I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept tossing and turning, I couldn’t turn off my brain. Then I had to get up around 7:30 so I could go meet Yen at the MRT station. We made plans to go to Chaoming Temple. We would have to hike up a hill to find. Yen and I waited in the lobby for Geoff, Sean and Johnny, who would also be going us on the endeavor. We were supposed to meet at ten but as usual the boys were bad at waking up, save for Johnny. He came out and told us what was happening.
We walked down to the Taipower station at the end of Shida road and got on for the red line. This would take us far enough north that we were on the out skirts of Taipei. Not that I could really tell, there was still lots of buildings and cars. We all got off at Shipai. Then we started walking. We managed to get turned around fairly quickly but no one really minded. It wasn’t that hot. We kept trying to follow the signs and we were wondering where the hiking trail was. we just started walking up some back road hoping it was right. We saw some interesting wildlife on the way.
We thought we had stumbled upon it when we found some stair leading away from the road but instead we walked up to an old grave! I didn’t really feel comfortable taking pictures of it. The grave was near an abandoned shack which had the Taiwanese flag on it. We were far enough away from the main part of the city that there lots of places like that in the back roads. We kept climbing up and up the streets having absolutely no idea where we were going.
We found some beautiful view of the city, though it was a little smoggy. The bugs were super loud, I took a video recording of it. Along the way we all just chatted though when we got to some of the steeper parts we all fell silent. Finally we stopped and asked for directions because we simply had no idea. A man spoke with us and we realized we could actually see the temple in the distance. We also needed to find water, everyone was sweating profusely all the guys had soaked their shirts and Yen I were very close to the same. After that it was another 15 minute walk and we were finally there.
The temple stood out in the mountainside. It was absolutely huge! And as all the temples have been extremely colorful. There was a nun inside the temple and as soon as we walked she ushered us over to the water set out. We got refreshed then went and lit some incense. Then we wandered around the temple. It was huge with giant gold statues and different parts. I probably could have stayed another hour but Sean and Geoff needed to eat. So we wandered behind the temple and found the hiking trail.
The trail itself was fairly well used. The forests are different that the Sierra Nevadas, they’ve got a jungle feel to them. There were many bugs flying around and spider galore. We had a good time heading down. There were weird stepping stones, slightly precarious areas and random sets of stairs It was enjoyable and bugs were loud as usual. I really like the mountains in Taiwan. All in all we made it down in one piece.
Then we moved onto the next order of business –– Food. By this point it was 2:15 and we had been hiking since 10:45. So we stopped at a little noodle shop and feasted there. I got dry wantons with some noodles. It was excellent and just what I needed. We then found an MRT station and headed back to NTNU.
I came back and showered. I was so sticky from the walk. Everyone as we were walking back had begun to absolutely reek. So I went and took a cold shower, because hot water is a terrible idea. Then I sat around in an air conditioned room enjoying the sensation of being cold. I then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. After having not slept well it was desperately needed. I got up and went in search of a light dinner, ended up with a zhong zi (or Onigiri or riceball). Then my roommate came back.
Liu is a girl from China, she is really sweet. She offered me some Lychee fruits that were juicy and delicious. Fruit here is really fresh, particularly pineapples. I am in heaven with all the fruit I have access too. I am still very tired so I will probably go to sleep early. Going out again does not sound appealing. Hopefully tomorrow I will be going to the tiger temple with Mikey and more adventures to share. I am also in the process of getting ready for school which starts on Monday.
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