Yangmingshan National Park

Apparently I have quite a lot of assumptions about what a national park will be like. Today we ventured forth to Yangmingshan National Park, just north of the city. The three of us headed out first thing this morning, with my bright red internal frame backpack filled full of anything we thought we might need all day. We looked even more like tourists that usual! The subway was easy but crowded - standing room only. We transfered to the bus, but it was standing room only also. It wound us up the hillside, out of the city. At the top we stopped at Starbucks. What an odd moment! We walked in and it looked like any Starbucks in the U.S.

We got tickets for the hop on, hop off bus and headed to the first stop (also standing room only), and the trail up the mountain. It was quite lovely to get away from the road. Taipei is quite a bit city, and being in the "wilderness" was very peaceful. We got to listen to the birds and squirrels. The trail was wide, constructed of stone blocks. But instead of switchbacks, they used stairs. Up and up and up they wound. We must have climbed hundreds of staircases worth of steps. After awhile we got tired, so we turned back.

At the second bus stop, we headed down the road to see the hillsides full of flowers that people had told us about. We walked down, and down, and down. Eventually we reached a visitor center, where a woman told us that we still had another 2.8 km to go. Refreshed with cold water and jasmine tea from the vending machine, we walked down some more. After a very long walk on a narrow winding road with cars that threatened to run us over, we suddenly came out to masses of people and buildings. We couldn't figure out where they all came from!

All of the excitement was over this "flower clock," pictured right. We didn't actually find it all that exciting. We liked the little paths and bridges and waterfalls around the buildings much more charming. The azalea and cherry blossem garden would have been more exciting if we'd arrived a week or two earlier.

It turns out that there was a lovely broad sidewalk/path, lined with tents selling ice cream, snacks, and roasted black corn, right back to the bus station where we'd started. By that time we were tired, so we hopped on a bus to head home. We got seats the whole way!

We missed the free sulpher hot springs, and the tea houses. It would have been nice to soak in the springs, but we got a whif of sulpher on our hike, and that might have been enough.

So aside from the first trail we took, this national park wasn't like any other national park I've ever visited before. It was more like a cross between a botanic garden and a street fair.

Now we're packing up. We leave for Cambodia first thing tomorrow morning. I know we're in for some shocks. It will be much hotter. We're also going to have to be much more careful with our things - pickpocketers are quite common. I'm sad to leave Taipei, but the next phase of our trip should be quite interesting as well. Stay tuned!