The Pink-haired Girl from Alishan

Hitchhiking around Taiwan

This time, I want to bring the focus on Taiwan’s incredible mountain ranges. At some point in the planet’s long history, tectonic plates beneath the main island of Taiwan squeezed tightly together to thrust tall, lush mountains up along a good two-thirds of Taiwan’s total land mass. Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, the largest of them all, stretches from the north to the south of the island, forming what is known as the “back of Taiwan”. This, together with XueShan, YuShan, AliShan, and Seaboard Mountain Range, form the “Big Five Ranges” that are renowned for their sheer height and steep inclines.

Several years ago, I went on a completely spontaneous trip to Taiwan that had me hitchhiking around the region. I’d reach a place, speak to the locals, and then decide where to go next based on their recommendations. I wasn’t too keen on hiking (and I’m still not to this day) but I was open to the challenge when someone recommended Alishan to me. One way to get up to Alishan is to take a bus from Chiayi. However, I hadn’t done my homework in advance, so I failed to notice in time that there were only a few buses a day. The last bus came trundling along around 1pm or 2pm, and I watched the light dwindle in the sky over the two-hour journey. It was dark by the time I arrived in town.

After staying a night in the small town, I took the last bus that day (again) to head up the mountain. Most of the passengers ranged from middle-aged to more senior citizens; the only other young person in the bus was a Taiwanese girl. I sat in front of her, and as the bus took off, she took the initiative to start a conversation by asking me, “Are you travelling on your own?”

“Yes, I resigned recently,” I told her. “How about you?”

“Me too,” she replied, and I felt instant camaraderie. “I just came back from Penghu, there’s less pressure there.”

I asked her, “Do you have a job now? Or part-time?”

“Just a part-time job, it’s more free. I don’t want to settle down yet. Are you going to Alishan?”

“Yes, I want to watch the sunrise tomorrow.”

“Have you bought a ticket yet? I can ask my papa to pick you up tomorrow morning.” Just like that, she invited me to join her within five minutes of us getting to know each other.

I soon discovered that she was an indigenous local, literally an Alishan girl as per the eponymous Chinese folk song. It turned out that she was going home to visit family for Father’s Day in Taiwan that Sunday (Father’s Day in Taiwan takes place on August 8, a date that is homonymous with “Dad” in the local language). At the time, her father ran mountain tours and drove visitors to Yushan, the highest peak in Taiwan, to see the sunrise. There are several prime spots to watch the sunrise in Alishan, each of which can be reached by train or car.

When the bus reached the top of the mountain, I was still hesitating on whether to accept her offer. This was, after all, their trade and business and I felt bad about inconveniencing them. As soon as I got off the bus, someone was selling the tickets for the tour the next morning, and I decided to snap one up then and there. I explained how I felt, and after listening she said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow morning. It’s going to rain soon, so let me drive you back to the hostel.” I took her up on that, and hopped onto her motorbike. She drove me to the door of the hostel, and advised me to be there at 3:30 am sharp, since there would be other people also joining the tour.

Later that evening, I noticed after I’d taken a shower that I’d missed a message from her. To my surprise, she’d gone home and then come all the way back to my hostel on her motorbike to lend me one of her jackets. Given that the mountaintop could get extremely cold, she’d been worried as I had revealed to her earlier in the day that I’d only brought summer clothes with me. At that moment, I could understand why people say that the greatest of Taiwan’s beauty is its people.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually seen the sunrise; I usually prefer to watch the sunset. This time, perhaps because I was intentionally getting up early for this, I was quite excited. Even though it meant waking up in the middle of the night, I didn’t feel that sleepy. As predicted, the mountaintop was windy and chilly; as I was clad in mere denim shorts, I could feel goosebumps rising all over my legs. I had to keep moving to keep myself warm. Luckily, the weather was amazing that day, with no clouds or fogginess blocking our view of the sun. I watched the rays of light leak out gradually from the sea of clouds, dispelling the gloom and illuminating the sky. The sun was so strong and glorious, it was impossible to look at it directly without sunglasses. The scene was, simply put, beautifully picturesque. As visitors, we all felt extremely lucky to see such a clear sky, and feel as though we were in the clouds.

Afterwards, the Alishan girl brought along two friends, and the four of us went hiking in Alishan, which was a veritable forest. “That’s why I had to come with you, otherwise you’d get lost easily,” she said with a friendly smile. Her elementary school years were spent in the mountains, so she was very familiar with the routes and directions. We passed by what she called the sister pond, spirit trees, tree spirit tower, and many other scenic spots of nature. At Shouzhen Temple, the largest temple in Alishan, we went inside and worshipped. As it turns out, young people in Taiwan commonly worship in temples, and my Taiwanese friends showed me how it was done.

We managed to catch the Alishan train just in time for the return journey, and enjoyed the downhill section of the railway. The Alishan girl and her friends had to go back to Tainan for work on Monday, so we made plans to leave Alishan together in the evening. This was the first time someone offered me a ride before I’d had a chance to start hitchhiking, breaking my previous record of getting a ride in Hualien in five minutes.

Before we left, the Alishan girl invited us to her home. A lady who had known my new friend since she was little as a long-time worker for her father happened to be home as well, and through their interactions I accidentally came to learn about some of her more complicated family issues. Despite her complex background, I felt that she’d grown up into a truly cheerful and lovely person. As a fellow Gemini, I felt I could somehow understand her thoughts. In my eyes, she was a girl in love with the ocean and freedom. Back then, she seemed at peace with the idea that nothing in life was under her control.

Later, we became friends on Facebook, and we would chat occasionally. She revealed why she decided to talk to me in the first place: she used to have pink hair, as I did. This hair colour has actually attracted a lot of interesting new friends for me, friends who I’ve been able to forge an instant connection with.

During my journey in Taiwan, I was blessed to be able to meet good, helpful people. However, I can’t deny that there is always a risk when you go travelling, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Always make thorough preparations to avoid possible accidents, packing suitable clothes, food, water, equipment, and so on to ensure a safe trip over the long-run. Travelling without an itinerary can be fun, but it may not be for everyone. What’s important is to be a responsible traveller no matter where you go. Here’s to hoping you arrive safely at your dream destination one day soon.