Mulloskeys Adventures Abroad

What an amazing day!!!  But it didn’t start that way….

We woke up to no water in the building and no explanation. No showers, no brushing teeth and no flushing the mess they guy in 206 left in the toilet. It was not looking good.  There was a bit of relief as the latest Typhoon reports showed we wouldn’t be hit directly. However, we should expect rain and severe whether in the afternoon and through the next day.  We didn’t care. Our plans for a full day hike would not be deterred.

Earthquake! When we emerged into the lobby of the hostel, all the guests were talking about the mild earthquake that woke them up during the night. “My bed was shaking across the room” one said. Damn it! Not only was I going to miss a typhoon but I had slept through my only earthquake. Alas, despite my all my hopes and desires, it seemed we would return home safely in 2 days.

We treated ourselves to a Starbucks breakfast. Once again Erin successfully procured our tickets for the train out of town. Best travel companion ever. The local train took about an hour to get to our stop. We were the only ones to get off. There was barely a platform to walk down, and one sleeping ticket agent to greet us. It was starting to rain. We were totally alone in this utterly remote station.

The only directional guide to the trail head was from 2 lines in the lonely planet: “Cross the tracks at the fork. Follow the tracks on the right “trail head in 2km”. We had no idea if we were headed the right way, but we didn’t care. The solitary, serene surroundings and our sense of adventure brought a state of euphoria over the entire group. We couldn’t have been happier.

We finally approached this sleeper town. It was like something out of a movie set. There was not a person to be seen. No sounds of cars, dogs, anything. It was like a ghost town except for 4 dumb, completely out of place backpackers. Finally! A sign pointing us up. Not to a trail but to some houses. After a few circles we finally found some stairs up someone’s back yard that looked promising. It was so eerie.

The first leg of our journey was incredible. Lush jungle, bamboo forests and giant ferns. Did I mention we were completely alone? We didn’t see a person until back on the train 5 hours later. As the rain intensified so did the sounds of water all around us, both from the falling on leaves and the countless tin streams rolling down the mountain sides. Katie had the genius idea to take one of the giant leaves and fashion an umbrella.

We finally reached our first waterfall. There was a viewing platform to take a few picks. After the next two you can understand why we deleted many of this (the first) one.

As I leaned closer to focus the camera I almost stuck my face into a web of the biggest spider I have ever seen (shiver). Can you see it in the foreground of this photo?

By now we were feeling very hardcore and quite proud of ourselves. Then the trail crossed a river. Nothing to do but take off our boots and get our feet wet. Awesome!

We barely put our shoes back on before we reached a bigger, deeper river crossing.  There had been a bridge there recently but it had been washed out from heavy rain. An ominous sign. We were feeling too good to turn back now. We just had to hope the water level didn’t rise too much when we crossed back in a few hours.

The further we climbed the more beautiful and intense the jungle got. The rain continued to intensify and and with it the flow of water down the mountain. There were tiny waterfalls and streams all around us. Often the path itself was the stream. I know I say this often but it was one of the most naturally beautiful settings I have even seen. It was amazing.  I’m so glad I got to share it with Jordan and Katie and her awesome leaf umbrella

Erin didn’t fall the whole time. Despite the slippery wet mossy rocks, shaky stones on ever more river crossings, she made it.

We had been hiking for 2 hours now (the distance marker at the trail head really underestimated the distance to the waterfall) almost entirely in water while on our rocky trail. A combination of the canopy and rainclouds began making it more and more dark. By now we were soaked; Katie’s umbrella a mere fashion statement. Just when morale felt like it may be slipping (not really), we heard it. With renewed vigor, the four of us silent and in awe, arrived at the highlight of our trip. Like something out of the “Last of the Mohicans”, our reward revealed itself to us with astonishing power and beauty. All photos are large size because they should be.

Could it get any better? Indeed loyal reader, it did. A low cave allowed us to get right behind the waterfall (see, it really was like LOTM). Jordan and I ventured there first. It was the perfect place to take a set of new profile pictures. Spot Jordan in the cave to get a true appreciation of the scale.

The girls joined us.

Also, the rocks had marine fossils embedded in them. These walls were once under the ocean. Cool.

Could it get even better?  The girls headed back down first. They were barely in earshot when Jordan and I discovered a rope along the far side leading to perhaps the continuation of the trail. It was easy to see why not many went further. We did. Up the rope to a landing, we found a seriously intimidating ladder. Strait up, slippery wet wood no safety net. What choice did we have?

At the top, the trail flattened. 50 metres later we were at the top of the waterfall. My fear of heights was suddenly gone as we leaned over the edge and shouted down to the girls to observe how impressive we were.

