A New Adventure
Adventure, action and really wild stuff. That's what I signed on for, and that's what this blog has been about (mostly) since 2006.
Which is why its been so thin on the ground lo this past year (or more), because like that of an off-duty porn stars the life of an off-duty travel writer is anything but worth watching.
But all that's about to change, chums, as JSB is back on the road as of this Friday, back on the road to Taiwan for a series of adventures, one of which for a company that literally has the word ADVENTURE in its name.
But we'll get to that in a minute, for unlike a Kurt Vonnegut tale this blog goes in chronological order, at least most of the time.
On Friday I'll be heading to Taiwan, first as the guest of the Yilan tourism department to spend three days in Taiwan's great Northeast.
Yilan, home of some of my favorite places in Taiwan, including the Insanely cool Art Spa Hotel (written about on this very blog) and Du Xiao Yue restaurant (among the best meals I've ever eaten).
This time around I'll be visiting a bunch of places I've not yet visited. I'll do some fishing (or at least eat some fish) at the Dongao Harbour Fish Market, visit with the Atayal people of Yilan, chill out at some of Yilan's most beautiful local temples, hike a bit on the Linmei Shipan Trail, and get into various assorted hi-jinks with my buddy Tobie Openshaw, who also happens to be among the finest photographers in Taiwan.
Aboriginal villages, Tea farms, hot springs and great food are all well and good, and definitely the stuff of "mature" travel writing aimed at grown-ups looking to figure out where to go on their upcoming visit to beloved Isla Formosa.
Fun and enlightening, yes. Content-generating, for certain.
But will it be Epic?
Perhaps in a certain way. Normal situations have a tendency to turn weird when I'm around (For more on this head to Smashwords and buy my most recent book, How Not To Avoid Jet Lag & Other Tales of Travel Madness. Pay your own price.)
But unless the tour organizers throw something into the mix about which I'm unaware, I'm not expecting Epic in Yilan.
But I'm sure as hell expecting Epic, of the Icelandic Saga magnitude, in the weeks to follow, for starting on October 24th Tour Taiwan Phase Two begins with a bang as I greet guests from the serious side of the cycling world at the airport for the first of two eleven-day cycling tours I'll be leading around the island for Bicycle Adventures. The trips start in Taipei, where we'll spend two days recovering from Jet-lag with a few shorter trips (over Yamingshan and through Tamshui) before bullet-training it down to Kaohsiung for a quick cycle jaunt down to Taiwan's southern tip for a fine night's sleep at the Chateau Kenting.
After this, the trip gets epic indeed as we head, to quote Gene Hackman in the original (and still the best) Superman film, North! Miss Tessmocker! - riding up coast and rift through Taiwan's most beautiful biking country for another three days, stopping in Chiben, Ruisui and Hualien for hot springs, hot springs & ice cream (in that order).
Whereupon, on day seven, the Epic gets cranked up a notch as the tour heads west, into Taroko Park, where the group will climb and wind through a dizzying gorge road, the physical manifestation of the never-say-die attitude for which Chiang Kai-shek is justly famous. Which isn't to say that people didn't die building the road; many did, and we'll be visiting their shrines on the way up to give thanks, ask forgiveness, and take photographs.
Day eight we'll be spending at the fabulous Silks Place Taroko, resting or not, depending on the riders. And on day nine we'll be challenging riders who believe there's no higher to climb by heading higher still, into the very heart of the central mountain range on the road hosting Taiwan's KOM (King of the Mountain) race. It'll be a challenging day (especially to me, your humble narrator, with ny peak NYC bicycle messenger form decades behind me), but it'll also be beautiful. And the reward - Day ten, an 88km, multi-hour cruise from the highest heights down to sea level and another night of luxury at the fabulous Kapok hotel in, yes, you guessed it, beautiful Yilan.
(Don't you love it when things come full circle? I know I do.)
Day eleven is feasting, museums, soaking and more feasting. Our guests head home (or stick around Taiwan, if they like), and me and fellow Bicycle Adventures guide Jeff will take a few days to hang in Taipei before starting the second tour.
How's that for epic? Oh, did I mention that you can join? Yes. (Talk about burying the lead!)
Click here for full details on my Bicycle Adventure tours. If you sign up, tell them you heard about the tour on Snarky Tofu for a discount.
