On my first Sunday off from teaching I decided to reward myself after working six days straight with a day long bicycle ride through Taiwan.

A few towns over from where I was staying is the township of Jhushan. Surrounded by mountains, lots of greenery and not nearly as much traffic as the major cities, it was the perfect backdrop for a leisurely Sunday ride.

The National Taiwan University Tropical Botanical Gardens are situated close to the centre of Jhushan township. The garden area itself is tucked away towards the rear of what seems to be a large parkland recreational area which was quite fun to explore.

The ride itself begins with a descent through some housing areas. I’m not exactly sure what these people do for a living but they are pretty lucky to be living in such beautiful country.

The greenery continues and you quickly feel like you’re in the middle of the jungle. Being on my army green Long Haul Trucker I took it upon myself to imagine I was hurtling down the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Wrong country I know but when you’re fighting off isolation sickness your mind starts to get a bit warped.

At times the path runs along a river. From time to time you’ll see local fisherman trying their luck. Personally I wouldn’t be eating anything that came out of the inland rivers here but by now the locals probably have stomachs of steel (literally, the heavy metal situation here is apparently a disaster).

The river continues and eventually you hit what I think is called the Tongtou Suspension Bridge.

Either that or the ‘Indiana Jones Bridge’. It’s a genuine suspension bridge so it sways crazy as you walk across it.

Perfect for uh.. y’know, acting out some of your favourite Indy scenes… of course not that I did that.

Well ok maybe a little.

A short ways from the suspension bridge and you run into this little inconspicuous feature.

Although I’m not entirely certain, I’m pretty sure I’d encountered the local’s secret marijuana growing facilities. Either that or something equally suspect.

I thought about snooping around humming the Pink Panther tune in my head but figured guns aren’t that illegal here… I’m devoted to OzSoapbox but not that devoted.

This is the actual entrance to the Tropical Botanic gardens. Although there weren’t any signs around and nobody would have stopped me, I didn’t feel comfortable taking my bike inside.

I already get stared at everywhere I go here I really didn’t need to be ‘that annoying stupid tourist riding around our sacred botanical gardens’.

Due to Australian customs confiscating my New York Fahghettaboutit lock I had no way of securing my bike so I gave the gardens a miss.

Along the ride back I came across a little alcove on the side of the road that had four of five of these things. I figured I was either looking at some sort of grave site, or a really elaborate mini golf course.

…I’m going to go with mini golf course. Those are some tight green bends.

Safe sex might have a long way to go here between the adult population, but at least Taiwanese farmers are careful with their crops. There’s no way any of these trees were having any unplanned pregnancies.

The ride back saw me take some detours down local roads which had some wonderful views. One of the things I love about Taiwan is that one minute your staring down gargantuan modern industrialisation but give it 10 minutes and it feels like you’re in eco utopia.

I can’t wait to explore more of Taiwan by bicycle.


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1. Cycling Lions Head Mountain – Miaoli County, Taiwan