Tru Tru. The phone rings. I checked the time. 4am. In my semi-consciousness, I only remembered it was a guy on the other line asking if I wanted to watch the sunrise and if I needed transport up there. In typical Mich fashion, I tried to sound coherent in a desperate bid to make him hang up the phone so I can get back to lala land. I forgot what I said, but I knew it was enough to allow me to get back to dreamland within 1 minute. But blissfulness is not eternal, we had to wake up in a while for our hiking adventure in a bid to catch the sunrise! OHHH NOOOO... :'(
When we were leaving the hotel, we bumped into the humble couple from Malaysia whom we took the same hell bus up. Pitiful couple they were, being cheated by the sly guide who claimed to offer them a good price for the hotel room. We stayed in the same kind of room but they paid a few hundred bucks more. I got to give credit to Mr Low for this. I was about to fall victim to the sly guide's attempt but Mr Low's persistence in not wanting to relent turned out to be a blessing in disguise! In the end, we got the price we wanted! -Mich looks at Mr Low in awe- :D
Not wanting to be lost sheeps, the gullible couple initiated to hike up together. It was only then that we realised the call in the morn was from the couple. Knowing that we are resourceful kids, they wanted to tag along with us to admire the sunrise together. Look at the photo and you will know they made the best decision in their lives to follow us!
Armed with a water bottle, umbrellas and a unstoppable desire to watch the sunrise, we were ready to brave the demanding road to the sunrise top! But we were shell shocked by the comments of the convenience store cashier. Wanting to verify that we were heading in the correct direction, I decided to ask the cashier for verification.
Mich: Hi, can I ask which is the correct way to the sunrise trail?
Cashier: Just walk straight and follow the sign posts. You should reach there in a short while.
Mich: Oh okay. Thanks. How long does it take to walk up there?
Cashier: Oh, I think it takes ONLY about one hour plus.
-Mr Low and Mich look at one another with their mouths wide open-
Goodness! Talk about misrepresentations and you will realise that Taiwan is ALL about misrepresentation! Whoever can comment that walking for one hour or more is a short while can only be a lunatic or a long-legged freak! So evil! :$
We were cold, we were hungry. But 2 dogs brightened our way up! They were the dogs which followed us on our way to the restaurant yesterday night. They led us all the way up to the sunrise trail, urinating on spots as trails should they get lost! They are truly the animal version of Hansel and Gratel!
The trail was trying on our stamina. It was like walking the great wall of Taiwan! It was like the road that NEVER ends! :'( We were panting like dogs. I nearly couldn't feel my legs! Then, we saw the vomiting couple who took the same bus as us descending from the mountain top. They were true hardcore sunrise enthusiasts. They were up there since 530am! But there was no sunrise to be spotted! The fog was too much for the sun to bear! :'(
Wanting to make the best of our hike, we decided to still continue our way up to the mountain top. Even if there ain't gonna be no sunrise, we aint gonna frown. We will take some cool pics just because we are cool! OH YES! Finally, the summit! ;p
Look at this dog! It is a specist tyrannt! It looks like a wolf and appeared only halfway through the trail. Like a unreasonable landlord, it forbidded one of the dogs that were following us to continue with the journey. Just because it was brown and not black and white like it is! What a specist [direct translation of racist]! All the while, I was afraid it would charge on me and rip me into pieces like how wolves rip their prey apart on animal planet! :(
The road back to the hotel was more relaxing as it was down slope. We were in the mood for more modelling with the beauty the forest had to offer!
Look at what great photography skills I portrayed! My JC years with the photography club has paid off! Ha, though I only attended a couple of times, I was able to grasp all that were taught over 2 years. Talk about talent. Heh heh.
What a fine-looking couple! ;P
Look how cold it is!
With Mr Low being a MSG freak, instant noodles were frequent items on our daily menus. We bought 2 cup noodles with hot canned drinks back to the hotel to satisfy our hunger. Apparently, the sun can only be seen at 930am per the driver who drove us to the train station. Talk about being lazy, now who is more lazy, the sun or me? ;p
This was taken when we were descending Alishan. The driver who drove us down was much friendlier than the hell driver who sent us up. He stopped at strategic places and explained the significance of the landscape. He even brought us to 'pao cha' [drink chinese tea] at a tea shop. See the green patches? They are actually tea plantations! :D
Off to Hualien! I was relieved that we reached the station in time! I have always imagined us missing the train or the flight back home and all the trouble we have to go through to make sure we get to where we want again. But luckily, none of all these happened!
Just when I thought everything was going well, shit happened! I thought we can finally have a place to rest when we reached Hualien. Little did I know after half an hour of walking, we realised that the hostel address was non-existent! It was 11pm and we were stranded with no accommodation. Apparently, the hostel we booked did not have a chinese name, the owner was uncontactable and the Taiwanese know nuts about English. Imagine the 7-11 boy greeting you good afternoon when you step into the store at 11pm. You know something must be very wrong! The best part is that nobody has ever heard of the hostel before after several attempts to inquire about the location of the hostel with various people!
Luckily we found a hostel like Hero House somewhere nearby, per the 7-11 boy's recommedation. Luckily we found a phonecard with credit so we can call the hostel and get our asses there. By the time we had dinner, it was near midnight. I never felt more thankful for not being stranded on the streets overnight. We were exhausted, but the thought of Taroko Gorge and water rafting excited me! I knew our adventure is just beginning... :)
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