Day 5.1: Kenting Beach

On Spokes: a solo cycling journey through Taiwan

My stay at Nanwan Beach in Kenting was absolutely reviving! I made it a point to stay off my bike and give my tush a rest. I slept in (of course)…. well, okay, for me sleeping in is anytime past 7:30 so that might not sound so late to most. Anywho, I headed to the patio outside the hostel around 8 and had coffee and biscuits with a French traveler who was absolutely delightful. She shared with me how much fun she has been having at this hostel, and we compared sunburns. I also chatted extensively with one of the hostel workers, a Philipino woman who is afraid of the ocean. I didn’t want to ask her the obvious question: how is that possible? Despite her own aquatic fears, she encouraged me to give the surf lesson a try. I have always wanted to try surfing - in fact, I had planned to take a surf lesson on Uluwatu when I was in Bali a couple years ago, but I contracted an infection in my foot that ended up eating a hole through my skin so I had to forgo. I was running low on Taiwan currency and being that it was Saturday, the banks were closed. But I really wanted to try this so I walked down to the…. yep, that’s right, the trusty 7-Eleven (always there for you in Taiwan), and pulled some cash from the atm.

There were four of us taking the surf lesson: myself, a young man from New Zealand, and a couple from Germany. 3 out of 4 of us had never gone surfing before. We started by practicing some technique on the boards in the sand. My expectations of my own ability to balance on a moving surfboard were pretty low. I didn’t grow up near the ocean nor did I partake in any water sports growing up. I’ve always loved the water but water sports themselves seemed like an unreachable world for me. But here’s the thing for Mara today - I may not be able to fully control the nagging thoughts of self-doubt. Many of us deal with those, some more than others, but we all deal with it. I’ve grown tired of letting those doubts limit me, though. As a child and even a young adult I avoided trying new things out of fear of failing or not being good enough. I’ve missed out on a lot. When I started traveling the world two years ago, I still had a lot of fear but I wrangled them in so that they wouldn’t limit me. If someone puts cake in front of you, eat it. So I have tried as many new things as I can, and I’ve discovered that jumping from waterfalls is thrilling, diving is jaw-dropping, climbing is a rush, and cycling is freedom. So let’s go! Surf’s up.

If my face doesn’t say it all! I had a blast! I’m pretty sure I said, “this is so fun!” at least five times during our surf. I got on the board for my first go; fumble. Got on for my second go; fumble. Got on for my third go, and I was surfing! I caught my first wave, and with it a big balloon of confidence. I wiped out a few times, but I caught more waves than I missed. I won’t get ahead of myself; these were very small waves and I had a coach with me the entire time. Nonetheless, I had the time of my life and I’m pretty sure I found my new sport! I’m gonna allow myself to feel proud of my ability to pick it up so quickly, especially since my bar started out so low.

I also want to call out something really beautiful about this experience that I reflected on later. This has happened to me before when I have met other travelers and engaged in an activity together. We may never see each other again, but in those moments they are my friends and I am theirs. We may barely know each other, but here we are sharing in a common goal for the time. We’re putting our trust in each other, and cheering each other on. I laughed excitedly and exclaimed how much fun I was having to these friends as if I was already so comfortable with them. All doubts, all fears, all insecurities were literally washed away - and we were family for that short time. I still feel connected with the friends I adventured with in other countries I’ve visited, and I know I’ll always feel connected to the friends I had my first surf lesson with. It was a big moment in my life, and I shared it with them, so we’ll always have that, even if we never meet again.

After surfing I decided to hit the promenade for a drink or two. As I was waiting on my drink, a sweet little girl spoke to me in Chinese and handed me a crayon. I sat there for a good ten minutes drawing with her. Meili de. This is another one of those special moments I’ve experienced before - children have a way of making you feel accepted. Language and cultural barriers don’t matter to them. She didn’t even seem to notice that my skin was white, or that it was covered in its own art, or that I have a funny accent. She saw a friend, and we colored together.

Today is a day of new friends, as I was called over to a table by a local man who asked me if I would like to join his group. Next to him was a Chinese lady, a young man from the Netherlands, and a handsome French man with long hair pulled into a bun who looked to be my age. Apparently our local friend was pulling together random people to create one big party. We shared a few drinks, though I passed on the 58 proof liquor. I’m not gonna paint it for anything other than what it is; I was very attracted to Mr. French and when the party started moving, he and I branched off to have dinner together. I’ll leave it at that and end with this: Kenting Beach was full of fun, sport, and lots of new friends! I’m really going to miss this place. Though I am excited to make my way around the east coast, where the scenery is, I hear, wild and beautiful. Let’s see….. and one more surf photo, mainly because I didn’t take any other pictures today but also because surfing was so righteous!