Day Sixteen
There are multiple trails around Taipei, one of them is the Taipei Grand Hike and I walked a part of it today.
I started by taking a taxi to the visitor center, and walked through a bamboo forest to get to the fumeroles.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09488-720.jpg)
Fumeroles are vents that whip up steam. They are surrounded by sulphur and ash, and smell like fireworks and rotten egs. Lovely.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09493-720.jpg)
From the viewpoint the trail to the peak started with stairs of course.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09509-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09511-720.jpg)
The path upwards passes more Fumeroles, some of which you have to walk over to continue the trail.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09519-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09514-720.jpg)
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![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09528-720.jpg)
The Qixing Shan main peak stands at 1120 meters. Too bad the clouds obscured the views of the city, which supposedly are really nice.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09539-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09524-720.jpg)
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![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09543-720.jpg)
The upside of these clouds are that the temperature is a nice 26 degrees and I’m not burning in the sun.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09555-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09558-720.jpg)
After part one of my lunch (In total I had Sushi, Rice wrapped with fried Egg, a Onigiri, and a box of Oreos), I continued with the trail and the foggy mountain made way for grasslands.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09562-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/PXL_20230525_042135524-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09571-720.jpg)
There are wild buffalos, and you can use these things to get away from them in case they attack. I’m not keen on trying it out, though.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09572-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09577-720.jpg)
When the Japanese took over Taiwan, they built a lot of AA Pillboxes, they are scattered all around the grasslands.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09581-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09588-720.jpg)
In turn, the grasslands made way for forests shrouded in fog.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09595-720.jpg)
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This concluded part three of the Grand Trail, but I still had ways to go to the city.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09604-720.jpg)
It was about four in the afternoon, and I had already done 20 Kilometers, with very few straight parts, so I stopped at a coffee shop next to the road and bought myself a coffee. I planned to sit down and wait for an Uber driver to come get me from the city.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/20230525-09607-720.jpg)
I ordered the Uber and before the coffee lady had my drink ready, the Uber driver was just a minute away. Great, because it saved me a wait, but now I had to commit to one of the greatest sins you can do in an Uber, and that’s bring a drink.
It took a lot of effort to not splash hot coffee all over the place, as the mountain road was quite bumpy. But I managed to make it. I hope it doesn’t affect my Uber rating too much. My new hotel was located in an area with tons of Japanese places, and I didn’t want to walk far, so Curry it is!
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/asia-2023/day-sixteen/PXL_20230525_095117903-720.jpg)