11th - 24th May

11^th May to 24^th May

About the only ‘out of the ordinary’ event(s) that took place during this time would be our trip to Green Island.

Myself along with the Humber students and a few of their study buddies headed off to Green Island on Friday morning (23^rd) and returning on Saturday 24^th.

One item that I thought needs to be changed prior to next year’s trip is the length of stay on the Island.  Staying just one night is not enough time to take in (with ease) the sights.  Our timeline was so tight that the students only had 40 minutes of snorkeling time and we didn’t get to go all the places we should have.  I have been there two years ago and saw everything very thoroughly so I know what was missed and it’s only because of lack of time.

Other than that, the weather was almost cooperative (raining upon arrival but cleared up as the day went on.  The students had a good time overall and what we did see, was enjoyed.  Probably the two highlights of the trip were the hot springs and the snorkeling.

The Zahori hot springs is only one of three found in the world.  The other two are located in Sicily, Italy and Kyushu Island, Japan.

Not being a boat person myself I choked down a sea motion sickness tablet prior to going and it seemed to work.  I didn’t get sick but many others did, during the crossing.  The ferry takes between 50 and 60 minutes one way. The water, at times can be rough since the Island is located in the Pacific Ocean (33km off coast of Taiwan).  The ferry departs Taitung.

All of us rented scooters and electric bikes for the duration of our stay on the Island as that is the best and only means of transportation.  The Island is only around 18 km in diameter so one can navigate the entire Island in a short period of time.

We enjoyed an ‘all you can eat’ bbq dinner and that was enjoyed by everyone as well.  The weather (wind) became quite fierce and the thundering of the waves crashing up against the shore was quite loud.  It was actually sort of cool walking along the upper portion of the shoreline watching the waves and listening to them.

Next day was snorkeling and finishing off riding to a couple of interest sites before heading back to the mainland.

The water was very rough at time of departure (2pm) and it was only minutes before I heard people already getting sick.  I thought to myself great, this isn’t going to go well for me…surprisingly I did not get sick and I’m not sure how that was prevented but I did not complain.  I took a motion sickness pill and I fell asleep.by time I woke up we were just docking in Taitung.  Oh I was so happy for this part of the journey to be completed…hahaha

We arrived back at the University shortly after 7pm.  Our next trip is this coming weekend where we will journey off to Taipei for the entire weekend.  Leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday.  Not sure of the itinerary but I’m confident it will be exciting.