Author: Vincentius

Categories
Trekking around Taiwan

Riding a motorbike halfway around Taiwan

On April 7, 2022, my friends and I went around half of the island of taiwan, starting from Taichung, then to Hualien – Taitung – Kenting – Kaoshiung and back again to Taichung. Our plan was for us to stay one day in Taitung, then two days in Kenting, and one day in Kaoshiung. Then we departed from Taichung at 04.30 am. Then before we left, we had booked an airbnb, then we had packed enough clothes, brought extra money just in case something happened while on the way, then we also checked all of our motorbikes that we wanted to drive so that it was safer and nothing happened. we don’t want. So I went with my friends, a total of 3 people, 1 me and 2 of my friends, and used 2 motorbikes, my friend had 1 motorbike together. The names of my friends are kenneth and nickson. Then when we left later, it was Kenneth who brought the motorbike and my friend Nickson who would be ridden by Kenneth. My friend Kenneth, this is the motorbike that will be taken later, namely his friend’s motorbike and my friend’s too, he borrowed my friend’s motorbike because his motorbike in Taiwan is a big motorbike (yellow plate). He was afraid that he was tired of carrying his own motorbike and the petrol was expensive so he decided to bring his friend’s motorbike.

After that we went to Hualien. While on the road we listen to our own songs, but sometimes we also call on the road when we are tired of listening to songs. Then the three of us really enjoyed the trip and rode leisurely while enjoying the ride and the beautiful scenery. When we went to hualien, we passed a mountain called Hehuanshan. On our way to Mount Hehuanshan, we passed a mountain road for approximately 100 kilometers. After we arrived at Hehuanshan, we felt cold because the mountain was quite high (3070 meters above sea level) so the temperature there was enough to make the three of us cold. The temperature there at that time was 6 degrees Celsius. After that we just took photos and then took a short break because it was cold and we also wanted to catch up on time to Taitung so it wouldn’t be too late to arrive in Taitung. After from Hehuanshan we continued our journey to Hualien. Then this trip from Taichung to Hualien I really enjoyed it because it passed through mountain trails along the way and the scenery was very good and the roads were very neat, there were rarely damaged roads. After we arrived at Hualien, we ate lu rou fan there and ate bread and drank coffee so we wouldn’t sleep on the way to Taitung because the journey to Taitung was still long. From Hualien to Taitung which is about 3 hours (168 KM), so we didn’t stay long in Hualien we immediately continued our journey to Taitung to check in the airbnb.

The journey from Hualien to Taitung is accompanied by sea views because the journey from Hualien to Taitung is by the sea, so along the way we saw seafront views. Then in the middle of the trip to Taitung, suddenly something happened, namely my friend’s motorbike suffered damage to the rear tire arm. And I helped my friend to find the nearest repair shop and my friend’s motorbike couldn’t run properly. Incidentally, along the road from Hualien to Taitung by the seafront route there are no towns or workshops. And at that time in the afternoon around 3/4, when I was helping my friend to push his motorbike, it suddenly rained heavily in that area (in the middle between Hualien and Taitung). Then we decided to take shelter on the side of the road in a resident’s house. Then the people there helped us to find a workshop around it and in the end found it. But the repair shop couldn’t repair the motorbike because there were no spare parts, and he offered to do towing service to Taitung city to the workshop there. Then in the end the motorbike was towed to Taitung and my friend loaned the motorbike to the workshop to continue his journey to Taitung.