And check this space next week for my pre-epic report from Yilan.
Which is why its been so thin on the ground lo this past year (or more), because like that of an off-duty porn stars the life of an off-duty travel writer is anything but worth watching.
But all that's about to change, chums, as JSB is back on the road as of this Friday, back on the road to Taiwan for a series of adventures, one of which for a company that literally has the word ADVENTURE in its name.
But we'll get to that in a minute, for unlike a Kurt Vonnegut tale this blog goes in chronological order, at least most of the time.
On Friday I'll be heading to Taiwan, first as the guest of the Yilan tourism department to spend three days in Taiwan's great Northeast.
Yilan, home of some of my favorite places in Taiwan, including the Insanely cool Art Spa Hotel (written about on this very blog) and Du Xiao Yue restaurant (among the best meals I've ever eaten).
This time around I'll be visiting a bunch of places I've not yet visited. I'll do some fishing (or at least eat some fish) at the Dongao Harbour Fish Market, visit with the Atayal people of Yilan, chill out at some of Yilan's most beautiful local temples, hike a bit on the Linmei Shipan Trail, and get into various assorted hi-jinks with my buddy Tobie Openshaw, who also happens to be among the finest photographers in Taiwan.
Aboriginal villages, Tea farms, hot springs and great food are all well and good, and definitely the stuff of "mature" travel writing aimed at grown-ups looking to figure out where to go on their upcoming visit to beloved Isla Formosa.
Fun and enlightening, yes. Content-generating, for certain.
But will it be Epic?
Perhaps in a certain way. Normal situations have a tendency to turn weird when I'm around (For more on this head to Smashwords and buy my most recent book, How Not To Avoid Jet Lag & Other Tales of Travel Madness. Pay your own price.)
But unless the tour organizers throw something into the mix about which I'm unaware, I'm not expecting Epic in Yilan.
But I'm sure as hell expecting Epic, of the Icelandic Saga magnitude, in the weeks to follow, for starting on October 24th Tour Taiwan Phase Two begins with a bang as I greet guests from the serious side of the cycling world at the airport for the first of two eleven-day cycling tours I'll be leading around the island for Bicycle Adventures. The trips start in Taipei, where we'll spend two days recovering from Jet-lag with a few shorter trips (over Yamingshan and through Tamshui) before bullet-training it down to Kaohsiung for a quick cycle jaunt down to Taiwan's southern tip for a fine night's sleep at the Chateau Kenting.
After this, the trip gets epic indeed as we head, to quote Gene Hackman in the original (and still the best) Superman film, North! Miss Tessmocker! - riding up coast and rift through Taiwan's most beautiful biking country for another three days, stopping in Chiben, Ruisui and Hualien for hot springs, hot springs & ice cream (in that order).
Whereupon, on day seven, the Epic gets cranked up a notch as the tour heads west, into Taroko Park, where the group will climb and wind through a dizzying gorge road, the physical manifestation of the never-say-die attitude for which Chiang Kai-shek is justly famous. Which isn't to say that people didn't die building the road; many did, and we'll be visiting their shrines on the way up to give thanks, ask forgiveness, and take photographs.
Day eight we'll be spending at the fabulous Silks Place Taroko, resting or not, depending on the riders. And on day nine we'll be challenging riders who believe there's no higher to climb by heading higher still, into the very heart of the central mountain range on the road hosting Taiwan's KOM (King of the Mountain) race. It'll be a challenging day (especially to me, your humble narrator, with ny peak NYC bicycle messenger form decades behind me), but it'll also be beautiful. And the reward - Day ten, an 88km, multi-hour cruise from the highest heights down to sea level and another night of luxury at the fabulous Kapok hotel in, yes, you guessed it, beautiful Yilan.
(Don't you love it when things come full circle? I know I do.)
Day eleven is feasting, museums, soaking and more feasting. Our guests head home (or stick around Taiwan, if they like), and me and fellow Bicycle Adventures guide Jeff will take a few days to hang in Taipei before starting the second tour.
How's that for epic? Oh, did I mention that you can join? Yes. (Talk about burying the lead!)
Click here for full details on my Bicycle Adventure tours. If you sign up, tell them you heard about the tour on Snarky Tofu for a discount.
And check this space next week for my pre-epic report from Yilan.
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