When we got back to Gongliao we had to wait two hours for the train. So I went to the store to get some tea and some "bing lang" betel nuts, in English. That's what the locals chew. It's a mild stimulant like caffine. And very popular in the country side of Taiwan. The guy was actually so impressed that a foriegner wanted bing lang that he happily gave it to me for free. So while I waited for the trian I had a couple betel nuts and worked on my chinese home work
We took the train to Gongliao near the coast, rented a scooter and took a beautiful sunset drive heading south down Taiwan's northeast coast. We stopped for some icecream "spring rolls" with cilantro, chopped peanuts and icecream. We stopped at some really cool rock formations on the coast and went for a quick sunset snorkel. The water was clear, the visibility was at least 30 feet. There were a few tropical fish, not bad for a random stop. The rocks were littered with puffer fish like this one in the picture. It's a funny thing, they are every where, on every beach. The funny thing is when I was in the sea of cortez in Mexico they were also all over the place. Strange....Hmm........ On the way back we stopped at a famous resturaunt that makes lunch boxes for the train. When your on the train certain stops have people who will sell you a lunch box to eat on the train.
