Four Furry (Taiwanese) Friends

It was a rainy morning during our trip to Sanxiantai.  We were busy looking for a nice spot to shoot, and waiting for the sun to shine when we met four furry friends by the bay.

We saw these four crazy dogs chasing around two other tourists, whom we thought were their owners.  Apparently, they were just chasing them, and when they saw us decided to chase us instead.

There were three brown ones (a father and two pups) and a big black one.  The black one was playful and friendly, one pup was as playful, while the other pup was seemingly slow-headed.  The brown mother seemed not to care much, but just wanted to hang out.

They looked healthy and well-fed, but had no collars and were obviously strays.

The four dogs followed us the whole morning.  They literally followed us everywhere!  One of the pups (the slow one) even tried to jump between slippery rocks to reach us and almost drowned!  Luckily, he was able to rock climb.  Silly fella.

Tired Pups

We crossed the Sanxiantai and trekked the other side.  The path was fantastic!  There was a wooden pathway which made the walk much much easier.  There was a small rest area in the middle, where there are benches in which you could rest.

We would stop every now and then to rest because it is a long walk.  We had but a few biscuits and cake bars for our morning trip, and we shared some with our eager beavers (harhar), and they happily devoured what little we were able to share to them.

I thought they would leave us after getting the food that they wanted.  I thought wrong.

They continued following us, only stopping to rest when we do.  We tried hiding from them and leaving them behind, but they would always find a way to catch up.

Me and my exhausted face

We found this amusing, and a bit comforting, knowing we have four friends to alert and protect us in case we encounter harm.

The nice wooden path finally ended, and we had to trek a rocky path before being able to reach the continuation of the pathway.

Our dogs got a little distracted when they caught a bird.  We thought they'd be staying to feast on their catch, but we were surprised to see them running to catch up.

The trail resumed once we reached the mountainous part.  There was a horribly horribly long stairs that led to a lighthouse at the top.  We climbed, but were exhausted and worn out from the long walk.

We were so worn out when we reached the top that we had to stay there and rest for quite some time.  The four dogs were still there and did not leave us.  I honestly felt safe with them around.  At least I know snakes won't dare attack my large pack. :)

We were so struck by the thought that they followed us all the way to another island, and all the way up a mountain.  They didn't seem to be after us for food, because we didn't have any ourselves.  They were just there.

These dogs, even though we've only known each other for a few hours, treated us and saw us as friends.

We couldn't resist taking a picture after that leg-shattering climb.  Mr. Brown dog did not seem to mind posing for the camera.

The four dogs continued following us down.  The silly pup even injured himself when he jumped from a rock (again)!  Good thing it was nothing a tough pup like him could handle.  But he was limping for some time because of that.

The walk back

The dogs were pleasant companions.  They made that long walk tolerable.  They loved running around, and jumping around the rocks.  Plus they were very easy to approach and pet.

Damn it, I knew I shouldn't, but I fell in love with them. :(

We knew that those few hours were fleeting and would be over soon, but we adored the little rascals and their funny antics, and our hearts were warmed by their waggling tails.

On our walk back, we came across a group of Japanese tourists.  The pups and the black dog became distracted and were gone in a flash, and made us wonder if these dogs really followed tourists around.

We thought that was the end of it.  I felt sad I wasn't able to say goodbye to my pups, but realized they were probably being fed by those tourists and they do deserve a nice meal after that climb.

However when we turned around, the big brown dog was still there, walking behind us.  My heart melted as he followed us back to Sanxiantai bridge, until we reached the park on the other side.

We promised the doggie we'd give him a nice snack if he followed us back to the food kiosks---which he did.

On our walk back, other tourists would call him out, but he ignored them, and followed only us.

"Now this is loyalty!" I thought.  I loved the other three, but I fell in love with this old dog the most.

I knew I had to say goodbye soon, because the morning was over and we're late for our trip back.  So we went to the snack area, had some snacks and gave some to Mr. Brown Dog.  He seemed content with whatever we give him, unlike other dogs who would go crazy when there's food.

He rested, and we packed our bags.  My heart broke into a thousand little pieces as we left him there.  With all those tourists eating there, I'm sure he'll be fat by the afternoon.  It was a good place to leave him, even though I didn't want to.

I almost cried as we left Taitung that day.  It felt like I was leaving home.

I miss my Taiwanese dogs.



xoxo, BVG

Chopsticks Etiquette

I'm no chopsticks guru; I'm actually an idiot when it comes to using them!

