南荘を離れてから、次は泰安という山にある村落に向かって行った。泰安は苗栗の東部にあるから、かなり山の奥にある。ほとんどの住民はタイヤル族だ。私は元々「苗６２」というわりと大きな道を使って村落の温泉がある中心地に行くつもりだったが、南荘から南下している「１２４」という道路を走った時、「泰安こちらへ」という看板見かけて、そっちへ行った。
本気で後悔した。看板見てもちろん分からんかったが、行ってみたらその道は小さなクニャクニャした険しい山道だった。ちゃんとした大型バイクとか車だったらまだよかったかもしれないが、私は１２５ccのバイクをニケツで行ったから、本当にブレーキが溶けてしまいそうなった。
結果としてはちゃんと温泉街に到着したが、もし泰安に行く機会があって、マジで苗６２の道使った方がいい。この辺の山はハンパない。
After wandering around Nanjhuang, I next got on my rented scooter and headed towards Tai'an. Tai'an is a rural township in the mountains of Eastern Miaoli. Mountains in Taiwan don't mess around, so like many mountain townships, it's not the most convenient place to get to. There's one road, the Miaoli 62, that is decently big and easy to drive that takes you into the area of the township that is centered around the hotspring resorts that bring in tourists. This is the road I planned on using, and which I would highly recommend you use if you just want to pop in and enjoy the hot springs.
Unfortunately, I was waylaid by a mischievous road sign along Road 124 heading south out of central Nanjhuang that led me to believe that it was an alternate route to Tai'an. Now, I can't truthfully say that this sign was all lies and nothing good--it did take me eventually to Tai'an--but I can say that the sign was all half-truths and nothing good. The route it took me through might be alright to drive in a car, or a properly large motorcycle, or perhaps on the back of a donkey with a contingent of sherpas at your disposal, but the route was definitely not fun to drive in a dinky 125 cc scooter with two people on it.
Basically, the road I used--which is so small and minor that its name, if it has one, doesn't even appear on Google maps--wound through the mountains as it made its way south from Road 124 down to Road Miaoli 62. I have never driven up and down so many horribly long and steep inclines in my life. Even the more hilly islands I've traveled to at least, while steep, did not have slopes that continued for so long since the mountains on the islands are more limited in size than those in eastern Miaoli. I'm just really, really glad my brakes didn't give out at any point.
我離開南莊之後用124號的公路向泰安南下去。當時我打算用苗62進泰安去，可是我還在124號的時候，我看到標誌寫那條路向泰安就去看看。後來我真的後悔。那條路原來是小小，在山上蜿蜒通過去的一條。不適合兩個人騎125cc經過去。因為路險峻所以我一直怕煞車會鎔掉了。我跟你說，去泰安別用你不知道的道路。那邊的山太跨張了！
でも変な山道通ったおかげで、こんなすごい景色が見えた！
But hey, I saw views like this! Wow!
但是因為我用奇怪的路去，所以我看到這樣的風景。
Here is the town area where the hot springs are. Most of the residents of this township are Atayal, so there were some mosaics by the road showing traditional activities.
到了溫泉那邊路邊有泰雅的畫。
That's all for now. More next time!
下次繼續苗栗旅行。
So glad I don't know these things until after they happen! Next time you should use your iPad and Google maps and set it on the terrain setting. That will give you a better idea of what the roads are like.
ReplyDeleteI don't have access to the internet when I'm out on the road though, so I have to depend entirely on roadsigns, my memory of maps I've looked at, and whatever notes I've written down. It usually works out ok, at least until I encounter some confusing roadsigns.
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