| gonetraveling.com "I am a part of all that I have met. Yet, all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world where margin fades, forever and forever when I move." |
| outside taipei |
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| Exhausted from the possibilities of Taipei (we managed to cram almost every tourist attraction located in Taipei into those first four days), Robbie rescued us and was transformed into our personal chauffer for the next seven days. Our road trip started with an overnight stay in a seaside town called Hualien. We didn't see much of it since we arrived after dark and left the next morning almost before dawn. We did glimpse a few temples and traditional souviner shops, but the real attraction lay six-hours from Hualien. Well, it should have taken us six-hours, but since none of us could read the road closure signs in Taiwanese it took us nine-hours to travel through the breakthtaking Taroko National Park mountains. We climed more than 10,000 feet above sea-level on a road literally carved out of the side of the mountain. Speeding cars and trucks were relentless at passing regardless of the no-passing signs and single lane. It was nerve-racking and exhilirating all at once. Thank God Robbie is a skilled driver and familiar with the Taiwanese way of driving. |
| 2002-2003 |
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| > taiwan |
| > home |
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| Not only was Robbie our chauffeur, he housed us, fed us and always showed us a good time. He gave us a chance to abandon hotel living for a few days and actually sleep in a comfortable bed, use a laundry machine (not a sink), and watch real, American television. You don't realize what you miss. |
| free ride |
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| life with robbie |
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| The generosity of the Taiwanese people made us believe that there are still free rides in the world. On the outskirts of Taipei, and without our personal chauffeur Robbie, we found ourselves in the middle of a road judiciously debating how we were going to get back to Taipei with all of our luggage. A nearby couple recognized our distress and kindly offered us a free ride to Taipei (a 45 minute drive). Uncertain at first, we hesitantly accepted their offer, but quickly found out that we had nothing to worry about. They were more concerned with our enjoying Taipei than we could have ever been about our own safety. |
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