They couldn’t see us but the shouting made them think the worst. Someone was hurt or dead. In the meantime, we followed the water back an discovered a 3rd, equally impressive waterfall. What a spectacle. What a day. I am so grateful to Jordan for making me climb that ladder. And to both Jorkat halves for the most magical moments of an amazing trip.

When we returned to the formerly worried, newly pissed ladies, Jordan and I still wanted to go swimming. It was getting darker and we were wet and cold. The proposal did not go over well at first but we knew it had to be done. And so we swam in paradise. Seeing our half naked perfectly sculpted bodies eased the tension and the ladies forgave us.

We safely navigated the trail and river crossings back to the sleeper town and were all riding a natural high that can only be compared to , well, it can’t be. We triumphantly walked along the tracks like we were in “Stand By Me” recounting what we had just experienced for fear of losing a single micro-bit of it.

Walked back to the station and woke the guard to sell us a ticket. It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t speak a lick of Chinese and they don’t speak a word of English. We managed to determine that the train was coming in 20 minutes. Erin took some of these shots from around the station. P.S… T he train ride was an hour with no seats. Our legs were like jell-o.

Like cold, wet animals we emerged from the station. We could see the storm worsening. Winds of the distant typhoon gusted wildly as dark clouds continued to impose themselves on the city. You can see the base of Taipei 101 in the distance.

Much to our relief, the hostel had water running when we returned. It was one of those sweet long showers where you just stop scrubbing after a while and jut let the water warm you body for what seems like an eternity.

One of the best aspects of a life-changing experience is that it takes the pressure off for the rest of the day. All we cared about was food, sitting and maybe a martini or two. We returned to our trusty food court and as expected Jordan plowed down two platefuls of noodles. We had some dumplings, soup and curry to supplement our own noodles. It was an emotional goodbye for Jordan, knowing those delectable delights would never again cross his palate.

After dinner we went looking for a bar. We hadn’t had a reason to find one in Taipei before so we were not at all expecting to NOT find any. There was respite from the rain as we found ourselves at the entrance to a park. This park, we knew from the previous night’s taxi ride, would take us to Taiwan’s “white house”.  Luckily there was a 7-11 store where we would grab some “road pops” for the park and the government building.

By this point it was too close to cab it to the other cool plaza we had seen the night before. We walked as the rain returned. The courtyard, which one enters through an impressive arched gate, was massive. We were alone again, due mostly to the weather, with the exception of some break dancing teenagers under the protective awning of one of the buildings. The lights made for some nice photos.

And so we were spent. We had given up finding a bar but for one last hope – the high class hotel next door. This is not the place ragged backpackers hang out and we got some funny looks heading to the second floor lounge. Baseball playoffs were showing on the large screen behind our table. Jordan was on his way from the washroom, the TV on commercials, when we intentionally seated him into facing the opposite direction. We enjoyed about 4 minutes of nice Jordan time before he figured it out, switched seats and left the 3 of us to talk amongst ourselves.

A highlight here, Jordan and I teaching the bartender how to make a dirty martini. The whole experience has left me craving them ever since.  It is now my drink of choice – Thanks Jordan.

Bed time.

DAY 5

We had the morning to pull off one last item on our to do list before the airport.  The weather was nasty. Heavy side-ways rain. The typhoon had dissipated on the southern coast. Now we were getting waves of thunderstorms instead. Our last stop was an outdoor public hot spring on the edge of the city. In this rain it would be perfect! We got off the train and I felt I knew where we were going (obviously). Due to the rain and time constraints the group convinced me to take a cab. Despite perfect pronunciation, a map in hand, and the street sign overhead of the parked cab telling where to go, he had no idea. Nothing like directing a cab driver, in his own city, to go somewhere you have never been before, to fuel your own ego and self pride at navigation.

It continued to rain on and off for a nice outdoor tub experience. The place was very cool. You pay less than a dollar for a 1.5 hour session then they empty all the tubs, refill with hot spring water, and then the next group of patrons come. The water was rich in sulfer and minerals. We had to remove jewelry before hand. Not only were we the only foreigners there, we were the only ones under the age of 65. There were a couple of dudes there for what seemed like the last time. There is a strict no picture taking rule, so I only managed to get 2 shots on our way out.

Back on the train, back to the food court and an encore meal of the noodles.   At this point I don’t remember anything else we ate, perhaps there was nothing else. The bus from the station took us right to the airport. A scotch or two later the flight landed in Seoul and it was time to say goodbye. Group hug.

Thank you Jordan and Katie for being amazing travel buds, hilarious and fun-loving people with good advice about fantasy hockey.