Waio-in Out

After eating our way through Taipei, we decided to see what else Taiwan has to offer. The next morning, we checked out of our mosquito infested, coffee shop guesthouse and hopped on a train to Waiao, a sleepy little surfer town on the northeast coast of Taiwan. This little place isn’t even on the map, but Will had stumbled across a blog post stating it was great quick-trip from Taipei for a few days of sunshine, beach, and surfing. The train was absolutely packed for over half of the two hour ride.

We stayed at one of the only hostels in the little town, Rising Sun Surfer Inn. It’s owned by a Californian and his Taiwanese business partner and staffed with a great selection of expats from all over the world. Since there are no convenience stores, markets, restaurants, or even an ATM within a 20 minute radius, we had almost all of our meals right at the Inn, where the gregarious Belgium named Tars would cook burgers, sandwiches, pancake breakfasts, or the catch of the day. Our first afternoon, Will ordered a quesadilla. I took a bite and was in heaven. It took me a minute to figure out why I was so in love with two stuffed flour tortilla’s; CHEESE! It was the first time we had cheese since we left the States. It was salty, gooey, greasy, and melty in every magical way cheesey goodness should be.

The tasty meals Tars cooked up weren’t exactly cheap, so when we wanted to save a few bucks or needed more cash, we’d just hop back on the train and continue down the tracks two more stops, where you can find everything from a 7-11 to the amazing dumpling stand we enjoyed more than once.

Since we don’t surf, we spent our days relaxed on the black sand beach, which get’s its color from volcanic rock and offers enough nutirents for the locals to plant gardens right in the sand, We swam, did some beach workouts, went on a few runs, watched the surfers and mingled with new friends. Evenings would bring the surfers back to dry land, Bob Marley played on repeat, and everyone enjoyed a few beers and conversation. We met a handful of Californians teaching English and living on the beach. Teaching English in Taiwan was extremely popular for Americans, and most people we met assumed we were also teachers. As the evenings progressed, guitars, bass, and makeshift drum sets would appear for a little jam session. It was very chill. Very laid back, very surfer, very "who cares, let’s just be friends and enjoy life." We met a ton of great people during our time at Rising Sun.

Our last evening there, a Taiwanese friend, Ryan, offered to bring us to a much larger city a few stops away and show us around. A group of us went for a great dinner and explored the city, enjoying a few beers while soaking our toes in one of many natural hot springs sprinkled all over Taiwan. During dinner, we asked why we heard a twinkling tune like the ice cream man every night, but never saw him.

“Oh, that’s the rubbish truck,” our Brittish friend Sabrina replied. Sabrina is currently living and working in Japan and is very well travelled. She shared plenty of recommendations for amazing places to visit in Malaysia and Indonesia. We’ve chatted a few times since Waiao, and look forward to experiencing her recommended destinations.

“What?! You mean that isn’t an ice cream man?”

“What’s an ice cream man?”

“You don’t know who the ice cream man is?”

“You don’t know what a rubbish truck is?”

We were crushed to learn the happy song that reminded us of childhood summers and those frozen baseball gloves on sticks with the bubble gum baseball was actually summoning civilians to run out to the truck with their garbage. The ‘rubbish truck’ cruises by every night, slowy tooting along every street waiting for bags of garbage to be hurled into the back. We explained that back home we just take our trash to a big bin in the alley or a garage and the garbage man picks it up only once a week. We also explained the greatness that is the ice cream man.

After dinner, while we relaxed, splashing in the hot water and sharing travel stories, Sabrina passed shot-sized cups of whiskey around. We raised our glasses, said “KAMPAI,” and took our friendship shots. As Will and I let the burn cool in our throats, the group stared at us.

“You took that all in one gulp?!”

“Yes….”

We quickly realized it was to be sipped and enjoyed, not tossed back like a Fireball shot, and joined in the rumbling laughter coming from our pals. Lucky for us, they were all kind souls and nicely teased us about our little drinking mishap. Americans… jeeze…

Sabrina, Will, and I parted ways with the rest of the group; some were going back home, others were off to a new destination. We said our farewells and headed back to our shared dorm, setting an alarm for a very early rise to watch the sun come up. Although the clouds slowed the sun’s appearance, it was a beautiful hour of peace, followed by a few more hours of extra sleep.

After our early morning nap, we packed up our black sand-filled bags and hopped back onto the train, heading further south along the east coast to Hualien. We got in after dark and trekked about a mile to our hostel. As we walked in, Dave Mathews was playing and there was a bottle of wine sitting on the counter. In the corner, rows and rows of English books had been curated to share. The walls were covered with backpacker’s sharpie designs, and a fluffy puppy cheerily barked a welcome. I was home!! We stashed our bags on our bunks and opted for a Subway dinner, which is a travel staple of ours during road trips Stateside.

Hualien is a popular travelers destination for a hike in the Taroko Gorge. It’s name means "magnificent and splendid" in the aboriginal language of the tribe who resides in the area. The gorge is mostly comprised of metomorphic rocks, such as marble, and is a beautiful drive through the mountainside to access any of the numerous trailheads. Unfortunately, all but 1 of the trails we wanted to hike were blocked off due to serious damage caused by a monsoon last year. Even more unfortunate, we didn’t know this until we weren’t allowed to exit at our desired stop. We hopped off at the next stop, walked around and snapped some photos, then headed back to the other trailhead.

We hiked for most of the afternoon, enjoying the views and fresh air. The river running through the valley is crystal clear and babbles soothingly, practically begging me to swim. Will thought swimming was a bad idea; many of the aboriginals cannot swim, and sadly many die every year after seeing travelers who know how to swim enjoying the river’s cool waters. We didn’t want to encourage any sad endings, so we stuck to the trail.

Back at our hostel, we freshened up and packed. We had a few hours to kill before catching the high-speed train back to Taipei, and I had already received a few orders for holiday cards. 17 orders, actually! I worked with the fluffy puppy cheering me on, and we headed to the station to catch our ride to Taipei.

We arrived a few hours later, traveling at a whopping 186mph, settled into our hostel, and did some last minute research and planning before heading to bed. The next afternoon were right back on the bus to take us to the worlds nicest airport (which is still not an official title).

The train was so fast my hair grew in the wind!! Sike.

Will walked and I took this value-added escalator to get to our gate, and we waited for our flight in oversized recliners. Travel days get long, but we were very excited to get onto the plane…

Next stop, Philippines!!

From Taiwan, with Love,

Sara + Will