14 aug 2014. 808am. The alarm went off. One hr later than my usual 707am. We went to the hotel restaurant for bfast before setting off to yms. Took 小9 aka s9 uphill. The bus ride was the amazing ride ever. We learned that there is indication on the bus whether u need to tap the card for bus fare deduction at boarding or during alighting. There is also indication in the carriage when the brakes are applied and when the left right signals are activated by the bus cap. Pple treat each other as if they know each other. They strike conversations so easily and offer help asking which stop r u alighting and this pick up line doesnt jus end there, they started chatting. And there are many elderly. One prolly 70+ uncle had to give up his seat to another after asking him his age. 86 he said casually. Then the uncle said he shld let him have the seat since he is younger, in hokkien or their 台语 which is very similar. Very cool culture indeed, when others chip in, they wont think that eh why u eavedrop or accuse others of being kaypo, super frenly, they can make frens ever so easily. Also, as long as our eyes met, they are sure to greet, either with comments or jus 你好， 今天天气还不错， 我们正要去二子坪， 在那儿坐着或躺着看书. So in response, we also shared our itinerary, with obviously more horrible mandarin. When u want to speak 100% mandarin, the fluency is affected, almost stammering, like somehow cant find the right words. Urgh. Anyhow they get it.
The mountainous road ride isnt fun as usual, sway here and there, almost getting motion sickness. We treked, so far, for hours. Went to yang ming park and datun waterfall, then to the visitor centre where we had the heavenly osmanthus ice cream plus iced yuzi tea. Thereafter, we continued to qixing park and finally lengshuikeng. The former with great view and before which we chatted with another couple along the way who were feeding the uber cute squirrels. The latter was an ulu place, 530pm, dunno where is the 坑, no water also. Shrugs. The bus timing is like totally redundant, not accurate at all, might as well dont put. Jus like the distance indication along the way, totally doesnt feel like the dist at all, prolly becos of the terrain. A guy said we could have missed the last bus, so asked if we want to quickly descend with him before the sun goes down. The bus trip takes 30min leh, how can the walk take 30min, somemore he said 快的话， 20分钟. Im totally skeptical. It is impossible to trek down even at full energy and speed la, not to mention we were alr half dying, after treking the entire day. I thinkwe will prolly slow him down lo, managed to convince him to wait, think still have bus. So yes, finally, how relieved to see the bus 108, brought us back down to the interchange where we had to take the s9 back again. Had japanese meal for dinner.
We had the private hotspring in the hotel. White minerals, ph 5.5, wonder if it is real, anyway the water accidentally got into my eye and was quite painful, concluded real mineral water. Still shiok to soak in hot water after a day's walk.
15 aug, 第二天登山. Up again like yesterday, to 竹子湖. Thru the nice town where the uncle kindly directed us a more scenic route as compared to walking along the main route, which we can take on the way down then to his shop again haha. The peeps from the bus was also recommending us to try some dish, i think it was 山药鸡 or smth, but anyway wasnt hungry yet. So we walk thru the fields, so nice and peaceful. But too bad as it isnt winter, not the season for 海芋 flower to blossom. Still we managed to spot a couple amidst the green land. In the end got lost, couldnt find the way back to the main route to the shop for lunch. We hiked up further and reached 顶湖, there is also a super crowded restaurant up there which we din bother to queue tho. Finally found the way out to the bus stop, where we wanted to go up the qixing peak then later change plan to take to the last stop of the bus 二子坪. Foggy area, we walked on and on. Bet our leg muscles will be super toned. The bus back was super crowded, totally packed, missed one and got on the next after more than 30min of waiting time. Unbelievably long. If we totalled up all the waiting time from the entire trip, i wonder if it would how many hours, prolly one whole day if not 1.5. Had kfc for dinner.
