Completing my circumnavigation of Taiwan by scooter, with a short ride from Tainan to Kaohisung…
Chimei Museum. Photo: Zhen-Kang.
Distance
60 km
Ride time (with stops)
3 hours
Fountains of Apollo
1
Despite being so near, today was the first time I rode from Tainan to Kaohsiung by scooter. Every other time I’d taken the train.
With a goal of reaching Kaohsiung Music Center at noon—precisely 10 days since starting my quest—I departed Tainan at 9am.
The city center was cool and overcast when I left.I only had one stop today: Tainan’s Chimei Museum (奇美博物館). When I arrived, technicians were working on solar panels above the carpark.I followed this boardwalk through the museum grounds……To the Fountain of Apollo (阿波羅噴泉), a precise replica of the 1671 original from the Gardens of Versailles. Created with permission using 3D laser scans, the stone was carved in Italy then reassembled in Tainan.To one side of the fountain, Olympus Bridge (奧林帕斯橋) leads to the neoclassical Chimei Museum. The museum was funded by philanthropist Shi Wen-Long, founder of the electronics giant Chimei, for those “who don’t have a chance to travel and see museums abroad”. Entry remains free for Tainan residents. I visited once before and was astounded at how good this place is. It houses five collections: ancient weaponry, antiques and artifacts, fine arts, natural history, and musical instruments (including the world’s largest violin collection).Happy to get a museum photo this time (it’d been raining when I visited last year), soon I was back on the road. The journey from Tainan to Kaohsiung was almost entirely urban, apart from this stretch by a river. For the final hour, I played my all-time favorite road trip album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi by R.E.M.It wasn’t clear where Tainan ended and Kaohsiung began. But soon I saw an outer station of the Kaohsiung MRT network, 17km from the city center. Then this building: Chang-Gu World Trade Center (長谷世貿聯合國大樓), the third-tallest building in Kaohsiung.Rounding a corner, I saw Monkey Mountain (壽山) in the distance. At this moment, I experienced a stirring sense of joy at being so close to home, and wondered if I should update my pepeha (a way to introduce yourself in Māori, which includes identifying your ancestral mountain—or, in my case, a mountain that is meaningful in some other way).Getting closer and closer, I passed Central Park (中央公園)……Love River (爱河) and 85 Sky Tower (85大樓)……And then I made it to the finish point: Kaohsiung Music Center, where I’d started my huandao at midday; exactly 240 hours and 1,360km earlier. (This time I wasn’t chased by a cop.)I can’t yet articulate everything I feel about this experience, but it’s been nothing but positive. Relative to my own undemanding standards, I feel a sense of achievement. And pride that I’ve completed something considered by many Taiwanese to be a rite of passage or step towards enlightenment. ‘Huandao’ (環島)—literally ‘around the island’—is one of the best things I’ve ever done.I’ll publish a more reflective post—with a map!—some other time. For now, like my phone, I need to cool down.
