Except for Ben. Ben was game.
So we met up and took the 260 from Taipei Main to its terminal station, Yangmingshan. Bus ride takes around an hour, but it's cool to see how quickly (relatively) downtown Taipei transforms into a winding mountain road, opening up vistas of the people living in the valleys below. We don't yet realize how spoiled we are riding on this big bus.
We met up late, so it's well past 2pm by the time we pull up to the Yangmingshan loop bus, the small 108. And boy does this bus live up to its name. Should've taken a picture, but I've already been on several of these dinkers, so didn't think to. Anyway, we run up right as they're cramming people in, so we squeeze in alongside. The bus takes off and we're hugging corners and swerving around mopeds. I have no idea where we're going, and I can barely hear the driver calling out the name of each stop over the rattling of the engine. After twenty or so minutes, he calls out a name I do recognize, Erziping (二子坪), so we hop off. I hope that this is the first stop we're supposed to go to, but part of me doesn't care. It's a loop bus after all, there's no chance of us getting lost. Ben repeatedly tells me that he's just grateful to get out and be doing something physical. I completely understand him. As a teacher, I feel the need to go out and do something memorable, something invigorating on my time off. Otherwise, one week bleeds into another, and before long you've gone a month eking out a tortured existence.
Ben's a source of constant chatter, though not necessarily in a bad way. He shares plenty of amusing stories as we walk towards Erziping, having our choice between a paved or well-manicured gravel path. We choose the latter, as its far less crowded. None of the physically unfit can complain that the path alone did them in, and Ben finds himself wishing for a rougher, dirt path. I tell him to come over to my neck of the woods. I tell him once you put your time in with the stone steps, you're able to graduate to something a bit more closer to what you hike at home.
Before we know it, we've arrived:
Adults lounge under shaded trees, while kids run around chasing each other, climbing over rocks. The setting is pretty, though a little contrived, with the surrounding pavilions and prominent bathroom, although shit, this is a disabled-accessible recreational area, it's not meant to be some 100% natural tour-de-force. The ponds in the center are apparently ecological ponds, though I don't quite know what exactly they contain that sets them apart. I don't mean to sound belittling, it really is a lovely spot, but having traveled around quite a bit of Yangmingshan (as I write this), you should definitely check out Erziping first, because it only gets better.
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| Hulkamania brother! |
Continuing on, we pass through some tall grass and end up on the trail up towards a pair of mountains. I decide to start running up the stairs at one point because I'm a fucking idiot, and we barely make it a few hundred yards up before we're gasping for breath. I'm trying manfully to regulate my breathing, but not doing a very good job. Ben requests a rest. I'm in no position to refuse him.
The view from Miantianshan (面天山) is not only stunning, it's all-encompassing. We can see down to the docks of Bali behind Mt. Guanyin, or right below us, as Danshui slips away into the see. But we can also see around the tip that swings northeasterly above Danshui, a coastline I've never seen before with my naked eye. The sunlight shines brilliantly against the ocean, and while dazzling to the eye, this frustrates my camera lens. Like a great swath of liquid light the ocean wraps around my field of vision, climbing higher the further out I look, until, at a distance, it seems to melt into the sky. We enjoy the ample breeze before it's on to the neighboring mountain, Xiangtianshan (向天山). Down at the lowest point of the saddle, while I'm admiring the markedly different vegetation on the two slopes opposite each other, Ben suggests a race. I know it can only be a repeat of us dragging ass up the steps not an hour before, but I agree. Ben counts us off and up we climb. I choose a loping stride, hoping to preserve enough energy that I can outlast Ben. I put some distance between us, but Ben quickly closes it, and I press the pace just enough to try and make him work. Again he closes and pushes past me, but he's done for. Stopping abruptly he leans over, his wind coming in ragged gasps. I push forward a little, then turn back and ask him if the race is still on. Though smiling gamely, my legs feel like they've just been transmuted into lead, and I'm not much better off than he is. Well, the journey's all downhill from here on out, right?
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| This sides covered in silvergrass because of the chillier winds it receives... |
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| ...while the milder conditions of the southern slope allowed for woodier plants to thrive. |
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| Right before the race, looking back at where we came from. |
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| After the race seeing what we ran up. Also, hating life. |
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| Awesome pool, bro. |
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| A good view of the entirety of the pond. |
Eventually, we loop around and head back. Waiting for the bus before once again cramming in. If we thought coming here was rough, this is nothing compared to going back because people...keep...coming. I'm doing my best to keep my crouch from getting shoved into the face of a seated old woman, while the girl behind me has strategically placed her handbag in front of her so she's not grinding against my ass. I have no problem with being shoved up against people, but having to do so while hunched over is...irritating, to say the least.
Blessedly, we get back and board the 260 home. We just barely scratched the surface of Yangmingshan and another trip is in order.
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