The Dream vs The Downpour

It came to Mary-Ann in a moment of cheap-beer-fuelled brilliance on our last night in Laos, as we were reminiscing about the great road trips we’d done there.
“Could we ride around the whole of Taiwan?”

… A good question!

We did a little reading and discovered that yes, people do it – but there’s surprisingly little coverage online. We couldn’t find many responsive bike rental companies, we had no idea if we could leave our big backpacks anywhere, we didn’t know how long it would take… we didn’t really know, well, anything!

But, perseverance and hours of laptop-time eventually led us to a rough plan. I’ll go into that later, but spoiler alert: it was not an entirely good plan.

Even if it had been flawless, the weather would still have been our greatest adversary. Let’s just say that a road trip on any kind of bike becomes utterly miserable when faced with hour upon hour of driving rain.

Some days on the moped felt like we were undergoing some kind of spiritual journey, as if our souls had left our bodies, abandoning the two stiff, sopping-wet, furious piles of meat to carry on riding. Or maybe that was just a survival instinct. I dunno. But, it was no joke!

I know that all sounds pretty doom and gloom, but stick with me – it gets better, I promise.

Pro Tip: Don’t attempt this trip on a bike if there’s a lot of rain on the forecast.
(Although in our defence, we did check the weather – and were still ambushed by doomsday levels of the wet stuff.)

Is Taiwan Even Built for Road Trips?

Moped riding in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, is basically gambling with your life every time you set off on an adventure. The roads are a chaotic mix of gravel, potholes, tarmac, and dirt, and your fellow road users are equally unpredictable. You see the consequences everywhere, with foreigners held loosely together with bandages and steri-strips.

But Taiwan is a totally different animal – and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s perfect for road trips! You’ve got smooth roads, immense stretches of coastline, mountain passes with mind-bending views, actual road markings, and a population who drive like they’ve actually passed a test and intend on staying alive. It’s a completely different experience, and in hindsight, probably the only reason our road trip was even manageable.

Wait, Does Green Mean Stop? Erm… Sometimes?

Okay, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a few Taiwanese road quirks we encountered along the way… And, well, Mary-Ann was reduced to tears less than two hours into the trip – and she wasn’t even the one driving!

Getting out of Taipei was a challenge. Roadworks, nonsensical junctions, loads of traffic, and a very confused Google Maps meant we took more wrong turns than right ones. What should have taken two hours to get us out of the city and onto the coast, took nearly three and a half!

At any given junction, you’re faced with a baffling combination of left-turn moped boxes, red lights, green lights, flashing lights, countdown timers, and the occasional sudden appearance of a moped-only lane. This situation occurs very regularly, because the cities are laid out in grids – a bit like the US, or Milton Keynes (shudder)… But at least Milton Keynes has roundabouts. Taiwan hasn’t discovered circles yet.

The lights have countdown timers, which is actually quite handy at first… until you realise that the average wait is 60 to 90 seconds. Google Maps doesn’t account for this, so you can almost double your predicted travel time through a city. Eventually, we ended up avoiding cities altogether, only braving them when we had no choice (i.e. for a bed, a shower, or an occasional urgent trip to a doctor…)

How Pretty Is It, Really?

If you’ve read my other blogs or seen my Instagram, you’ll know I have a habit of banging on about how beautiful places are. Sometimes, even for me it’s hard to tell what genuinely blew me away, and what just caught me on a good day or after a few beers.

Taiwan is different though, and it’s really hard for me to write about, because I’ve got this nagging feeling that it might just be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen – genuinely!
…But I can’t be entirely sure.

You see, I think we only saw about 50% of what we should have. The daily deluge of rain didn’t just obscure the views or keep us indoors, it soaked through everything – including our moods! When you’re rained on that relentlessly, it’s hard to appreciate even the most epic of landscapes. You’re too busy being cold, grumpy, wet, or some gross combo of all three.

