Gist: Wandering Around Taichung

My plan was to take the bus into Taichung and go to the Museum of Natural Science. It turned into a little adventure and hence the 'wandering around Taichung' bit. I rode my bike a short distance to Hwy 12 (the highway that goes into Taichung) and just started looking for bus stops. I found one and there was a woman waiting. How lucky for me! I asked, "Taichung?" She nodded and said, "Taichung." Perfect...this is going to be easy. The bus comes in about 5 minutes and soon I'm sitting in air conditioned comfort. It continues on the 12 for awhile and then makes a short detour to the airport. We pick up a few passengers, but I notice a young man with an Army T-shirt on. He's certainly Taiwanese, but I wonder if he's an American or at least been educated in America. He sits behind me and after some time he asks where I'm going (I've been paging through my Lonely Planet guide book). "I'm going to the Museum of Natural Science," I reply. This is too much for him to process so I point to the list of landmarks in the book that have the Chinese characters too. He nods, "Oh, that's nice." He tells me the word for museum, but I can't remember it now. He's an engineer coming back from the south part of the island. He's been fixing wind generators damaged by the typhoon. He says things are messed up in the south. Some rail lines are still out and may be for several months. He says it's not a good time to tour the south part of the island. Anyway, he tells me the bus isn't going to the museum and suggests I stay on until it gets to the bus terminal. I can take another bus to the museum from there. "Well, where are we?" I ask. "We are here on Taya Road," he replies. It's only a half mile to the museum. I tell him I can get off and walk. "Oh no! That's too far! You should take another bus." I've noticed that the Taiwanese have a much different sense of distance than I do. I mean, it is hotter than hot and the humidity makes it feel like you've been dipped in glue, but a half mile...c'mon. I tell him thanks for the concern and get off the bus. Now, my years as a survival instructor kicks in. I check my little REI zipper-pull compass/thermometer (I don't really need the thermometer...I already know it's damn hot), and start heading west. Just like navigating canyons in Utah, I'm zigging and zagging and looking for landmarks or a railing. A railing is usually a river, canyon, or some other natural fixture that tends in one direction. I am surrounded by 'railings' as I have roads, but none that I've found on my map. I know if I keep heading west I'll hit Hwy 12 (the road where I boarded the bus) and then I'll have my railing. I eventually hit Hwy 12, now the question is which way do I go? The museum is close to the highway. I take a guess that I've come in south of the cross road I'm looking for so I head north-west. Well, to cut this short...I was wrong. Infact, I hit Hwy 12 about a block north of where I wanted to turn, but I walked about a mile in the wrong direction before realizing my mistake. But, I got some great pictures and I relearned an old lesson. Stop and turn around from time to time. I might have noticed the brown signs for the incoming city traffic that pointed the museum in the other direction. I guess they think if you're coming from the city you wouldn't need directions to the museum.

This is the greenhouse at the
Botanical Gardens from a
lookout on the edge