Beach World Tour 2019: Taking the Train Across Taiwan

My ship ported in Kaohsiung on the southern tip of Taiwan. I wanted to take their high-speed train to Taipei but, it was fully booked. So I boarded the 801 Limited that left 30 minutes on the same track but, took 3 hours longer. Oh well, I got more time to view the scenery and visit with people on the train. I also learned that I can eat pork chops with chop sticks on a rocking train and not look like a fool.

It was a great trip. I will let the pictures show most of the story. What I've noticed is that the trains are efficient, on-time but built for a smaller people. I was a head taller than almost everyone else. The seats seemed tiny but most passengers were comfortable. Everyone was friendly, helpful and endlessly polite. Everything was so well marked and so obvious from the symbols that I had little trouble finding my way. Even so there were people, passengers as well as railway employees, that interjected theirselves in kind tones to assist the giant foreigner.

On walk to the station

I added this because I was told there are over 10,000 7-11 on Taiwan. I saw them everywhere. They have hot food, you can pay your bills, get rain tickets, do currency exchange. Convience is key here because there is so little personal living space.

Looking out window at crossing

The train passed huge apartment buidings like this endlessly.

Many apartments and house were even closer to the tracks than this.

Lunch came in this nice little box. There was a selection but I could read so it was a surprize lunch.

Ilearned to eat pork chops with chop sticks (there's a story title for ya')

The freight cars were very small compaired to the U.S. because they use a narrow guage track.

Even for this long a trip, there were stops, if you had a student ticket you haad to give up your seat for passengers (like me) who had a seat assignment. There were students, standing, sitting in end doors and on floors next to the reatrooms, most on their phones, heads looking down.

After spending the night at another AirBnB in Taipai near the train station, I got up at 0: dark 30 and walked back to the station to catch the commuter train out to where the ship was coming in later. That was the city of Keelung about 40 minutes out. The trains here are spot on time, not a minute early or a minute late but, right on the time on the station clock. My train to Keelung, the sign announced would be delayed 3 minutes but, then it arrived exactly on time. Even when they are late, they're on time.

KEELUNG , Port of Taiwan

Waiting for my ship to come in, both figuratively and literally.

View from the station.

Cruise pier before ship arrives.

Two Navy destroyers. They were open to the public today and long lines were in place to visit.

Navy ship moved from pier before the Insignia came in.

KEELUNG, Hollywood like hillside sign,

Rain made for some nice reflections

The grey and pale green structures in the foreground are sitting benches. The green lights up at night. The photo doesn't show all the benched but, from ships in the harbor they spell out "Keelung" in English. You can make out the "L" and "U"

It's like this little building landed on top of this big building.

The very end of Keelong harbor.

This is not an alley but a main sidewalk on a busy street in broad daylight.

More bikes than anything else.

There were lots of little alleys like this.

Taiwan Coast Guard

It started to rain in Keelung and traffic almost stopped as cyclists put on rain gear.

Year of the Pig. This was on corner of bridge. There are matching ones on the other three corners.

Stop light starting line.

NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM OF TAIWAN

After I got back on the ship in Keelung, I couldn't get in my cabin. I had a excursion tour lined up and I need to drop my backpack and brush my teeth. Turned up I'd been locked out by Oceania. On the ship the desk didn't know I'd made arrangements to leave the ship and take the train in Taipei. They had been looking for me the evening before. They didn't show me getting back on board (which I hadn't. I was checking into my AirBnB for the night) After announcements calling for me over the ship's PA, several passenger told them I wasn't reboarding that night.

After I got that straigthened out I learned that Taiwan Customs had charged me $144 for leaving the ship and boarding in a different port. I just barely made the excursion bus to go back to Taipei with a group from the ship.