That said, as a Brit – and after our similarly moist time in Vietnam – I’m no stranger to rain. I like to think that over the years I’ve developed a pretty sharp rain-dar, that allows me to sense when a place is truly epic, even if it’s hellbent on drowning me where I stand…

And my rain-dar tells me that in just one day in Taiwan, you can ride over 3000-metre mountain passes with views that’ll peel your face off, coast down scenic highways through lush forest, and finish the day with a soak in a natural hot spring before strolling through one of the best night markets you’ll ever find. It’s like a mash-up of China, Japan, and a bit of Southeast Asia, all condensed into one fairly small island.

The Route: Do As We Say, Not As We Did…

We opted to ride around Taiwan anticlockwise – and I’d recommend you do the same. The logic is, it makes the final stretch a nicer one, finishing up the stunning East Coast. It also means that just past the halfway mark, you can pop over to Green Island for a break and a bit of variety.

Ignoring the relentless rain we had to contend with, this part of the plan was actually solid.
However, there are some lessons we learned the hard way, starting with the biggest mistake of all…

The First 2 Legs: They Get Their Own Section…

The First Leg: Westside is NOT Da Best – (Taipei to Taichung)

Before day one of our road trip, we’d read a little about riding mopeds in Taiwan, more specifically, in Taipei – and the verdict wasn’t great. As I mentioned earlier, the road system is… well… it isn’t.

So when Google suggested the route to Taichung (our first destination) would take us through central Taipei and straight into some wiggly mountain roads, we chickened out. We thought, ‘let’s just get to the coastal road ASAP, it’ll be smooth sailing from there…’

DO. NOT. DO. THIS.

The western coastal area of Taiwan is purely industrial land, with roads that are horrendous for lil’ guys on mopeds. I’m talking; endless lorries, confusing highway junctions, featureless concrete sprawl, and a helluva lot of factories.

Our first day took seven hours of ugly, slightly sketchy and highly confusing riding. All of it through torrential rain… Lovely.

Learn from our mistakes. Don’t be us.

The Second Leg: Hills, Fireflies, and Many More Hours of Riding -(Taichung to Fenqihu)

Bruised and broken, we started early the next day to head inland to Chung Tai Chan Monastery. Thankfully, the ride was mostly dry, and very pretty. But although Google said it’d take just over an hour, the aforementioned traffic light chaos in Taichung city doubled that, and it took closer to two hours in reality.

The monastery detour was longer than we’d expected, but we figured it was on the way to an unmissable spot on our route: Sun Moon Lake.

But from the monastery, getting to the lake took another hour! It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, and we’d already racked up three hours on the bike, with the longest stint still to come! My arse still cringes when I think back!

The final stretch, from Sun Moon Lake to Fenqihu, took just over two hours through fading light, climbing mountain passes and thick cloud cover. We reached altitudes over 2000 metres, which aside from being very chilly, was pretty dang nerve-wracking on a moped in the dark!

If you’re doing this, don’t leave it late in the day. Trust me.

That said… arriving in Fenqihu after dark, meant we were welcomed by fireflies! A truly unexpected, surreal moment, made all the more intense by exhaustion and the sheer amount of moped-induced adrenaline still fizzing through our veins.

What Came Next: The Rest of the Legs

…There was a LOT of riding. Like, really a lot.
If you’ve read my previous blog about Laos, and the importance of regular breaks to prevent irreversible derriere damage, you’ll know how problematic this can be for us.

We were stopping every 45–60 minutes, usually at a Family Mart – the greatest Asian convenience store. No one can tell me I’m wrong.

Note: From this point on, the route we chose was actually pretty good. It was just the first 2 legs that were questionable. We just didn’t give ourselves enough time to do it at a relaxed pace!

Well, This Could Be Problematic…

Here’s another concerning little anecdote for you…

After the Philippines, I’d been feeling a bit rough. By the time we hit Taipei, I’d completely lost my voice and was running a bit of a temperature. As you know, I then followed that up with several days of cold, wet moped riding.

Shockingly, this didn’t improve my health.
In fact, in the wee hours of our first night in Fenqihu, I awoke with a piercingly painful earache. I popped some painkillers and eventually got back to sleep.

