Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
Day 887
Our last day in Taitung. There is plenty to explore here; the beach and the mountains, but we were feeling a bit lazy to go and explore. Instead, we walked down our favourite walkway to our favourite Café. But why the title “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do”?
After another stroll down Taitung Mountain/Ocean Biking Lane, we went to Lane 28 Brunch café for lunch, both ordering a tuna salad quiche. Now, in the UK we would get a savoury egg custard with tuna baked in a flaky pie crust shell and on the side, perhaps some lettuce, tomato and cucumber. We were not expecting a large, thin omelette rolled up and stuffed with tuna and sweetcorn – it was delicious!
We continued north and came to the Taitung Forest Park, a large area of 280 hectares with pathways, lakes and trees. The local name is the Black Forest. Could it be that a party of locals had visited Germany or because of the tall, dark beefwood trees here?
Not long after we paid our entrance fee of NT$30 each, we saw that we could hire bikes. The area is flat here, and I've been fancying a cycle. There were tandems and electric bikes here, but we went for the good old fashioned cheap ones!
What fun! There were hardly any other people around, some couples on tandem electric bikes whizzing past us, and a few more people walking around. There seemed to be more Malayan Night Herons here that humans!
We cycled around some lakes which had been built from swamp wetlands and stopped to watch the various waterfowl. A kingfisher was teasing us, swiftly flying over the lake into the thickness of a tree. Just as we got it in our sights, it would dive into the lake, hunting for dinner. We never did manage to get a photo of it. At the same lake, a huge fish rose to the surface. We both fumbled for our cameras, but again too slow.
Suddenly that was a roar of thunder getting louder and louder. Looking on the map, we saw that the Taiwanese Airforce base was on the other side of the river and the military was out to play. Our peace was interspersed with the roar of their jetfighters as they kept circling over us. One plane and then two in parallel and then another, continuously flying for a good hour. I was surprised that they would fly over a city, but then again, Taiwan isn't the biggest of countries, so any distance they would have to fly over some metropolis.
Our journey took us through a tunnel under the main 11 Highway to secluded pathways lined with Red cordylines and on to Pipa Lake, formed by underground springs. There was a viewing platform, but sadly no benches to sit on. Oh well, I suppose we'd been sitting on our bikes for a few hours.
We did see quite a few birds here, snowy-white egrets, a stunning Great Blue Heron and Moorhens amongst others.
After returning our bikes, we walked back to our accommodation and was pleased to bump into our host, the young lady who owns The Vow Wedding Dress Shop. I made a massive hint that I'd love to try one of the dresses on and was thrilled when she asked me which one I wanted to wear. With a selection of over 300 dresses, what to pick. I had already spied one at the end of a rail.
She pulled the curtain around me while I stripped off and gave me some silicone stick-on bra pads to wear. Once she had tied the lace at the back, she said it was a bit big for me, so got four large black ball clips and pinned me in. Even so, I felt like a princess!
When she opened the curtains, Tim's face was a picture! I wished I'd captured that on camera.
She suggested Tim put one of the suits on. There was a very nice olive green one but sadly far too big for Tim, so he ended up with a light grey one, not really his colour, and I must admit, he looked mighty slim in it. I need to fatten him up a bit before we come home. His Mum will have a fit, otherwise!
Well, we didn't ride a tandem, but with two bicycles and a wedding dress, immediately I knew the title for today's blog – a song that my Mum and Dad would often sing to one another…
Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer, do! I'm half crazy, All for the love of you! It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage, But you'll look sweet on the seat Of a bicycle built for two!
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