[Typing edit 12-May 10:33 am: The past day and today - waiting for the train (3+ hours each day) has/will give me good time to catch up on the trip reports. I'm sitting here at the Alishan train station - the train crew thinks I'm a bit crazy as it was about 10 am when I arrived for the 1:18 pm train. The steam loco (listed on the 05/12 entry) is sitting about 80 feet away warming up. Steam spouting from a few spots. A nice sound sitting here amongst the mountain trees.]

I took a short side trip in Kaohsiung when I left the hotel - I headed west on this busy road to film some of the traffic. From that I headed south - wanting to get out of the city and into the scenic hills. I made a leisurely stop at a convenience store for some breakfast - yogert, orange juice, and a cookie (moon pie type). From there it was trek, trek, trek. The population didn't really end - it just got lighter between cities - until I was down near the park. I passed sections of big petrochemical and big power lines. Nearing the park I was able to see some of the mountains - they looked great.

Somewhere on the southern section of the trek I passed by a couple guys pushing a scooter. Deciding I might be able to help so I pulled over, rode against traffic on the edge of the road (such a handy thing), and came back up to them. I motioned to the fuel and they motioned back that fuel was not the problem - it was larger. I motioned for me to push them. I'd ride on their right side, put my foot on their foot pad and push them along with my foot. They both had a "lightbulb going lit moment" and they were very willing to give it a go. Getting moving is the difficult part as I couldn't accelerate too fast (my leg wouldn't hold up under their load) but a long time at a slow speed would keep us bikes wobbling. Eventually I found out that the rear foot area on their bike worked best - with me putting my left hand on their rear hand hold (holding them in as my foot pushed them away). We went several kilometers like this with a couple times in downhill sections I would release and let them coast along - joining back in before the speeds dropped to wobble speed.

Coming into the next town they kept a look out for a place to stop and eventually motioned - enough - and I released and kept moving (should'a gotten a photo).

Finding the hostel in Kenting was easy - the town is smallish and I simply matched the road curves on the map to the actual curves and took "the next right". After I checked in I still had ample time for a ride so I made a nice loop at the southern tip of mainland Taiwan. Scenic stuff with mountains and the ocean.

On the return portion of the loop I stopped for some water and a snack at a convenience store (7-Eleven or one of the competition). Outside I met two missionary guys - Elder Hansen and Elder Robertson. One was from Utah and the other Idaho (if I'm not mistaken). We enjoyed chatting for a bit and then I headed back to the hostel to clean up.

With me looking a bit more presentable I went for a stroll up and down the main drag. This place is a tourist trap and reminds me of Gatlingurg, TN. While the normal "stores" line the main drag when evening comes street vendors line up in front of the stores and the crowd gets big. The end of town had something like five go-kart tracks - all lined up next to each other - pick your track layout and ride. There is a video and a few photos of the crazyness.

Back from that I was sitting about at the hostel "picknic" table and started chatting with Troy? who was from Austrailia. He was a wealth of knowledge and with his interest in international politics I learned a few things. An enjoyable cap to the day.

Union Hotel, Kaohsiung Taiwan.