Weekend Excursion

This weekend we visited Yilan (宜蘭) and Hualien (花蓮), two cities on the eastern coast of Taiwan. We started by taking a bus ride down to the Toucheng Leisure Farm (頭城農場), which was absolutely beautiful. The entire farm is organic, and they grow and provide food for everyone who visits for free. We got to see their crops, animals, and especially their famed kumquats! We each got to pick a bag full of them and take them back with us. The sour ones can be used to make kumquat tea, which I tried while there, and it was delicious.

After that, we went to a museum in Yilan, and were able to learn a lot of the history of the area, starting with the indigenous peoples and leading up the Han migration into the area. Following that, we went to the Kavalan whiskey distillery, the number one whiskey in the world! We were able to sample their fine whiskey, and some of us even bought some to take home. After that, we took the bus to a night market, where we all ended up buying pizza instead at a small stand.

The next morning, we went from our homestay to do qi gong at the basketball court near the house. It was a lovely experience in the morning, breathing in the fresh air and qi. We took the bus down to the Tzu Chi institute, a famous Buddhist international relief work institute. We got to learn about a lot of the work they do all over the world, from South Africa to the U.S. to Malaysia. It was very informative and we learned how their Buddhist principles guide the way they provide relief aid. We then went on the Shakadang trail to view the Taroko Gorge. It was gorgeous. We got to try some millet wine and mulberry juice on the trail, both of which were very good. We then visited a cliff on the side of the mountains from which we had a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, and then we finally made our way back to Taipei.