Trapped by Mother Nature

Keelung turned out to be a rather dreary city, but with a fantastic night market (it is said to be the best in the country). We delighted in delicious crab, prawns and clams all washed down with local beer. Pedro also had a cup of Johnny Walker black label that the stall owner was mixing with water and drinking with his friends. Cat and Ella headed out into the night after dinner for a few beers at a great little bar on a side street.
The most remarkable moment of the stay was when we were awoken at 5.31am by the room (which was windowless as is common in Taiwan) shaking furiously while the building itself creating a scary roar. Pedro had been on his way to the toilet when is started and clung to the bed as he tried to ascertain what was happening. There was only one answer - an EARTHQUAKE!. It was terrifying. We went out onto the corridor but no one was around. Cat checked the internet which confirmed that an earthquake

had occurred with a magnitude of 6 and shaken the entire country. The fear of aftershocks, and the sense of powerlessness meant we could do little but stay in our room with our eyes wide open while Flora slept soundly. The news then reported that a Super Typhoon was building in the Pacific Ocean and would hit Taiwan the following day, which may have been weakened by the earthquake and may make landslides more likely - this didn't especially reassure us. Two potential natural disasters in two consecutive days. And we were due to head to coastal mountains. We continued with our plans and headed to Jioufen, a mountainside village. It was very cute, but due to the impending Typhoon we couldn't enjoy any of the local natural attractions. Fortunately, there was a Seven Eleven

right outside the door of our hotel which you didn't even really have to go outside to get to - it had enough alcohol to sustain us through the Typhoon and Pedro's birthday, which we spent holed up in our rooms while the wind and rain whistled around us (mostly Ella's once Flora had gone to sleep). Pedro took a particularly drunken liking to a blanket Ella had purchased in the airport that you kind of wear on a plane. Hard to explain, but he looked ridiculous!
We headed back after the Typhoon had passed and had one last night in Taipei before saying goodbye to Ella and continuing on our adventure with just the three of us.