Taiwan: Jiang ma yuen

Let me introduce you to Jiang Ma Yuen

or "Ginger Garden" in English.

Before I came to Taiwan, I tried to search some information about Jiang Ma Yuen but they all were in Chinese so I think it would be nice if I am able to introduce this place to whoever want to come here and want to experience something that you should not be missed during your stay here in Taiwan.

Jiang Ma Yuen is located at the intersection of Tahu, Sanyi and Tungluo townships.

"Ginger Garden" already explains itself what this place is famous for. Of course ginger!

You don't have to be a ginger lover, I bet you will love the ginger products here.

I, myself, barely ate ginger but coming here drinking ginger tea, ginger milk or eating any kind of food with ginger just made me love it!

This place is also very famous for its strawberry. If you are here during new year or in the first few months of the year, pay a visit here to pick up some strawberries in the fields up on the mountain with a breathtaking view.

With the higher elevation area on the mountain, GInger garden creates its own market segment to its counterparts in the plain area by offering sweeter strawberries thanks to its purer water source and temperature differences between day and night and the longer strawberry season because of its lower average temperature.

I think I have to go take some photos of the strawberry fields now. Today I only have some of the scenery photos that I took from different places in Jiang Ma Yuen.

Here is some info. of how to get here...

Exit No. 1 National Expressway from Miaoli interchange. Taking Tai-Six Provincial Highway, passing Kungkuan and Wenshui and turn in to Tai-Three Provincial Highway southbound. After Tahu approaching Lilin Primary School, get on No. 130 County Road just beside. This road takes you up to Ginger Garden. Keep driving west takes you to Sanyi. If you exit No. 1 National Expressway from Sanyi interchange, follow Tai-Thirteen Provincial Highway northbound. It takes you to No. 130 County Road after passing Sanyi’s Woodcraft Street.

It's cold here...

Even in the height of summer heat, it will still be quite cool in the mountains, particularly at the lookout when mountain breezes come. A light jacket will come in handy especially staying overnight at the hostels located in 800-meter high mountain areas, where fog and winds frequent.

See you in Jiang Ma Yuen!!! :)

Taiwan: Lavender cottage

Lavender Cottage

~Where two girls have their dreams fulfilled~

-A place where you can enjoy your private moments without much disturbance-

The owners are 2 girls who have dream of owning a restaurant. They started with the first one in Taichung County 8 years ago, the second one in Hsinchu 6 years ago and the third one newly opened in 2008 in Miaoli.

This is where I had a chance to visit.

Miaoli is a small city so operating a lavender cottage here helped improving the quality of Miaoli's overlooked tourist industry. The lavender Cottage helped attract more business investors and boosted the county economy.

The lavender cottage in Miaoli incorporates the famous Sanyi wood sculptures and Hakka style architecture. I never been to the other Lavender Cottage but visiting the one in Miaoli, I feel that they adapted their own unique theme with the local resources and become a good neighbor to the natives.

Make a wish and tide it on the tree up on the hill.

Inside the restaurant with a very cute waiter costume. He said he is an angel... LOL

The meals were good with reasonable prices.

What the logo says...

"We are happy and we want you to be happy too"

It's lucky to be in the right place, doing the right thing with the right people.

PS. For those who are planning to visit Hokkaido after May 2010, they are planning to open a new Adagoi Lodging there :) It will be a home of lavender!

Hello Taiwan!

Hello Taiwan!

In December the weather is pretty cold here and it was raining on the first day. I arrived around 6 PM which was already dark. I had a warm welcome by AIESECers as soon as I arrived and then we took a bus from the airport to Taipei. The express airport buses cost around NT$120~NT$150 depending on the bus company and it is operating a service every 15 minutes. The airport is about an hour away from Taipei and there are freeway buses to many cities, picking up and dropping off passengers at most of the five star hotels. Our bus stopped at Taipei Main Station which is connected to an MRT line. It's very convenience to go around Taipei by MRT and it will be another option to go to he airport in the soon future.

I was greeted by a very warm family on the first night and had a great meal at the restaurant near by their house with a surprised earthquake while we were having the meal. I didn't expect that everybody would run out of the restaurant but they did. The earthquake was quite strong but only for a few seconds so we were fine and finally finished our meal.

We took a walk around that area and found this chain pearl milk tea shop. There are everywhere in Taiwan and seems like it's pretty famous here.

A night in Taipei...

The way they drink tea here...

Local breakfast: some sticky rice with some veg. and pork inside.

Side dish with some fried egg with spicy sauce.