The next morning, though, while showering, I suddenly realised the entire hotel was beginning to fall over!
…Or at least, that’s what it felt like.

In reality, the ear infection had triggered a full-blown inner ear meltdown, and I couldn’t keep my balance.

Naturally, I did the sensible thing and pretended everything was fine. Then got straight on the moped to ride 50 minutes through driving rain high into the mountains. Weirdly, I had better balance on the moped than I did on my own 2 feet. But I couldn’t keep it hidden for long – I was deafer than usual, and Mary-Ann started noticing me stumbling around as we wandered through the utterly ethereal Alishan National Park.

Later that day, we made it back to Fenqihu, went for a short walk in the bamboo forest, then hit the hay. Only for me to be woken up a few hours later by my other ear doing exactly the same thing!

We sat up and had an extra loud discussion about what to do next, and concluded that we had only one option: Continue as normal, just don’t fall off the moped or ride off the edge of a mountain, then find a doctor in the next city.
Easy!

The Third Leg: It Was all Downhill From Here – (Fenqihu to Kaohsiung)

Slightly wobbly but determined, we headed out of the mountains and further south, stopping off at a very strange hot spring town called Guanziling, before continuing on to Kaohsiung.
Another city with approximately one bazillion traffic lights.

Altogether, the journey took the whole day, with over four and a half hours on the moped.

Pro Tip: If you’re planning on using Guanziling’s famous natural mud hot springs, do your research in advance. The ‘hot spring hotels’ in the town centre are… let’s say, kinda weird and borderline seedy. We checked out a few, even peeked inside a couple of rooms, but it was all just a bit too odd – even for us!
Eventually, we settled on a day pass at a place called King’s Garden Villa, which turned out to be a decent choice. Still a bit strange, but much less like something from a Netflix documentary!

The Forth Leg: To The Seaside! – (Kaohsiung to Kenting)

This stretch took us down the coast to Kenting, Taiwan’s premium seaside town. Aside from the Kaohsiung traffic, the ride was comparatively easy – dry, and just under three hours!

Although did extend the trip slightly with a detour to the National Aquarium. An extremely impressive place, but probably skippable if you’re on a tight schedule..

Kenting itself is a beauty. The beach is gorgeous, there are plenty of places to eat or drink, and the national park makes for a delightful day out. It’s full of monkeys, butterflies, incredible trees, and even some caves. Kenting town also boasts a pretty darn good night food market, though it is quite busy!

The Fifth Leg: We Were Blown Away… Almost Literally – (Kenting to Taitung)

I’m pleased to report that our ride from Kenting to Taitung was a dry one!
Unfortunately, it came with its own, different hazard – high winds that seemed hellbent on blowing us directly into oncoming traffic.

Progress was slow, but it only took around three hours, and the views were great, especially as we finally rounded the island onto the east coast.

Sadly, Taitung itself was a bit of a bust… There’s not a lot there, and they were revamping the area where the night market is usually held, which meant no night market at all! We were heartbroken! Where were we supposed to get dinner without market?! (I’m kidding, there are plenty of restaurants in Taitung!)

Pro Tip: Taitung is where most people, us included, catch the boat to Green Island. We spent two days there and absolutely loved it (especially the salt water hot spting), despite my ongoing ear infection and the less-than-perfect weather. But if you go, definitely take your moped with you on the ferry. It’s not expensive, parking overnight in Taitung is a pain, and you’ll definitely want some mobility once you’re on the island!
Just bear in mind this will add some mileage to your trip.

The Sixth Leg: The Dreaded One – (Taitung to Hualien)

This was the stretch I’d been dreading. On pure distance alone, getting to Hualien was the longest ride of the trip – and the thought of doing it in the rain made genuinely me shudder.

…Naturally, it rained.

Plus, to make matters worse, the adverse conditions finally began to kill Mary-Ann’s phone, which was the one we were using for directions – not ideal.

Pro Tip: Hualien is a properly magnificent place. But just a heads-up – don’t go if you’re only planning on going for the famous Taroko Gorge! It’s closed due to earthquake and typhoon damage, and it will be for years to come. They are literally rebuilding cliffs and mountains – bonkers!

