Ride a Passenger Train: Another Life Goal Completed!

So, as you can see from the picture, I rode my first train! A few days ago we traversed from Luodong, Taiwan to Hualien, Taiwan via train, and I couldn't contain my excitement. Turns out it was pretty awesome!







Entering the train, I wasn't really sure what to do, seeing as how I am in a foreign country and hardly understand 10 words of Chinese. However, our fearless leader, Ted, made sure we found our seats...

Honestly, I was surprised at how comfortable the train was. I always pictured a passenger train as a glorified freight train crammed tight with benches. Obviously, I was wrong. I was also surprised at the number of people sleeping. Little did I know that I would soon join their ranks. The train got going, and I was wide-eyed and wired for sound. We proceeded to enjoy some jian-bing (something like a Chinese breakfast crepe) which I would soon regret, though it tasted marvelous. It was fun to look around the train and watch the passengers. I also had fun looking like someone who had obviously never ridden a train as I gawked out the window in awe of being able to travel by train. About half an hour into the ride, I got a little woozy (probably a combination of the jian-bing with the Minute Maid I had) but nothing too bad. I dozed for about 10 minutes, and before I knew it, we had arrived! We got a tour of Hualien from Ted, ate some lunch, and saw some beautiful sites!

After a day of sight-seeing around Taroko Gorge National Park, I was very tired and decided to sleep for the ride home. It was an incredibly comfortable ride and I woke up just as we arrived in Luodong. I shuffled off of the train with the rest of the passengers, knowing I had fully enjoyed riding a train for the first time in my life and glad to have another item crossed off my bucket list. However, I was even happier to have lived a little more fully that day.