Right now I’m sitting at my computer in Taoyuan City. The temperature is 16C. (61F)
I would say this is cool, but not cold weather. I can function pretty well at this temperature. Because of my health issues when it gets
cold, I hurt a lot, I can’t grab a hold of things, I have more difficulty
standing. But 16C I can handle all that. The week before last it was a lot
colder.
That was the week we had chosen for our first ever, family
vacation. We’ve traveled to visit
family, and we’ve gone together to weeklong conferences, but this is the first
time we just took some time off and just hung out together. So we decided to drive down the coast to Hawaii.
Well, we didn’t actually go to Hawaii, but it felt like it. When we left, at about 10:30 am the
temperature in Taoyuan City was 9C (48F), when we arrived at our destination
the Chateau Beach Resort in Kenting at 5:47 pm, the temperature was 21C
(70F). Ahhhhh!
 |
| Garmin: A Good GPS system |
It’s about a five-hour drive from Taoyuan to Kenting. The drive is easy and fairly relaxing as you
drive the tollway almost the entire route.
A good GPS system that warns you in advance of speed cameras, tollbooths
and exits is helpful; especially the speed cameras which are hidden all over
the freeway. Most vehicles here don’t
have cruise control. Well, most of the
vehicles I’ve driven didn’t have cruise control and you can find yourself
zipping along at about 130 km/hr on a 110 km/hr road. I don’t know the settings of the speed cameras and I don’t want
to find out the hard way. I never speed…honest…really.
We stopped at one of Taiwan’s excellent rest stops on the way. If you travel by road a lot in California,
then you may then you may have trouble believing that rest stops can be great, but in Taiwan they’re
great. Our rest stop had all the
comforts: Gasoline station, mechanic
shop, several restaurants arranged in a food court, a store and a huge parking
area. We decided to have lunch right
there in the rest stop. I had a variety
of foods, my wife had steamed pork buns (Bao zi) and small steamed dumplings
(Xiao Long Bao). The kids chose not to
eat real food but got containers of Caramel popcorn. We spent about an hour and slipped back onto the road again.
The only part that was inconvenient, I thought, was having to stop at so
many toll booths. They’re spaced about
thirty kilometers (18.75 miles) apart. So about every half-hour you’re stopping
to pay toll. Toll is $40.00 NTD (or
$1.30 USD). Taiwan also has an electronic
toll paying system so that you can just drive through, without having to stop. You pay into an account in advance and they
deduct the toll every time your car passes underneath the electronic
reader. I don't drive the tollways enough to bother with it so I just stop and fork out the cash.
Near Gaoxiong you exit the toll road and drive on surface streets about
another thirty or forty kilometers until you reach Kenting. Kenting is right at the southern tip of the
island. I thought the scenery looked a
lot like the area area surrounding Mazatlan, Mexico. That makes sense since
Mazatlan is at 23 degrees N in latitude while Kenting is at 21 degrees N. Honolulu is 19 degrees N. Taoyuan City is 24 degrees N. but feels like
it’s a lot closer to the Arctic Circle in January. Next Post I’ll finish off the kenting adventure with a bit about
the Chateau Beach Resort. |
| Brenda's Lunch at the Rest Stop |
 |
| Exercise Facilities at Another Rest Stop: I don't think this is their intended use. |
 |
| Rest Stop Ice Cream |
Some Random Scenery on the Road to Hawaii:
 |
| I don't know what these are for, but they're cool! |
 |
| A Hotel in Taizhong |
 |
| Bridge Superstructure |
Photo Credits: High Speed Rail: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1ac6a5/
All other photo's Chris, Brenda and Emily Banducci
No comments:
Post a Comment