Our long awaited bus finally arrived at the bus stop in front of Aboriginal Village Theme Park but there were no seat left. We stood all the way to Puli Bus Station.
No big deal.
So we stood.
At Puli Bus Station, we were asked to transfer to another bus that would bring us back to Taichung. So we took that bus.
There was seat. Good.
The journey was longer because it stopped at every bus stop. No problem.
When it reached the bus stop opposite Taichung TRA Station, I did not recognize the place. Only when Ah Yi read the sign, she told me and it was too late. The bus started to move.
So I got up since I would like to ask him whether the next stop was far.
But, to my surprise, when I got up, the driver hit the brake to avoid some crazy biker.
I lost my balance.
I fell down.
My whole body hit the floor.
Mom shouted.
I climbed back up and walked towards the driver.
I told him I intended to alight at Taichung TRA Station.
He scolded me.
I scolded him back.
He was not happy.
The next stop was Gancheng Station. So I alighted and passed him my tickets. He did not grab it properly and the tickets fell into the coin box. He scolded me even more. I pretended I did not hear him and I walked out.
I felt so angry and I cried.
We walked back to Taichung TRA Station with my legs and hands injured and they were throbbing like hell.
And another surprise was waiting for me at Taichung TRA Station.
The train ticket to Hualien was sold out and standing passengers were not allowed. The officer advised me to take a train to Taipei and get a train to Hualien from there. So I bought the ticket for NTD 245 (~SGD 11) per person, no seat.
We rushed back to hotel to collect our luggage and rushed to the station again to catch the train. We stood for almost the whole journey because we should give up our seats for those having a ticket with seat number.
When we reached Taipei, I quickly ran to the ticket counter to buy another train ticket to Hualien for NTD 330 (~SGD 14) per person. The last train. So I bought the ticket, grabbed 2 mochi and 1 nuts pie along the way and paid NTD 134 (~SGD 5.8), and boarded the train again.
Luckily this time we had seat and the train was super comfortable.
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| My dinner that night |
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| My poor knees |
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| My poor elbows |
We were supposed to take 4-hour journey to reach Hualien from Taichung but due to this unforeseen circumstances, we took 6 hours in total and we reached Hualien around 1:30am in the morning.
I arranged to stay in one of the minsu in Hualien. And another luckily, the owner was so nice she picked us up in the train station to show us the way to her house. Her name is Sharon and you can find her in airbnb.
We settled down, took a bath, and after that, I slept like a cow.
It was funny how a happy time could turn bitter and sour in a few hours. And it was even funnier how I could keep saying 'lucky' in my unluckiness.
And these are the lessons of the day:
1) Do not sit too far from the bus driver when you are unsure where to alight
2) Never ever stand up when the bus is moving especially in Taiwan
3) Buy your train ticket in advance no matter how unsure you are about your timing
4) Pack something in your bag for you to eat during emergency
Love is in the air,
Little Feet
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