Traveling around the island is becoming more and more popular in Taiwan, it is also considered something one has to achieve at least once in a life time. There are many students, foreigners, and even office workers often travel around Taiwan to see lots of beautiful sceneries and gain local experience here.
Restart? Go Travel!
“Traveling around Taiwan” has always been many Taiwanese people’s dreams or even some foreigners’ ideas. To them, “traveling around Taiwan” is a goal that they want to achieve. Therefore, when Chun-Hsien Ou(歐駿賢) were asked about his first trip to ride around Taiwan on his motorcycle, he got excited like a child. “At that time, all I wanted to do is getting on my motorcycle with my first love, carrying some baggage, and going for the magnificent scenery.” However, this has never come true. After graduating from school, Chun-Hsien were always busy with his job in order to provide a stable life for him and his first love. Finally, Chun-Hsien broke up with his first love after eight years of relationship, and he still haven’t reach his dream.
After Chun-Hsien broke up with his first love and resigned from his former company, he got one week to rest, so he decided to make his dream come true. Not preparing much, Chun-Hsien went on the trip he always dreams of. “When I set off, I decided to go on the highest road in Taiwan, which is Wuling(武嶺). I felt immortal because when I was there, a bank of clouds were under my knees.”
Specific Way-Cycling Around Taiwan
Most of the travelers travel around Taiwan on their motorcycles or by train, but some of them chase their dreams in different ways. “I cycled around Taiwan the first time when I was 15,” said Kai-Hsiang Hsu （許凱翔）, who studies at National Taiwan University（國立台灣大學）. “I joined a tour group because I was young and didn’t have any experience cycling around the island. The travel agency would make the plan and prepare everything for tourists although it’s really expensive. The price includes everything from hotels to meals, tourist guide, nanny car, insurance, and they also provide bicycles,” Hsu said.
If you want to travel around the island but don’t know where to start; if you think it’s a little dangerous to cycle around by yourself; or if you are too busy to make a travel plan, it would be a good idea to join a tour group. Apparently, it can save you a lot of trouble, but you’ll have more freedom to travel around Taiwan by yourself. Hsu booked B&B （Bed and Breakfast）, worked out routes and looked for restaurants by himself in his second travel when he was 18. He prefers the countryside instead of cities in his own journey. “I was once riding a bike along the path of countryside in western Taiwan, which the tour group would not let us go. I saw lots of tall trees, green farmlands, and some white egrets nearby. You would never see it if you ride on city streets.” He said.
Room And Board
Speaking of “Room and Board”（打工換宿）, the first thing that comes to mind is the working holiday scheme in Australia. However, a backpacker hostel（Bumper）owner in Chiayi, Ivan Kuo（郭芳祺） decided to work for room and board around Taiwan for months.
About 6 years ago, Ivan first had the idea of working around Taiwan because he wanted to know more about the environment he grew up in. He was born in Taipei, but he said, “Taipei is filled with too many people so it’s hard to get in touch with nature.” Due to this simple reason, Ivan started his first journey of “working holiday” around Taiwan. Being a real farmer, Ivan knows well about the points of 24 solar terms（二十四節氣）.
After months of working around Taiwan, Ivan has experienced the fullness of the soil and discovered a future that is self-sufficient and closely connected to the land under his feet. “Traveling can be one of the life styles, but the point is that after coming back, how to face your daily life with same attitude you have when traveling? To me, I find peace in mind,” Ivan answered.
