Taiwan's wonderful motorways are in the news. They are a pleasure to drive - especially when you stop for food and drink - but they may be under threat from a fast new train service.
Two virtually parallel highways run down the 450km length of the west coast, with service areas that, at their best, seem like resplendent works of art. In Britain 20 years ago, such places were dreary indeed. You lined up with your tray in a single cafeteria and paid high prices for what was often abysmal food, supplied by a single franchise holder. The very word 'refreshments' could cause a shudder of grim apprehension.
Taiwan's are gorgeous emporia by comparison. Most have 20 or more different commercial outlets vying with each other to tempt the weary traveller, often with local cuisines. There are playgrounds for children, viewing platforms to survey the surrounding countryside, free maps, cherry trees and, in one instance, a birdwatching area. You speed southward, powered partly by your enthusiasm to see the next port of call.
Taiwanese can seem a bit muted in their reaction to this roadside grandeur. Some take it for granted: their children scamper from their parents' BMWs and run around the splendid, spacious halls as if at a birthday party. Others regard the ostentatious complexes with marked caution, possibly because the prices can be on the high side.
Even so, there is an unmistakable sense of pride in these motorways, service areas and food outlets. The island presents huge physical problems for road builders, with its 4,000-metre mountains, and valleys with boulder-strewn riverbeds up to 1? km wide. Only about 20 per cent of the land is flat. But Taiwan has used its prosperity to make the best use of every hectare of land. Japan has long been praised for doing the same with similar geographical conditions, and Taiwan deserves comparable acclaim.
The scene may be set to change, however. The driving time from Taipei to the popular resort of Kenting, on the island's southernmost tip, is some seven hours each way. That's slightly too long for a weekend trip, and the existing rail service isn't much faster. But a new, high-speed train is due to begin service soon, cutting the trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung to under two hours - leaving Kenting only a further 90 minutes by bus.
