Since, Taiwan is an island there are a ton of beach front views to take in. In addition, there are also some really cool effects made by the ocean on the shoreline. One of these, attractions is the Geo park about an hour outside of Taipei County. Its main attraction is the erosion of different layers of sea-stone which results in these statue-like pillars. In fact, many have names like the "queen's head" or "donut." It was all very interesting, but most of it was sparsely enjoyed because we had such a heat spell that day. I suppose it was a combination of the lack of wind, the brightness of the sandstone, and the clear sun that made it so hot. It really didn't put us in too much of a mood to stand around and look at rocks. It was fun though.
Later on in the day we got out of the heat by walking around this quaint little village market. It was much more developed than just a village, but because it is built on a mountainside, it seems much smaller. They had a lot of really good stuff there. All of the things I like: calligraphy brushes, good street food, nice trinket shops, and even a really nice tea shop. Our group broke apart to look for different stuff, so I was accompanied by two of the Universities secretaries. They were both very sweet ladies who didn't speak much mandarin at all, which was great because I got to practice speaking a lot. We walked around and I asked them questions about this and that. I was wondering about the price of goods versus their quality at varying markets (souvenir stuff.. you know), when we came upon that great aforementioned tea shop. I really wasn't looking to by much, but when we arrived they let us sit and try about 5 different types of tea.
 |
| Cooked Snail |
Most tea is divided into sections Black, Green, and Oolong (high mountain). Each has its own flavor and I prefer Green and Black. Oolong is usually too bitter for me, but the Oolong tea at this shop was perfect. Some tasted very similar to honey. So I bought some, and am very happy with the choice.
Wow that is awesome that those things are at the beach. I really miss you by the way, I bet you really loved that tea, to they have good coffee there?? I told Noah that I was talking to Uncle J earlier and he just grinned. I think he misses you too.
ReplyDeleteL