Luye

In a small rural village on Taiwan’s East Coast, an enormous inflatable shoe hovers over the lush green tea plantations. Luye’s annual hot air balloon festival appears to be the only thing drawing tourists to this remote part of the island. Taitung is the nearest major city, but we jumped off the train a stop early and spent two days cycling around the tea plantations and marvelling at the balloons.

Chelsea caught the sunrise balloon flights, seated on a hill above the flight field at Luye Highlands. The blue animated cat Doraemon is a major draw and extremely popular in Taiwan, drawing many oohs and aahs from the crowd as he expanded into the sky. Other popular balloons included a small Shiba Inu, and a pair of giant green inflatable pants, advertising an online betting platform (though gambling is illegal in Taiwan…).

We stayed at the only guest house in town, about 30mins walk from anywhere. On our walks and cycles we saw much of the damage from the recent typhoon, and the power was out for most of second day to enable repairs, reinforcing our appreciation for aircon. We sweated and waited. Dan went cycling round the tea plantation in the midday heat (Chelsea had her fill in the early morning) and spent an afternoon in the only tea shop open, book in hand. To cool off in the evening, we visited a hot springs hotel (they always have a cold pool), but having travelled through Japan, it does not even merit comparison.

It’s lovely to be out in green spaces, surrounded by mountains and close to the sea after a few very urban weeks. Chelsea is reading the harrowing novel ‘Green Island’ about Taiwan’s history. It is fascinating to reflect on the changes democracy has wrought here in the last ~30 years, and the tension that underlies a nation unrecognised by most governments.

We’re looking forward to just under a week more along the coast, traveling by train (magnificent!) and bus (not quite so magnificent) to the southern tip of the island.Baca lagi