August 27, 2020
I woke up again very early, and I did my routines and checked out at 7:30. Unfortunately it seems all the breakfast places open at 8am. I eventually had breakfast at a cafe and was ready at the Chiayi train station (pictured) to catch the Alishan Forest railway.
Here we are all hurrying to get a seat.
The Alishan Forest railway is narrow gauge. We started off slowly, the carriages swaying alarmingly, and ambled through seemingly people’s backyards.
Workers on their motorised railcar.
We were moving through a tropical landscape; mango, bananas, rice, coconuts, and many fruits that I couldn’t make out were grown beside the track. When we rose into the mountains, tea replaced the other things, and I saw my first cypress. There were spectacular views over the plains.
Afterwards I searched YouTube for some videos, and I came across this:
That video sums up pretty well what I experienced (if you take out the double-speed section around the 6-minute mark).
The end of the line at Shizilu.
In contrast with Chiayi, I almost had to put on my jacket. We were up high, about 2,000 meters. The air was very misty, and it started to rain not long after this.
The rest of the passengers went – somewhere. I went to the toilet, and when I returned they were gone. I wandered around with increasing agitation, asking in mangled Chinese where they went. Thankfully three women took me under their wing. They all spoke English, and were a group of primary school teachers in retirement. This is them:
They took me on a public bus to Alishan, gave me lunch, and were shocked at the price I paid for my room. I was very glad to meet them.
Outside my window in the Wun Sun Hotel.
More to come.
Wandering Richard 