Studying in Taiwan has many perks. I could start with affordable yet high-quality education, access to the island’s technological wonders, and the opportunity to work and learn from international and interdisciplinary faculty and colleagues. The list could go on until we arrive at a different point – leisure time! Taiwan, being a tiny island that you can cross within a few hours – trust me, the HSR (Highway Speed Railway/高鐵) from the two furthermost large cities (Taipei臺北 and Kaohsiung 高雄) will take you just a bit over 2 hours in total – gives plenty of beautiful landscapes, activities and what’s particularly unique – hundreds and thousands of hiking trails and paths.
If you don’t trust me, keep reading our blog – you will find a handful of articles with topics on Taiwanese festivals, places to visit and people to meet! However fantastic it sounds, one question pops up immediately - How can I go around the island to see all of these places?
During my many trips, I enjoyed timeless hours and views from the seat of my scooter. By far, it is the most enjoyable vehicle of transportation (yes, I know it is also one of the most dangerous ones) – be it in terms of money spent, views seen or accessibility to places. One downside – after a couple of hours of riding, your body will remind you it prefers other forms of activities. I will cover the issue of legally buying and riding a scooter in a different topic, but for now, let’s get back to the subject of its awesomeness and incredibly high utility aspects.
A couple of arguments for why a foreigner (mainly a student) should ride a scooter:
- You get to experience the journey – think for a second about going to places by train, car and bike. If your lungs can breathe the fresh (or, for the lack of a better word, a bit polluted Taiwanese) air, your nose can smell all the different hints of trees, flowers, humidity (yes, it has a distinct smell), and stop at almost any given time (safely of course)
- Unless you own a vehicle, access to more remote places makes it challenging to get around Taiwan as a foreigner. The public transport works relatively well, but the information is often in Chinese only. And that goes for the bigger cities adjacent areas. Once you move into the more wild exploring, you need a vehicle of your own
- Freedom of movement – this point goes closely with the previous one. However, I want to emphasize having the freedom to choose where and when you continue your travels. Trust me, getting from one bigger city to the other is a piece of cake. You have buses and trains going at almost 5 minutes from many different places. Now, if you want to go to a remote location, like the hot spring near Yangming Shan 陽明山 or a Baishawan Beach 白沙灣 having a scooter beats waiting for buses to take you back.
- Driving around the island on a motorcycle/scooter is just spectacular. During the weekdays, you may find little traffic outside the cities. Having the twisty, up-and-down and free of cars mountains and coastal roads is a treat for anybody who likes a little bit of excitement on the one hand and some lovely views on the other.
The list could continue for a long time; I could write essays and poems on why riding a scooter in the wilderness allows me to reset all the bad things that might have happened during the week, but it would be words only. To truly understand the freedom a two-wheeler gives you, you must experience it on your own. So, no more words, turn the ignition on and off you go!
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