Day 68: From Sihu to Dacheng: Across the Zhoushui River

Sunday, July 29th, 2012.

Small town in Yunlin County

An interesting day of walking, and a rewarding one. But not alas a completely pleasant one. For one thing, I had slept but fitfully on a late night train, as I was busy the day before and had opted for the rough night rather than pay for a night in hotel. After three-ish hours of quasi-slumber on the train, followed by 90 minutes of hobo-sleep on a wooden bench in the train station at Dounan railway station, I got a taxi to the road near the coast where I had stopped last time.

It was a pleasant enough day, and overall the somewhat dull countryside had the compensation of occasional villages, bustling with small-town life: markets, religious ceremonies, or simply gossiping around. The horror of the day however was the smell: I must have passed dozens of pig, duck, goose and chicken farms. Like, shit stinks, ya know? Damn there were stinky moments on that walk! And the sewage from these farms obviously drained right into the numerous small rivers and canals that passed under the road, which meant that they stank too!

Highway 61

She's outstanding in her field!

Here comes the noisy truck!

Locals

Does you mother work? Shucks!

The all-too-familiar

The unexpected

Asphaltville

Unknown liquid, possibly pig shit fertilizer water.

Bai bai: setting up for a temple procession

The guest of honor

Another small, west coast Taiwan town

The massive petrochemical facility in Mailiao, in the distance.

Looks nice, but the smell. The smell!

Exotic meats

Nifty blue place

Mailiao: due to the petro facility, I couldn't get close to the coast for many kilometers.

Stinky birds: birds and their turds

Walking under 61: catching some shade

Shots of the Zhoushui

It was great to get to the Zhoushui river after almost 30 km of walking through stinky countryside. Not only did the the  wide river valley provide a breath of fresh air - literally! - but it also marked the unofficial boundary between northern and southern Taiwan. In other words, I was really starting to get closer to home.

The Zhanghua country side of the bridge

Take me to your eater!

The kind lady described below

After crossing the bridge, I hitchhiked back to Mailiao. A kind lady and her mother drove me to an unlicensed bus company office, where I enjoyed a few Guinnesses (thanks to 711's summer beer festival) before getting on the small tourist bus to Puzi, to visit my friend John. I wasn't much company for him and his wife though! Tired after a poor night's sleep the night before, a 30km street hike, and numerous beers, I passed out at 9pm.