Day 19: Bike exhibition

And finally, a pleasant surprise: a bike exhibition we stumbled on, Turning Wheels: Bicycle and Daily Life in Taiwan.

It was at the National Museum of Taiwan, which is deceptively spacious. Because from the outside (pic) it looks spacious. But inside... well, I've been to bigger Wetherspoons.

Still, of the handful of galleries, two were devoted to bikes, so that's a Yes from me.



As well as lots of bikes, many of them even older than my MTB at home, there was this 1930s print (detail, pic) showing everyday life in a Taiwanese street. Apparently doctors and midwives were prominent users of bikes then – the docs on chauffered tricycle rickshaws, the midwives on upright town bikes. Let's hope there weren't too many emergencies. Response times in these crowds might have been slow.

I was intrigued by this pottery figure of the 1930s too (pic), which clearly contravenes the Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 24.1 ("Not more than one person may be carried on a road on a bicycle not propelled by mechanical power unless it is constructed or adapted for the carriage of more than one person").



Many people started small businesses from their bike after World War II. This sort of thing – a micro-shop on wheels – was common, and helped ordinary people survive in a shattered economy where job opportunities were few, and when small-island life could no longer rely on trading links with the continent. So you see, it's not all bad news for Britain post-Brexit.

Bicycles were licensed in Taiwan from 1945, along with other human- and animal-powered vehicles such as rickshaws and ox-carts, and some of the plates were on display (pic).

However, it evidently didn't prove any use in tracing stolen bikes or raising revenue, and licences were abolished in 1973. And you can now cycle on the pavement anywhere you like in Taipei, and nobody minds and it all works out fine. So take that, anti-cycling columnists!

Now, in England, thick shouty people write about stuff like this to local newspapers, but evidently not in Taiwan. Perhaps it's because they use old complicated forms of the Chinese characters, which stops the thickies from corresponding. Perhaps there's a lot to be said for insanely complex ideographic systems.



The exhibition was quite big on special-needs bikes, whose users thrive here thanks to pavement-cycling being OK, and many roads having big wide cycle lanes. Here's a hand cycle (pic).

One of the displays (pic) invited you to ride a bike on rollers (one of three, set to different heights – in Asian scale, short to tall, or in Dutch scale, short to short).

The background was supposed to move faster or do something interesting and interactive, but in fact, however much effort you put in, nothing seemed to change. Maybe it's meant to be a metaphor for cycle campaigning.



A reassuring aspect to the exhibition was that all the bikes that had propelled Taiwanese through the 20th and 21st centuries were proper bikes, with mudguards, racks, lights and chain cases. This is a Lucky Double-Tube Macho Bike, which was built for big loads – as much as 'several hundred kilograms' apparently. Sounds like my sort of bike, especially for a trip to Tesco at marking-down time.

Our time in Taiwan has been super: lovely people, lovely scenery (and some relentlessly dreary towns), epic street food (and some prawns that fought back), a country with a strong sense of identity and ease with its place in the world, and some quite delightful, pleasant cycling. I've just seen Tim on to the airport bus, and I leave for the Philippines tomorrow. And you know what? I think I'll be back one day. To ride the island again. Maybe a bit slower next time. Happy cycling, everyone.

Days 14-18: Tainan to Taipei

We're off the bikes now, since Tainan, but here's a quick round-up of our non-cycling travels back to Taipei.

Tim copped a leg infection in Tainan so – with the help of his fellow Bradt author Steven, who lives here – we got it sorted at the local hospital last Sunday (pic). Very efficient and friendly. What's the drip for? He's taking the photo.

Well, it's always nice to see places that the usual tourists don't. It's just that A&E wasn't what I had in mind.



Outside Taichung we visited the Earthquake Museum, which preserves the school buildings shattered by the seismic event of 21 Sep 1999 (over 2,000 people were killed). The running track (pic) went right over the fault line.



A feature of the museum is an 'earthquake experience', kitted out like a living room, but on rollers, which recreates the rocking of the 7.6 moment magnitude quake that struck that night (pic). I'm quite familiar with the concept of savagely unpredictable, terrifying floor movements, having travelled regularly on Northern Railways' York to Hull service.

We dropped in on Lugang, a pleasant little town – now a local tourist magnet – with the nearest you get to quainte olde streetes in Taiwan (pic). Which, er, isn't very close.

And in Lugang we walked down Taiwan's narrowest alley (pic). Well, halfway down, anyway.

Back in Taipei – before we fly off to our respective next destinations, Tim to Laos, me to the Philippines – we stumbled on a riotous little local procession of traditional age-old rituals Confucius himself would have recognised: costumed deities, firecrackers set off at your feet, and this monkey god on a motorised skateboard (pic).

