two wheels “W


NAVIGATING TAIWAN’S EAST COAST ON A


RICKETY SCOOTER IS A GREAT WAY OF SEEING THE COUNTRY FOR WANNABE EASY RIDERS WO R DS & P H O T O G R A P H S AN T H ON Y S HARPE


here did you two come from?” asks a husky voice in Mandarin. I


squint up at the slightly hunched old Taiwanese lady who’s shuffled over from the shed we’ve stopped at, its pastel-painted wooden slats cracked and faded from the sun, high in its midday perch in a washed-out blue sky, casting shadows in the wrinkles of our inquisitor’s face. “We came from Taipei,” I reply, my


grip on the lingua franca of Taiwan serviceable but shaky. “Taipei is far away,” she grins,


exposing two rows of gapped, crooked teeth like the keys of a smashed piano. “True. We’re riding down to Taitung.” “To Taitung?” Her eyes widen. “On


this scooter? Taitung is very far! Please be careful,” she adds warmly. By now, I’m used to this sort of


exchange. Even before setting out on our impromptu road trip from Taiwan’s buzzing northern capital to its sleepier southeastern cousin, I’d fielded incredulous looks from locals and expats alike, aghast that anyone would be foolish enough to ride that distance on a scooter. “It’s only 350km. I’m from South Africa; we drive that distance for weekends away,” I’d bragged, ignorantly. (Measured tip to tip, Taiwan is under 250 miles, or 400km, long.) Now, on day two, just south of the


coastal city of Hualien, my hubris has come back to bite me in the posterior. The dinky 125cc Kymco we rented in Taipei is more of a city runaround than a countryside cruiser — more Vespa than Harley — but with the benefits of neither. It’s going to be a long day.


Adventure September 2018 39


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