We started this week with a day off the bikes exploring Tainan, with lots of walking around, an afternoon nap, and dinner at an amazingly cheap canteen. And after a late start pressed onwards along the coast.

We cycled inland, into Maolin Recreational Area and up Purple Butterfly Valley. It was really beautiful, and we saw a ton of the migrating butterflies, as well as some of the aboriginal villages.

Dropping back towards the coast took us past Foguangshan, a huge Buddhist monastery, and into Pingtung, where we spent another evening walking around admiring the lantern festival lights.

Then we were onto cycling route one, a big busy main road heading south. We took a little detour up to Kayoufeng waterfall, which was stunning and involved a fairly dodgy hike, so was a bust for a campsite. Luckily we found the Tiny Greece Cafe to camp at instead, right on the beachfront.

As we continued round to the southern coast the winds picked up and were quite blustery. But there were loads of pretty beaches and mountain views, and we cycled down to the southern-most point of Taiwan before checking out an amazing beach full of rock pools which were filled with big stripy fish and crabs.

From the bottom of Taiwan we climbed up into Kenting National park. From the road we could see the Sea on both sides, and some beautiful beaches and huge rock formations and cliffs. As we headed north the road got hillier, and we climbed through deep forests full of monkeys. It’s been getting cooler, and we have now had our first day of rain in Taiwan, but its been very light drizzle. The main road we have taken was right along the beach, rolling along the coastline. Everyone we have talked to has said the east coast is the best, so we are happy to finally be here!

Jade

Jim’s word’s – Buffet, Seaside, Lights, Chatting, Southerly, Pleasent and Tea.