Bali Left Bank

Following from my post on Shisanhang Museum of Archaeology, here's how we spent the rest of our afternoon at Bali Left Bank. (We intended to spend the large part of the day here, but were stuck at Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf because the low tide meant we couldn't go over by ferry. That in a later post!)

This up and coming tourist area features a decent cycling path which links all the attractions along its coast. We were deciding which bike to rent as we disembarked from the ferry when I got waylaid by this chap on a bike, who dangled some discount coupon for us to use at his shop. Not being in a great hurry to get our bike, we thought why not. Until we hiked for a good 10 minutes just to reach his shop! #&^%(*#%@ No wonder he had to tout for business and offer the discount. BAH. Why do these louts always make a beeline for me?!

Other than the ridiculous trek to actually rent the bicycle, the offerings at the shop were quite wide - but nothing the other rental shops by the ferry dock didn't offer. Please just rent the bikes when you get off from the ferry. Don't kena cheated like me :(:( Anyway, we wanted to be jokers and rent this really touristy carriage:

(Source: Taiwan Adventures Online Guide)

But we managed to retain our senses and made do with a sensible bike for our family of three:

That's the name of the shop - BestFriend. It's located next to some odd row of KTV lockers and a playground.

While ZX was settling the paperwork and our bags (we just left it at the shop - although it was pretty dangerous because there was no one to keep watch!), I was trying to locate the weird shrieks around me. Realised the sounds were coming from the aforementioned row of KTV lockers!!! Basically, the patrons are ushered into a locker which is unshuttered for their use. The patrons stand around a small TV atop a low bench and start belting out their Taiwanese (Tai Yu) songs. I wonder how they make their song choices and whether any food or beverages are provided?

Moving on to a better view of our bike. So chuffed to find a bike with a cosy enough seat for Bielet! She was so exhausted by our morning at Tamsui that she was lulled to sleep by the rocking motions of the bike as we made our way to the museum! I had to position my elbows inward to prop her head while I clung on to my handlebars, but the height of the baby seat also meant that my knees had to bend outwards as we went along. Not a sight to behold, that's for sure.

Yayy! One for the family album :):) Us three happily poised on the bike and with a chirpy yellow sunflower windmill in our basket (this was unfortunately nicked from our basket when we were at the museum... Sadness. We had to buy another one to make it up to Bielet.)

And a view from the top! Good thing ZX's cycling is so steady that I could take this overhead shot ;) If I was the one steering, we would probably have crashed in a heartbeat. I need to take cycling confidence lessons :(

As you can see from the above pictures, the cycling track is a proper pathway. There are segmented paths for pedestrians and cyclists, but really, everyone is just all over the place (just like the park pathways back home). The highlight of our trip here was the museum, but there are also other attractions such as the Liao Tian-Ding Temple or Formosa Fun Coast (especially for the kids!). Cycling here is a breeze - no pun intended - and there are ample toilets around. I was surprised to find a baby changing stall along the way, and it was rather clean as well, smells notwithstanding.

As we were busy cycling, we didn't take much photos but here are some we snapped :)

We spotted many kites being flown along the coast, and at pretty impressive heights too - thanks to the nice, cool breeze.

A rainbow! And we started singing Jay Chou's Cai Hong. LOL

Also met a horse masquerading as a cow. Notice it's brown markings are isolated at its perimeter?

Stumbled upon the filming of some variety show. ZX tried to channel-surf that night and show me which programme this was, but I was too slow to catch it...

And since this is Taiwan, there is good food galore. ZX lugged Bielet to get a good dollop of donuts (the queue for this stall was really loooooooooooong!). Bielet totally enjoyed her little sweet rings :)

Made ZX order squid for me from this stall with an amazing assortment of the tentacled creature! I was torn trying to choose a quantity that we could actually finish.

This was our final order! Mannnnnnn, I'm salivating just looking at this. I super love squid and cuttlefish - whether fried, tempura, grilled, teriyaki, sashimi or still wriggling along. I actually ate a small portion of the wriggly thing before, as its suckers were tickling my tongue (in Korea). Quite a sensation.

It was really nice to have a leisurely ride with ZX and Bielet :) Glad that we made it here - that it satisfied my hubby, the cycling aficionado, and that I didn't crash and die. It's times like these that put a big smile on my face. Just the simple pleasure of spending quality time with my two favouritest people. I really don't need to pull my hair out trying to squeeze in ten thousand activities into the itinerary, because just one good activity will suffice. Hope this doesn't mean that I'm becoming a bore......................... No, right?