Heading south

Aug 5
Typhoon is aiming at Hualien and is supposed to reach land in 48 hours. We are taking the opportunity to visit relatives in the south and to escape our first typhoon in Taiwan. So we thought........
We packed and left in our car for an eight hour drive to Kaoshiung with a few sightseeing stops.
Our first stop was lunch, could not resist the best pork hock in town.....




Second stop was a sugar factory........



feeding frenzy inside the sugar factory.......weather was hot and humid at this time, with no signs of storm yet.


When we stopped for a break, I saw this thing sticking out from the front grille of my car, it was a butterfly! I thought it must have been dead but it moved, so Frankie and I placed her on a flower bed nearby, and hoped she would find her way home.....

I made the same mistake as Captain Cook did. I thought we reached the west side of the island when I saw ocean, but fact was, we just reached the southern tip of the east coast.....

Frankie took over the filming here as she made fun of my mishap......



Finally we made it thru to the west coast after driving thru some very treacherous mountain roads.....


After eight hours, we reached Kaoshiung, and time for dinner......

After dinner, we checked in to a motel (motor hotel as its called here, because there is a garage attached to the unit!), and what a place...



It has a jacuzzi which fits at least ten people, with waterfall, a TV, a massage table.....let your imagination run wild.....


and a very comfy bed.......great for honeymooners....(don't try to click on the image, not a video and no adult materials here, haha)

Aug 6
First sign of the typhoon came on Aug 6 while we were touring the Chiayi reservoir. All of a sudden the sky turned dark and the rain came just as fast as the sun dissappeared. Temperature dropped about ten degrees instantly. It was quite eerie, we all got goose bumps....Weather forecast suggests that the south will not be affected much as the typhoon will land at Hualien. We made a good choice by heading south, we thought......

Aug 7

Woke up to heavy wind and rain, the south is getting a good whooping also. At this time, damage is light and we have no idea that within 24 hours, many people will die and whole village will be wiped out as it never existed.....

Aug 8

This is bad, real bad. Torrential rain non stop for 48 hours now in the south while the north is pretty dry.

Aug 9

I'm still stuck in my hotel room, only getting out for food nearby.....

You may have seen this haunting video. The hotel which fell into the river was 50 meters from the river bank. We passed by this hotel just two days ago.

In this video, you can see people running for their lives......The raging river has actually taken all the earth and sand under the hotel before it collapsed.....

Finally, the rain stopped and the sky began to clear. The worst is over and we are driving home tomorrow. We cannot take the same route as most of the roads and bridges are now destroyed. We will drive north to Taipei and then take the mountain road to Hualien. The railway and some of the roads in the south will not be reopened for at least three to six months while being repaired and in many cases, have to be totally rebuilt.

Aug 10

We made it home. What an experience this has been. I've never been so close to such devastation and witnessed such massive destruction in such a short time. Even local people who regularly live thru typhoons and earthquakes have never seen anything like this. Taiwan is in a state of shock. What makes this disaster terrifying is the fact that many victims were able to call their loved ones minutes before they perished. One girl was asking her family for help after her car plunged into the raging river when the bridge she was driving on collapsed. She spoke to her mom frantically just before the phone went silent......so aweful....no way you can have a dry eye listening to the tape. Total nightmare. Why her, why not the car before her??

Life is back to norm up here in Hualien as all debris have been removed and there is no evidence of a typhoon at all. Paradise returns to northern Taiwan while the south is still suffering in a hellish nightmare. Casualties continue to rise and now they may have to deal with potential diseases. That's all for now as my tennis partner is waiting......