My world walk blog - Taiwan #1

 My world walk blog - Taiwan #1

I got my ticket for Taiwan and sailed from the Chinese port of Pingtan.

Thanks a million to a wonderful employee from the ferry company. Chenying kindly sorted out some hassles and messaged me about the ferry status after the previous cancellations. I had been stuck in Pingtan for four days waiting for the stormy sea to abate.

Upon arriving in Taiwan I had a problem getting a Taiwan sim card as they need two identifications and I only have a passport. I never had this problem before anywhere else even in China. It was to take me a week to find my way around it.  That first week I had to rely on wifi which was less frequent than in mainland China.

A couple of easy days took me to the capital Taipei. Taiwan an island with a population of 23 million is much more expensive than China. That first day I walked twenty-one kilometres and camped in a park beside a university.

Taiwan seemed so civilised. I only got run off the road twice. There is almost no mad honking like in China.. I reckon that there is probably more in Dublin. 

In Taipei, I spent a couple of days preparing for my walk in a lovely backpackers hostel called Uinn Travel. It was just a few days before Christmas and I was not in the least bit homesick despite a beautiful Christmas tree in the hostel.

Before leaving the city I dropped off Karma at Tony Durben's place because my plan was to walk the island with a backpack. It's a bit risky pushing Karma through so many tunnels.

 Tony is an American who has been living here for twenty years and working as an English language teacher. He tracked me down on Facebook. 

Thanks a million to my fabulous sister Ann for sending me on a box of my favourite snacks for Christmas care of Tony. She also included Christmas cards from home which I won't open until Christmas morning. However, the same can't be said for the snacks as I attacked the Tayto and Turkish Delight chocolate.

 Interestingly, I told nobody in Taiwan I was going there to walk around the island, and then when I turned on my phone.... Hey, presto! I got thirty local Facebook friend requests.

I was moving slowly after a late noon start. With only 15 kilometres by 5 pm. I was adjusting to walking with my backpack and the unusual weight on my back and extra effort on my body. It's also pretty hot, around 30C and the best way to transport my heavy coat is to carry it as it won't fit on my backpack.

My first main destination was Taichung, 154 kilometres away.