Then we arrived in Taitung at 11.30 pm because there was an accident in the middle of the road and it was raining heavily that day on the way, but after we got to Taitung, the rain had completely stopped. Then after we arrived at the airbnb, then we checked in, then had dinner and went straight to bed because we were very tired that day and the next morning we had to take care of my friend’s broken motorbike. The next day in the morning Kenneth and I went to the motorcycle repair shop to take care of the motorbike, there was a lot of damage and it was very expensive to repair the motorbike. And the motorbike was finished, the process took a day to complete, so the next day we could just pick it up, while we had to go to Kenting because we had booked a hotel. Then we stayed on the motorbike in a repair shop and my friend Kenneth rented a motorbike from Taitung to go to Kenting. Then we left at 12 noon to Kenting, and arrived at Kenting at 4 pm. After we arrived in Kenting we went to the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium. We walked there and then I met my classmate there. After that we continued again to the hotel we had ordered and we rested there for a while like taking a shower. Then we went out again at night to look for food at the Kenting night market. Then after eating we went to our room again and rested to sleep. Then the next morning in the morning I went to the nearest beach to enjoy for a while and take some photos while my other friends were still sleeping. After I came from the beach I bought breakfast bread for me and then I took a shower and was ready to go back to Taitung to pick up my friend’s motorbike and turn over his rental motorbike. Before that we had lunch in Kenting. Then after lunch my friend nickson decided to go home first to taichung by bus because he had important business. Then my friend Kenneth and I went to Taitung again to pick up a motorbike.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Taitung again to pick up my friend’s motorbike which was damaged in the workshop. Even though it’s very far and very tiring but like it or not we have to do it. Then after Kenneth and I took the motorbike, we continued our journey again from Taitung to Kaoshiung to rest before we headed back to Taichung, so we stayed the first day in Kaoshiung. After that we arrived at Kaoshiung at 10 pm. After Kenneth and I arrived at the Airbnb in Kaoshiung, we immediately went out again to look for dinner at the night market while we went for a walk at the night market. Then after that we went back to our room and went to sleep because we were very tired and we were still traveling the next day. Then we woke up at 8 am and ready to go back to taichung. The journey from Kaoshiung to Taichung is approximately 5 hours, and we departed from Kaoshiung at 9 am and arrived in Taichung at 5 pm. And we got to taichung safely and nothing more unwanted happened. So that’s my story about a motorcycle ride in Taiwan. So our total trip is 3 days 2 nights (1000 KM++)

Categories
Finding One's Place in Taiwan

My part-time job experience in Taiwan

In my first year of college, to be more precise in semester 2, I once experienced difficulties, namely that my pocket money ran out within 2 weeks, and at that time I had no money at all until I borrowed my friend’s money for my meals. Then after that I felt stressed and depressed because my money ran out and it wasn’t time for me that day to ask for pocket money, because my pocket money was given once a month and at that time only 2 weeks ago it ran out because I often went out for a walk, then get together with friends, play billiards and others. Then at that time I felt that all this time I had been very wasteful in those 14 days and at that moment I wanted to buy a motorbike and other things that I wanted to buy. Then I couldn’t buy a motorbike because I didn’t have enough money and my pocket money would always run out. I also don’t hesitate when I ask my parents for money to buy a motorbike and buy the things I want at that time. Then I thought that I wanted to work to earn more pocket money and save money to buy a motorbike.

But at that time, my mandarin was bad and I was afraid to work because I used mandarin, and I was afraid that I would make a mistake because I didn’t understand mandarin. For example, I don’t understand what my boss says to me or orders me to do. Then I finally got a job offer for an Indonesian restaurant in Taiwan from my friend. Then no need to think about it, I immediately accepted the job and I worked for 4 months. Then my job is to deliver food by motorbike, then look after the shop. Then after 4 months I left because the restaurant no longer needed a part-time job, he needed a full-time job while I couldn’t work full time at that time because I was in college. Then after that, not long after that I opened a business with my friend in Taiwan with my friend, namely reselling fashion items such as clothes, bags, shoes, and others. Then our target buyers are Indonesians who work in Taiwan, for example, domestic workers from Indonesia. Then after 4 months of working, I used my money for capital to open my business. After 6 months of my shop, my friends and I finally decided to close this shop because it went bankrupt and there were so many competitors. After that I took a break after opening the business because the 6 months were very tired and required a lot of energy and thought.

After that I took a 2 month break from work and I went back to working part time again at a restaurant in Dong Bie. As time went by and it felt like at that time I was in the 3rd semester and my Mandarin had improved quite a bit, and I had not bought a motorbike at that time, I finally decided to work again at the restaurant until last April. My working time at the restaurant where I work is quite a lot, so I get quite a lot of money from my salary, and enough to buy a motorbike in Taiwan. And finally I decided to buy a motorcycle and I paid in installments for 4 months. And that’s when my dream finally came true. After I bought a motorbike, then I saved money to buy plane tickets for a vacation in my country, namely in Indonesia on June 8 and other things like buying a new suitcase, then buying a new cellphone because my cellphone was damaged at that time due to rain.