Without the gorge, we were initially a bit stumped. But in the end, we took the bus to some beautiful coastal spots, had a proper rest, and made full use of the excellent night market (yes another good one… I’m telling ya, they’re all great!). It’s also worth noting that Hualien is one of the best places in Asia for whale watching, and missing out on it was one of our biggest regrets.

Wobble wobble…

One drizzly evening in Hualien, we were sitting at one of those restaurant–street food hybrids in the night market, I think we’d ordered steak and eggs (very cultural, I know, but cheap).

Suddenly, I felt myself starting to tip sideways off my chair. Fortunately, I caught myself and quickly looked up to catch Mary-Ann’s attention, so we could have a chuckle at my ear infection–induced lack of balance.

But instead of joy and laughter, I saw her running towards me with a look of sheer panic…

As it turned out, my sudden wobble wasn’t down to my dodgy ears at all – it was an earthquake! While Mary-Ann was understandably freaked out, I was completely chuffed. Experiencing an earthquake had been on my bucket list for years!

Apparently, Hualien gets hundreds of tremors every year, so if you’re after a shakey experience… head there.

The Seventh Leg: Time For a Different Kind of Soak – (Hualien to Jiaoxi)

Originally, the plan was to ride straight back to Taipei from Hualien. But after spending what felt like a true eternity on a moped in the rain, we decided to break the journey into two smaller stints.

We opted for a town called Jiaoxi, another hot spring town, that is thankfully far less seedy and strange than Guanziling. The downside is there is no mud hot springs here, just regular old transparent water. We didn’t mind though, we stayed in a lovely room with its own spring-fed tub, which we promptly soaked in for an unreasonably long time.

Even if you don’t splash out on a private tub, the town has public baths. From what we could tell, they’re mostly foot baths, but also some indoor pools if you want the full-body experience.

The Eighth Leg: Will We Ever Be Dry Again? – (Jiaoxi to Taipei)

The final stretch – phew! But Taiwan wasn’t done with us yet…

We woke in Jiaoxi to the sound of torrential rain hammering against the windows, cascading off the roof outside the breakfast room… and it didn’t stop all day.

By now, Mary-Ann’s phone had officially met its maker. Usually that would be no problem, because we would just switch to using my phone for directions. But no – for some mysterious reason, mine didn’t have the ‘moped’ option on Google Maps. Which meant it either sent us onto highways (illegal for mopeds), or down cycle paths (also illegal for mopeds)!

Pro Tip: Before you set off, check your phone has the moped option. If not, download an app that does. You’ll thank yourself later.

Mercifully, this leg was less than two hours – which was just as well! My gammy ears were beginning to really resent the constant moistness by this point. Although, it did wind through twisting mountain roads shared with an alarming number of trucks and lorries.

But still, me being an unwavering idiot, I took us one a short detour to Shifen Waterfall, to enjoy a fairly bad coffee, and double down on getting utterly soaked to the bone.

When we finally rolled back into rainy Taipei, where we were promptly told by the rental company, that the capital had been basking in perfect sunshine since the day we left. We’d literally been carrying the weather around with us like some kind of curse!

On the upside, we found a brilliant phone repair shop that replaced Mary-Ann’s drowned screen in 40 minutes flat. That gave us plenty of time to finish off the trip in true style – at the toilet themed restaurant! I honestly don’t think there could be such a perfect place on this planet.

My Final Piece of Advice

You may have noticed I’ve mentioned mileage a few times. That’s because it’s the one thing we properly tripped over.

In Taipei, moped rental places seem to be quite few and far between, and most enforce a mileage limit, charging extra if you go over. Which is fair enough – our limit was 1,200 km. On paper, that seemed fine, because Google puts a lap of Taiwan at around 1,000 km, if you mostly hug the coast.

Granted, we didn’t only hug the coast… I mean, there was Alishan, a spin around Green Island, and the odd small detour – but nothing wild. Not including those things, according to google maps (see the route maps I posted earlier), our plan had us at around 1,112 km, leaving just under 90 km of headroom.