However, lest we want to make a fool of ourselves while eating, put into mind these few chopsticks etiquette rules:

1.  Do not tap your chopsticks on the edge of your bowl.  This symbolizes a beggar!

2.  You may hold the rice bowl to your mouth and use your chopsticks to push your food directly to your mouth.

3.  Do not use your chopsticks to point at other people while talking (imagine doing this with a fork!)

4.  Never ever stick your chopsticks into a bowl of rice.  This resembles how incense is burned for the dead, and symbolizes wishing death for your dining buddies.

5.  Traditionally, people use their own chopsticks to take food from platters.  But in recent practice, in formal occasions, serving chopsticks are already used.

6. When seated for a meal, it is common custom to allow elders to take up their chopsticks before anyone else.

7.  Do not dip your chopsticks in the platter and dig for what you want.

8.  Do not suck on the tip of your chopsticks (then dip it in the back in the platter... eew!)




I hope these few reminders would help you enjoy your Chinese meal! :)  Happy eating!


<3 BVG


Source:  http://www.masterchinese.com/how-to-learn-chinese-mandarin/business-chinese-learning/tips-on-how-to-use-chopsticks/

Chenggong Township, Taiwan

We started our Taiwan adventure with a trip to Taitung County in Eastern Taiwan.  Taitung is also known as "Houshan" (後山) by locals, and its name literally means "behind the mountains".

Taitung is a quaint town isolated from the rest of Taiwan by its huge mountains.  It boasts several scenic areas and its most famous tourist attraction--Sanxiantai.

Tao-yuan Airport

Our flight arrived a little after midnight.  The queues weren't so long because it seemed that our flight is the last flight for the day.

At the waiting area of the airport

The officer I queued in seemed happy to meet someone whose job is the same as his, and he cheerfully welcomed me to Taiwan.

According to our friend, the last trip of U-Bus can be availed to reach Taipei.  But because there were no public transportation at this time of the day to Taitung, we had to wait out until morning at the airport.  Luckily, there were nice lounges where we were able to catch some zzz's.

Some helpful tips:

1.     You can sleep at the lounge at the arrival area if you come in from a late flight. The chairs are comfy, and there are others who do the same. 2.     If you need to have your money changed to NTD, there's a bank at the arrival lobby.  You should do your banking immediately after arrival if you arrive at midnight, because they tend to close as soon as the last flight ends. 3.     There’s a convenience store downstairs if you’re up for a meal or some snacks. 4.     Opt to go for the buses if you’re not in a hurry.  A taxi ride from the airport to Taoyuan train station costs 550NTD.  A bus ride costs a little more than 50NTD.

Tao-yuan Train Station 

We needed to take the train to reach Taitung County.  You have two options, either take the Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR), or the regular trains (TRA).  We opted for the regular trains because we would arrive exactly at the check-in time for the bed and breakfast we will be staying in.  The TRA is also cheaper by half than the HSR, and passes a more scenic route at the east coast.

To get to the train station, we went downstairs from the arrival area to the bus station.  There are ticket booths where different bus companies sell tickets to different areas of Taiwan. 

Most of the buses started arriving around 5:00a.m.  There are hardly any buses before this time.  You can check the wall beside the ticket booths to see the bus schedule and available routes.

The bus we needed to take didn't need a ticket.  We queued up in line No. 7 for the Tao-yuan bus, and waited for bus 5059.  All we had to do was drop 50somethingNT in the box beside the driver.  I don't remember how much exactly though, because we had some translation difficulty at that point.

The driver handed us a card each, indicating that we've paid already.  After the ride, we had to hand back the cards to him.

After around 45minutes, we reached the Train Station.  We already knew what train we wanted to ride on, thanks to pre-planning and the Taiwan Railways Administration website.

It took us a while to understand the concept of their train system.  But once we understood, everything was a breeze!  The website gives information about the time and the price of each train route.

Understanding the TRA 1.     Select where you’ll be coming from.  In our case, it is Tao-yuan.  The options are Taipei, Tao-yuan, Hsin-chu, etc.  These are the major train stations. 2.     Select the substation.  The second drop down menu are the sub-stations under the major stations.  We picked Tao-yuan also. 3.     Select where you’re going to.  We chose Hua-lien.  Here, we opted to transfer trains, and bought a separate ticket from Hua-lien to Yuli, because there is a train that would be leaving earlier.  You may split your booking to find earlier train schedules, or book all the way for less hassle. 4.     Buy your ticket.  You may opt to buy your ticket online but we suggest that you buy your tickets at the train station.  There are no lines, and it would be easier for you to adjust your schedules that way

We were able to plot the fastest route to Taitung through the website (just because it arrived earlier doesn't mean it is faster)!

We bought our tickets, and boarded the train.  The train ride took around 3 hours, then the transfer from Hua-lien to Yuli took about another two.

