Freshwater

Yesterday, Ivy and her younger brother Leo took me to Danshui (Danshui means "freshwater" and the name refers to the Danshui river--the Danshui area is right on the shore). Danshui is another commercial district with a night market. There's a walkway along the water crowded with families (at least on a Sunday afternoon). We rented bikes after arriving, but the crowds made riding them kind of tricky (the Taiwanese frown upon running over children).

Eventually we came to a less crowded boardwalk that functioned as a bike path. After a 15-minute ride we came to the Fisherman's Wharf. This was a waiting area for people wanting to take a ferry across the river to Bali, and it was also crowded (noticing the pattern?). The waiting area comprised a long plaza with picnic tables and an equally long row of drink stands.





We bought some tea (at a stand whose sign read "Lie Fallow Small And Pave"), and then inquired about ferry tickets. As luck would have it, the ferry was so full today that they weren't letting bikes on board, so we had to stay on the northeastern shore. It was late afternoon at this point, and we hung out until the sun started to set. There was a big arched bridge that was good for watching sunsets, so we biked over there and walked to the apex.








There were no buildings, mountains, or clouds to the West--just the Pacific Ocean--and you could actually see the exact moment when the disc of the sun fell completely beneath the horizon.

Rush hour and the start of the night market combined to make the ride back slightly more hazardous than the ride there. The street was already narrow, but pedestrians spilling into, along, and across the street made it even narrower. Even so, a motorcade of cars and motorcycles rode down the middle of the street, using every clear stretch to accelerate. Weaving through this line of motor vehicles, we were like three lemmings in a stampede of wildebeest. It was exhilarating, if a little dangerous. But we actually weren't the only bicyclists to brave the combined foot and motor traffic, and I get the sense that this isn't an unusual situation here.

After returning the bikes we had dinner (I might write about that later. For now, see a picture) and explored the night market.