About 45 km went on Green Island and Alishan. Then there were wrong turns, errands, and the occasional dash to the doctor for my ear. Still, you wouldn’t think that’d eat 90 km… would you?

Well evidently it did! In fact, we finished with 1,400 km on the clock – 200 km over our limit and nearly 300 km more than Google said it would be. I don’t think Google just underestimates travel time in Taiwan, I think it underestimates the distance too!

You’ll almost certainly want to head inland – to Alishan, Sun Moon Lake, hot springs, or maybe an island. So don’t agree to less than 1,500 km with your rental company – we’d have done even more if we hadn’t been nervously watching the mileage!

My Questionable Advice: A Summary

Just so it’s all in one place, here are the key takeaways from our very soggy lap of Taiwan:

– Check the weather: if it’s looking grim, don’t do this trip on a moped. Rain takes away a lot of the joy (and adds a lot of damp socks).
– Know the roads: if you’re not a confident rider, read up on how Taiwanese roads work… or don’t work.
– Take more days: we had 16 days in Taiwan with 14 of them on the road. That was not enough. Plan for at least 16 days for the road trip, plus any time you want to spend in Taipei either side of it.
– Protect your arse: if, like us, you suffer from saddle soreness, rent a bigger bike. Even if it feels like overkill, your booty will thank you.
– Avoid the northwest coastal road: it’s grim. Go inland through the hills to reach Taichung instead.
– Give Sun Moon Lake some time: stay at least one night there if you can.
– Bring your own moped to the islands: if you’re heading to somewhere like Green Island, take your moped on the ferry. It’ll save money and effort.
– Don’t count on Taroko Gorge: it’s closed for the foreseeable future, so don’t plan around it.
– Get mileage headroom: ask for about a 1,500km limit.
– Don’t ride bikes with a severe ear infection: not through the mountains or anywhere else. Trust me here.
– Don’t Believe Google Maps: especially when cities are involved. It doesn’t account for Taiwan’s traffic light purgatory.

Is it Worth it, Come Rain or Shine?

Let me start by going back to what I said at the beginning: Is Taiwan made for road trips?
We never hit a single pothole, dodged anything sharp in the road, or even once feared for our lives. From a comfort point of view, it’s bleedin’ glorious!

From a rider’s point of view, though, you will have to get used to a lot (and I mean A LOT) of traffic lights and a baffling road system. But I promise, that won’t stop you!

Now, the ‘come rain or shine’ bit is trickier to answer. We loved our trip – some of my fondest memories of our entire sabbatical were made in Taiwan, especially the night markets and the beautiful Alishan National Park.

But at the same time… I can’t help feeling a sense of loss for all the views and experiences we missed because of the rain.

Our circumstances were extreme – it’s probably not common for anyone to get hammered by unseasonal, unrelenting rain and wind like we did. So, I’d say you’re probably safe from that fate… probably.

Still, I’ll Say Two Things:

First – even in really rough weather, the views and experiences we had were still absolutely fantastic. But, I would not plan a moped road trip in the rainy season (May to September).

Second – if the forecast is iffy, pay the extra and do the trip in a car! I have never yearned for a roof over my head as much as during those countless exposed hours, riding through sideways rain.

Shh… don’t tell anyone I said this in a road-trip blog, but Taiwan also has an impressive high-speed rail network that’ll get you down to Kenting in a flash. Then you can hop on slower trains up the east coast… But hey, where’s the fun in that?! Plus, you’ll still have to mess around getting to places like Alishan or Sun Moon Lake.

Finally…

OK, I admit, I haven’t really answered the ‘Is it worth it, come rain or shine?’ question outright. I’ve just rambled again.

So here’s the final answer: Yes, it is certainly worth it!

Taiwan is honestly one of the most stunning, varied, and safe places we have visited – and it’s all so compact and accessible!

Just seriously, take heed of all the my questionable advice I gave earlier, and for the LOVE OF GOD, don’t forget your raincoat!

Stay bald folks.

Toodles,

Jack