The memorial hall where is located within a walking distance from the place I stayed.

View of Taipei 101 from the memorial hall.

The marathon in Taipei city

Walking around the city in the morning...

In front of Taipei 101

A little bit of shopping in the afternoon...

This is only the beginning of my 4 months here...

Let's go to Taiwan!

Are you thinking about visiting Taiwan???

lha Formosa which means Beautiful Island...

This is what a group of Portuguese sailors said when they first saw Taiwan

Taiwan has not made it to the top of everybody's 'Must Visit', but it may be because people do not quite know what Taiwan has offer. But within the borders of this Beautiful Island here lies a world of contrasts and melange of cultural influences you are not likely to find anywhere else in the world.

Recently, Taiwan is increasing number of travelers who are looking to experience the island's religious heritage, perfect night market meals to latest high-tech gadgets. The country offers you a modern side of Taiwan, an ancient Chinese skeleton and an aboriginal soul. And the most important is that Taiwan has some of the world's warmest people.

They have a rich culture here in Taiwan. the blending of Hakka, Taiwanese, indigenous people and mainland Chinese cultures has produce a rich of cultural and social colors. Whether it is religion, architecture, language, living habits, or food, it's a very exciting experience that is waiting for you to experience.

Preparing to Taiwan

First check whether you need a visa to enter Taiwan or not from this link

http://www.taiwanembassy.org/TH/ct.asp?xItem=84519&ctNode=1813&mp=232

The government just had a new regulations about entering Taiwan for people from Thailand, India, Indonesia, The Philippines and Viet Nam so it is easier to travel here.

I applied for the visa in Thailand and the process went very quick. You can get the visa within one day but you have to pay more. If you are not in a hurry, you can get it on the next day afternoon.

Booking the flight is very easy right now since Airasia offers a pretty good flight to Taipei.

Check out the website...Book the flight...Get the visa and see you in Taiwan!!!

Japan: Huis Ten Bosch

Christmas @Huis Ten Bosch

Huis Ten Bosch is located close to Sasebo city which is in Nagasaki.

It's a European resort flowers. It is striving to become the top flower resort in the world and flowers in full bloom can be found all throughout the year. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each season transforms this European resort into something completely new.

I went there during winter time on Christmas break. It snowed and got a bit cold at night.

Staying in a hotel inside is nice. You can buy the ticket to enter the place including the hotel, that'd be cheaper.

But for budget travelers, getting the train back to Sasebo city at night and stay at a hostel is great also. You can take a walk in the city a bit and try the famous Sasebo burger. It's not a big town so most of the shops are closed at night but some restaurants and bars are still opened.

The ticket costs about 56oo yen. This is the passport type which you can also use other facilities they offer.

At night...

Chocolate House...you can see it was snowing a little bit

Japan: Hiroshima

Trip with AFS intercultural program to Hiroshima

We went there by car from Beppu City. It takes about 4-5 hours but if you are traveling from other cities, Shinkansen would be the best way to get to Hiroshima. From Tokyo it takes around 4 hours or if you leave from Osaka it takes around 2 hours. The thing you have to be aware is trains in japan run on time and they stop at each station for only 60 seconds so make sure that you wait at the right place and be able to broad right after the train arrives. In Shinkansen there is not much space for your luggage. Behind the last row of seats in any carriage might be able to fit big suitcases.

We went there on the 4th of AUG and saw lots of tents everywhere. It was the time when they almost had the Peace Memorial Ceremony on the 6th of every year to console the souls of those who were lost due to the atomic bombing as well as pray for the realization of everlasting world peace.

The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at 08:15 on August 6th, 1945. Very few buildings survived, but you can see two of them which are the museum (It used to be the Bank of Japan before) and Peace Memorial Park which contains monuments and a museum is the A-bomb Dome (It's called Genbaku Dome in Japanese) which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the symbol of Hiroshima.

Another recommendation is Miyajima or Shrine Island which is one of Japan's most scenic sights and attracts many visitors. It takes about 25 minutes from JR Hiroshima Station by local train and then you have to take a ferry for another 10 minutes to get to Miyajima Pier.

The most famous place is called Itsukushima Shrine. It's inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage list. It's a large red torii gate which guards the shrine stands in the sea.

There is one interesting fact about this island. They believe that "To give birth, to die, or to be buried were forbidden on the island", that is why there are still no hospitals or cemeteries on the island.

Hiroshima is also known for its delicious okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancakes).

Okonomiyaki with cheese on top...it was soooo good :)

Garlic Okonomiyaki ~this one was also good :)