Day 18 - From Changhua To Lukang, And A Message From Lao Tsu, The Long Walk South In Taiwan
Day 18 - From Changhua To Lukang, And A Message From Lao Tsu, The Long Walk South In Taiwan
This morning, the Taiwan national weather agency cancelled all typhoon warnings.
This means that schools, museums, banks and offices will be open as usual today.
The winds have mostly died down and the chances of rain decreased to only twenty percent.
Even though our hotel room came with breakfast, we ate for breakfast what we had bought yesterday in the Vietnamese section of town, a toasted baguette with sliced avocado and cucumber.
It was so nice to eat an avocado again.
The creamy avocado in Taiwan is very delicious, although it is eaten here when it’s still firm, not soft, and it is huge, the size of a papaya.
We returned by train to the city of Changhua, where we had stopped walking yesterday.
Our plan for today was to leave our backpacks in the lockers at the train station, and walk forwards to cover tomorrow’s walk to Lukang.
Because everything in Taichung city was closed for the typhoon for the last two days, we used the time that we had allotted for sightseeing around the city, to walk forward.
Now we are ahead by a day, which means that we can use our time to make the longer days easier, by walking forward and returning to the hotel by train or by bus.
We have already walked from Taichung to Changhua, so we took the train to Changhua this morning, and stored our backpacks at the train station.
We noticed that the electric lockers were not functioning properly. The screen was blank and non responsive.
A kind guy stopped to ask if he could help us.
We showed him the blank screen and he suggested that we store our bags in person at the luggage room at the station.
While we were walking there with him, he asked us what we were doing in Taiwan, how long we would be staying and how we’re finding the walking in Taiwan.
We answered all his questions, beside the question of WHY.
“But WHY?” He asked.
“Why walk in Taiwan?
Why Taiwan?
There are many more beautiful places to walk in, like Europe or Japan!
The drivers in Taiwan are aggressive and we have no sidewalks or paths for pedestrians.
It is dangerous and not very pretty!”
He concluded.
We didn’t know what to answer.
He was right about the cityscapes not being very beautiful.
There are indeed no sidewalks, or if there are, they are usually blocked by scooters and cars.
Drivers were not kind, stopping right in front of us and blocking the crosswalks, and almost nobody stops for pedestrians.
Although, I have to mention that because we are foreigners, the people are extra kind to us and very affectionate and helpful towards us.
After our backpacks were safely stored, we walked to Starbucks to drink matcha lattes before beginning the walk of the day.
We decided to walk today to the historic town called Lukang, where we will be staying and sightseeing tomorrow.
This way we will have a full day to enjoy the town of Lukang, instead of arriving tired and thirsty and in need of a rest.
The distance to Lukang was about 17 km, across mostly flat cityscapes interspersed with frequent rice paddies.
There were several nice looking temples to photograph along the way and a few convenience stores where we could stop for a drink.
At first we thought to eat lunch in Lukang before going back to claim our backpacks in Changhua City.
But when we arrived, it was later than I thought and with the heat, the idea of a lunch seemed unappealing.
Instead, I ate a dragon fruit and Jules ate an apple, and we got on the bus back to Changhua.
We had booked a night in a motel, not really understanding how motels work in Taiwan.
We booked the room because it had looked spacious and clean and got good reviews, but motels in Taiwan are used by drivers who stop for the night.
Check in time is insanely late, at 6pm or even 8pm.
This was a bad choice for us, who had no car and really nowhere to go until evening time.
Luckily, the town had a Starbucks Reserve with good sofas and comfortable chairs.
We rested there until evening time.
Starbucks doesn’t have good food, but we brought some roasted sweet potatoes and Onigiri rice balls with us, and that was our simple but tasty dinner.
Finally it was time to check in, and we walked through the dark streets to our motel accommodation for the night.
The room was located above our private car garage.
We climbed upstairs to the living area,
It was indeed very spacious, but most of the space was taken up by a huge jacuzzi in the middle of the room.
The air conditioner was blowing very strong cold air on the bed, and was not adjustable.
We could only control the temperature.
The maintenance of the room was poor.
The bedsheets were clean but the room needed a new coat of paint and a refurbishing.
It was a sad room.
It was a reminder why we prefer to stay in small boutique hotels and intimate guesthouses, where the owners really care about their places.
The motel was full, and at night someone parked in our garage and tried to open our door.
I went downstairs to investigate and heard a couple getting back into their car.
They sounded drunk and must have parked in the wrong garage.
When I opened the door, our garage was empty and the garage door was closed.
We have booked other motel stays farther down the road on our pilgrimage, mostly because of their convenient locations to continue our walk.
But now I was second guessing my choices of staying in any motels.
That night I dreamed about death.
I was in a beautiful meadow with a wise old man who looked like Lao Tsu (who wrote the Tao Te Ching).
He had a serene quality about him, and he was holding a wooden stick with a beautiful carving of a dragon on the top.
He was explaining to me why we shouldn’t fear death:
“I am Lao Tsu,
The son of Atlantis.
The son of the Land Of The Dragon.
I have come to answer your silent question about death.
What is death but a change of form?
Changing forms is neither scary nor sad.
Does water cry when it evaporates?
Even though it loses all of its water qualities?
Save the tears you shed for your mother, for she is forever part of the Divine Mother Of All!
I am Lao Tsu,
I come to you from the edge of the Lemurian Sea.
You are older than you might suspect.
More luminous than you can currently imagine.
And you are returning HOME…
Returning to your Eternal Home beyond the Stars…”
Sending you love,
Tali
Today’s Stats:
Steps - 23,813
Daily Distance - 17 km.
Total Distance To Date - 287 km