Our trek up to the top of local highest peak Qixingshan, 1220m up, gave us stunning views – alas only of clouds, fog and mist. And it was freezing cold. I started to cry at one point. Not out of misery, but because I felt homesick.

Still, we warmed up nicely with a dip in the free local public hot springs. That's not an awesome view from the bath – it's only a pic (pic).

Seconds later, this tub was full of a dozen naked men. Sorry to dash the fantasies of some of our readers, but Tim and I were among the youngest.

Day 13: Tainan

All that End to End stuff on high-grade carbon-frame fast touring bikes (now returned) is fine, but we did some real cycle touring here in Tainan today...

...on our hotel's free hire machines (pic).

I always love exploring a city on one of these: a cheap, clanky town bike stuck in its one functioning gear, that handles like a wheelbarrow being steered over the phone.

One with a saddle so low my knees keep bumping against my chin, and makes such loud clanking noises that pedestrians jump out the way for fear of being run over by the tram.

It was great fun, enabling us to visit lots of things otherwise too far to walk, too cumbersome by bus, too expensive to taxi.



We clattered our way to Anping, Taiwan's oldest Old Town: home to several temples, packed shopping streets and alleys, and this tree that's been eating an old warehouse for 60 years (pic). Well, Tainan is famous for its food. I ate some quite exquisite fried pork'n'shrimp dumplings shortly afterwards from a stall. It took me about 60 seconds.

In one of the temples we chanced on this shaman performing a ritual – definitely for locals, not tourists. I didn't know a shaman's traditional costume includes jeans.

It was accompanied by fireworks, a curious choice for bright daylight, but there was certainly plenty of din from the firecrackers.

That couldn't quite drown out the fighter jets practising overhead, but more seriously, nor could they drown out...



...the musicians, who embellished the ceremony with some gongy, waily sounds that put me in mind of a soprano saxophone being waterboarded on a fairground waltzer as someone tipped over a pile of scrap metal. They were playing from inside the back of a van (pic), perhaps for a quick getaway.

All this plus countless gorgeous temples, a monument to turtles, a Shinto shrine at the top of a department store, and a ride in Taiwan's first ever lift, so old it has the floor indicated in Roman numerals, and a mosaic floor. (It's 1932 Japanese-empire-era, not Roman-, though.) It's amazing where even cheapo bikes can take you.

Miles today: 10
Total miles in Taiwan: 557

Day 11: Kaohsiung

An easy day exploring Kaohsiung by bike.



We decided we hadn't spotted enough monkeys on this trip, so we cycled up to Shoushan ('Long life mountain') and walked some of the trails. Lots of monkeys, including this grooming pair (pic). Given the excellent quality of food here in Taiwan, I was surprised that these macaques were so keen on eating scurf.



Unfortunately Tim has gone down with the lurgi, and spent the afternoon in bed back in the hotel. So I trundled off up the nice bike path alongside Love River (pic). It's apparently a canal really, but I suppose 'Love Canal' doesn't sound quite right.



I also did the round of Lotus Lake, which is surrounded by temples (pic) of varying kitsch. These were all busy with locals praying for good luck and getting their fortune told. I was a bit scared to get mine. I shouldn't've been: I saw one family go back three times until they got the right answer to their questions.

Miles today: 17
Total miles in Taiwan: 547

Day 10: Hengchun to Kaohsiung

Up to Kaohsiung by bike and then train today, with several quirky sights en route with something of an animal theme, another fab night market and a surprise festival.

We were intrigued by this as we left Hengchun (pic). Tree-hugging architect, or very swanky treetop house for some rich children?

Then this by the road (pic). What sort of weirdo has a dinosaur outside their house?

And this zebra police officer outside the police station in Chaozhou (pic).

Can we tell its rank by the number of stripes?



From Chaozhou we took a train to Kaohsiung. Only local trains take walk-on bikes, but there's plenty of space, and there's no problem finding the bike carriage (pic).



In Kaohsiung we strolled out to the most prominent Night Market, Liouhe (pic). This was one place we didn't have an animal connection: Tim was delighted to find a specialist vegetarian stall, recognisable by the swastika symbol on it. I was delighted to find a fresh sugar cane juice stall afterwards, recognisable by grinning thirsty English cycle tourists in front of it.

And finally we walked through the canalside Lantern Festival, full of more food stalls, all sorts of illuminated displays (pic), and the entire population of the town taking selfies.

Miles today: 42
Total miles in Taiwan: 505