Taiwan, a clear underrated destination that not many would think of fitting "cycling" as part of their plan until decades ago. Often compared to China, you'll find that Taiwanese people do not relate to Chinese mainland characteristics and etiquette. As a matter of fact, the Taiwanese are very fond of the Japanese. Japan happens to be Taiwan's former colonizer of 50 years.

An island of 23 million people, it has strong cultural appeal to Japan. Older Taiwanese often mark the Japanese colonial era as a turning point in their country's development. This explains the clean streets, top-notched railway system and durable agriculture know-hows.

Infrastructure-wise, Taiwanese has made it easy for people to cycle in their country especially along the east coast roads with the home-grown brand Giant and sprawling network of dedicated paths. Knowing that we had luxurious paved wide roads for cyclists, we followed the east coast route from Kaohsiung all the way to Hualien for 10 days covering 445km.

A scenic route hugging the Taiwanese coastlines, we couldn't wait to get our wheels rolling in the East Coast side of Taiwan. This was part of Cycling Route 1 in Taiwan, a popular path that circles the entire island which can be done in two weeks if you have all the time in the world.