the spot where he had stopped for a pee. It had fallen out of his pocket while loosening his trousers. Easily done!
This drama broke up the monotony of this section of the walk somewhat but by this time we were looking for our first rest stop of the day. In such a deserted place we were struggling to find anywhere we could sit down comfortably but just as we were about to sit by the side of the track, we found a perfect spot with four seats and a table behind a corrugated iron hut and quickly got out our snacks of fruit and nuts. On our route through the swathes of fish farms, some still in use and some abandoned, we had seen numerous of these small concrete or corrugated iron huts which are used for storage. Even though some were not locked up we did not venture inside as they looked, frankly, quite spooky! However, as we were sat right next to one, Rich did sneak a peep but sighted only pisciculture equipment – and, disappointingly, no consignments of crystal meth or dead bodies.
While wending our way along those narrow roads, we were passed by a local fisherman on a motorbike who asked Elaine in Taiwanese “What the hell are you guys doing here?”. Elaine explained our mission in fluent Taiwanese but the motorcyclist expressed no surprise at all that this foreign lady could speak Taiwanese – he was just amazed that we were in this desolate place!
We eventually reached the Ba Zhang River (八掌溪) which, for large stretches of land, runs alongside the border between Chia Yi Country and Tainan City. We took the steps up to the top of the flood prevention barrier, the Hsin Wen Embankment (新塭提防), which allowed us to walk alongside the river and enjoy the views from this elevated position. Martyn noticed a Kestrel hovering while hunting along the riverbank. It seemed to catch its prey and flew off. We also noted with interest a development of holiday apartments called “Aegean Sea” and wondered how many people would want to take their holiday in this area of the country.
We then walked up and over the bridge on Highway 17/61 and over the Ba Zhang River to the other side where we continued to tramp along country roads for a while. Stopping at a roadside shrine for refreshments we found there were no chairs to sit on – only some large plastic baskets. Seconds after commenting on the apparent instability of Rich’s “seat”, his basket buckled, sending Rich sprawling onto the concrete floor. We all roared with laughter – only after making sure that Rich wasn’t hurt, obviously!
Nicely refreshed, we continued on our way and soon came to a highway which was lined with Norfolk Island Pine trees. At the end of the highway we arrived at the Vanaheim Love Manor (雙春濱海遊憩區-Vanaheim愛莊園). There was nobody there at all (except for a chap at the entrance and a lady working in the shop) and it could quite possibly be the saddest holiday resort we have yet visited on our walk – and we have visited some very sad, neglected recreational areas. Tim took pity on the sales assistant in the coffee area and bought four boxes of fruit jellies – a decision he regretted when he realized just how much weight that would add to his backpack. We asked the sales assistant if the resort was always this quiet to which she replied “Yes” and then qualified “It does get busier at weekends”. We definitely hoped this was the case!
We did notice some opportunities for fun in the area, including mangrove ecological trails and boat rides, and four-person semi-spherical tents for rent. We sauntered over a sand dune to witness the panoramic sea views we had read about, and the view didn’t disappoint. What did disappoint was the cleanliness of the beach – but that was par for the course on Taiwan’s coastline. We were surprised to see a large swing that had been erected on the beach and Elaine managed to clamber up onto the seat with a little help from Tim and Martyn – which made for a great photo opportunity. After passing a tall sentry tower we decided to move inland again. Elaine took an unfortunate tumble whilst clambering up from the beach but, like the true Welsh goddess that she is, continued on the way a little shaken but not stirred.
We then walked along some small roads before ascending the flood embankment that runs along the Ji Shui River (急水溪) and then up and over the Five Kings Grand Bridge (五王大橋). We then continued walking down Highway 17.
It wasn’t long before a unique sight greeted us on the left-hand side: a copse of binglang trees that had been felled half way up the trunk – leaving a small glade of tree trunks. Behind this we could see the roof of an ancient temple rising up on a hill behind a forest. As we walked on further it became apparent that we had entered an area of numerous temples and religious buildings built on an “island” of reclaimed land surrounded for miles and miles by fish ponds and salt evaporation ponds. This was the area known as South Kun Shen (南鯤鯓) and the name of the temple was Dai Tien Fu (代天府)
Legend has it that in the late Ming Dynasty, a royal ship drifted to the south of Tainan. Inside the ship were statues of five royal deities. Fishermen welcomed the ship and built thatched huts to enshrine the deities. A temple was built in 1662 but was in danger of submerging, and in 1822 the current temple complex was built in Nan Kun Shen and named Dai Tian Fu. The temple area was further expanded during the Japanese colonial era and in 2013 was designated as a National Historic Site.
We noted with interest that the temple complex had a 7-Eleven situated within the temple grounds – the first time we had seen this in Taiwan – and it was also the first store we had seen after seven and a half hours on the road! The only other place to buy water was in the deserted Vanaheim Love Manor.
After wandering around the temple grounds, we made our way to a 7-Eleven on Highway 17 which we thought would be an easier place to locate as a pick-up point. We asked the staff at 7-Eleven to call a taxi and within five minutes a large mini-van appeared. We were delighted to see such VIP transport!
The driver’s name was Mr Hong (洪政賢先生) and he was a former soldier who now worked as a driver. He took us back to Tainan and later picked us all up again at the Fuward Hotel. We went for dinner at the renowned seafood restaurant Xia Lin (夏林海鮮炭燒) in downtown Tainan.
As the cold beers hit our parched throats the feeling of euphoria once again started to kick in – a heady mixture of friendship, physical wellbeing, and sense of achievement at having walked 25 kilometres in heat, dust and wind. Tim reminisced about all the parties he had hosted in this restaurant – including dressing up as Rob Halford and Ozzie Osbourne and singing with a local band (until the police closed the party down!).
We wolfed down a selection of delicious Chinese and Taiwanese dishes including many old favourites such as 3-cup tofu, stewed belly of pork and fried fish in sweet and sour sauce. With our bellies full of food and drink we took a taxi back to the hotel for a good sleep – ready for Day 30. As Tim lives in Tainan, he took the same taxi home to the comfort of his own bed.
End of Day 29. By DJ Timmy Tim.
PS. During the walk Tim was kind enough to describe in minute detail, his latest video in his Kung Fu Heaven series, which features him swinging General Guan’s Halberd around. For those of you who haven’t seen it, please click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZpLzYBLq2I
Total Distance Walked Today 25.8km.
Total Distance Walked in Total 590.6km.
