On scorching midsummer days with time to kill, what is the supreme antidote to summer heat? Needless to say: a solo motorcycle circuit around Taiwan.
Yet an eccentric fool roaming around the island solo, underfunded to the point of nearly absconding from a Pingtung gas station without paying — that was a slight dilemma.
Unplanned travel! It is a distinct philosophy. During my college days in Hsinchu, though my friends and I frequently roved across mountain roads on scooters, every single run was an impromptu whim. Chiefly because even when itineraries were drafted meticulously, variables always wrecked them on departure day. So why bother planning at all?
If you ask whether I would repeat such spontaneous stunts, probably not on Taiwan’s roads again. Today, Europe beckons. Travel options abound: cross-border rail journeys promise unique romance, road tripping by car would be exhilarating, and even a vehicle breakdown along a country lane adds memorable seasoning.
And the first stop indisputably must be London. Beyond my deep affection for the United Kingdom, London’s geographic crossroads feels remarkably like the starting square on a Monopoly board (laughs). Anyone keen on traversing the European continent together is welcome to chat.
If considering destination-based travel, my bucket list is boundless:
Egypt, India, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Tahiti, Hawaii, Saipan, Japan, Antarctica, the Sahara Desert, Greece, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Brazil, Las Vegas, Peru, Morocco, the United Kingdom, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Czech Republic. A bit greedy, isn’t it?
Each carries personal, quirky reasons beyond famous sights: Austria because of The Sound of Music; Tahiti because my grandmother’s hometown is Daxi in Taoyuan (a Chinese homophone joke); Brazil because I want to tread the sacred turf that triumphed in the 2002 World Cup.
Then again, I am not a professional globetrotter or a National Geographic photographer. Ticking off one nation a year would demand twenty-six years — a formidable span of time, making even me wonder whether all twenty-six will ever be fulfilled.
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