Inside the train

Huge legroom for a comfy ride

The train was surprisingly comfy, with a huge legroom and restrooms.  Some train attendants pass by every now and then to sell hot meals, snacks and drinks.

The train station was organized and had signs everywhere, which made it easy for non-Chinese-speaking tourists like us.


Accommodation

We were picked up by Mr. Chen, our friend from SanSenDai Homestay.  The drive from the train station to the homestay was quite long, but the mountainous view was amazing.

We were quite impressed when we saw SanSenDai.  It was waaaay better than what we expected, plus it was affordable too!  Mr. Chen speaks good English, and guided us all throughout our stay in Chenggong Township.

SanSenDai Homestay boasts several beautiful rooms that made our three day stay comfortable.  We chose their elegant mountain-view room, which gave us a nice view of the mountain range right in front of the homestay.  It cost us only 1,200NT/night!  Such a great value for our money!


Mr. Chen however, recommends the sea-view room for our next stay there.  He showed us the room, and from the balcony you could actually see the Santiansai glistening proudly under the hot midday sun.





Getting Around

There aren't many transportation options in the area, and it's best to rent a service to get to go to the scenic places in the area.

Mr. Chen's homestay also offers these services, and he'd be happy to assist you in your transportation needs.  Can I reiterate that Mr. Chen is such a nice guy?


Food

There are a few meal options in the area.  Most are a few minutes away by car, and we were fortunate enough to have Mr. Chen accompany us whenever we go out.  There is one fast food right outside the homestay that serves really great noodles and grilled meat.

The fastfood was divided into several booths or kiosks, and in each booth was a menu for a certain meal type.  Kiosk 1 had noodles, kiosk 2 had barbecue, and so on.  We've seen something like this in Singapore, and I guess it's probably common in Chinese countries.

If you happen to stay in SanSenDai, try eating out in this fastfood right beside them.  Try ordering the spicy fried noodles!  It was so spicy that I thought my tongue would bleed.  Just the way I wanted it!  Their grilled pork and fruit shakes are yummy too!  Most of the food range from 50NT to 90NT.

For dinner, we ate at a fancy restaurant that serves steak.  Mr. Chen also owns the restaurant, and assured us of a nice discount for being guests at his homestay.


The food was extraordinarily good!  And the ambiance was quite nice.  We ordered steak and prawns, and were blown away by the meat quality and the freshness of the prawns.

The food was a little more expensive there than in other places, but it was all worth it!  Our dinner wasn't too pricey thanks to Mr. Chen's discount!

The steak and prawns cost us around 800NT, but was already inclusive of soup, salad, and drinks.  It got me so full that I'm planning to visit again once I go back to Taitung.

We also had dinner at another seafood restaurant with Mr. Chen where you'd pick your dish and they'd cook it for you.  It challenged my chopsticks skills (and I terribly terribly suck at it).  The dishes were equally good, and we paid only around 1,200NT for a hefty meal for three.

Chenggong Township's main attraction is the Santiansai bridge.  I will detail more about this scenic wonder in my next post.

As of now, tah tah!



<3 BVG

How Many Days for $100?

Interesting find online.  Thanks to Tripomatic.com :)


<3 BVG

The Pinto Art Museum

The Pinto Art Museum is a quaint little museum hidden inside the Silangan Gardens, found in the uplands of Antipolo City.  My first visit there was, we could say, incidental because the main purpose of visit was to eat at the then existing Laya Restaurant.

Too bad we weren't able to try the dishes at the Earth Cafe before the owners migrated and the two restaurants had to close shop.

Before eating our dinner, we were able to enjoy going around the museum, which seemed a little spooky at night.  For a small fee of 100Php, we were able to get a taste of modern Pinoy art housed inside traditional Spanish architecture.

The Pinto Art Museum (PAM), according to the brochure, was designed by the artist Antonio Leano.  The rustic feel of the museum, which also had mediterranean inspirations, gave us a quite an experience.  The chilly wind from the outside flowed freely, and the soothing sound of flowing water from several fountains added to the unique but relaxing atmosphere.

The artworks housed inside the museum were a mix of traditional paintings and unconventional pieces. We noticed that each piece was carefully selected and the museum was wonderfully curated.  Most of the artworks on display are not only visually pleasing, but are also intellectually gratifying.

Here are a few snaps inside the museum:

 



I wish the Laya or the Earth Cafe would go back, or that the management would offer a similar dining experience inside the museum.  I personally find the place magical, dining in such a picturesque place, with art all around you.

Rating:
Uniqueness 
Convenience 
Over-all Impact