Cypress trees in AliShan

Alishan is well known for her cherry blossoms. My time there was not timely as it was raining and fleetingly cold. Befriended Zheng You, a Taiwanese lady from Taipei who's in ChiaYi on work assignment. She decided to stay in a hostel and stay over the weekend.

Most travellers will pass by Chia Yi to reach AliShan, which is two and half hours away.
I decided to stay in Chia Yi as there are only hotels in AliShan and I am not too keen about staying overnight there for the sunrise. I have somehow mellowed in what I hope to achieve in my travel. Whatever and whereever I go, any encounters with the locals or people mean much more... Of course, to be in the midst of nature's phenomenon like the phases of sun rising or setting, that will be like a bonus gift if I would witness one.

Alishan was extremely cold, below 10 degrees as it was higher upland. The cherry blossoms were not in full bloom when I was there. I was not disappointed as I have witnessed fuller blossoms in YangMing Shan. Alishan's cherry blossoms are best in mid March. One of my happiest moments in AliShan despite the on-off rain is to be walking in forest of cypress trees. The whole forest was misty, making the walk even more dreamlike. Cypress trees there are old, ranging from 100 to two thousand years old. 

This is just one rare tree with such rich blossoms in AliShan

The forest of cypress trees. We have to respect nature's ecology here, where plants and animals live and grow without human interference. Silence is respect to these grand trees.

At ChiaYi

In certain locations in AliShan which attracts more visitors because of a 2000 year old cypress of some strange tree formations, they were filled with tour-guided groups of Chinese. So the forest was filled with shouts, loud vocals and deliberate shouts of some songs (chinese shan ge). I suggested to Zheng You to take a trail with less people but it would means some climbing is needed. Zheng You is not into hiking but she complied and I moved ahead of her, following a path up into another forest. As expected, there was no one. I cherish that moment with the forest. She's not being disturbed, and she too gave me the peace and calmness I long for. I was comforted just being with the tall sturdy cypress trees. Gingerly taking every breathe of the fresh cool air so generously provided by the trees, my spirit was lifted despite the dampness and little raindrops. 

I did not finish the almost 4 km trail as I did not want to have Zheng You following me despite her discomfort in trekking. The hour just walking and being in the presense of these trees, though I hope for more, I am grateful. As we descend, human shouts zoomed from nearby. 'The forests have been disturbed.' I remarked and just smiled.

It was memorable enough for me..and I look forward to more forest trails in Japan, where some of the places I will be WWOOFing in are near or among the forests.

Assemble! Backpackers is the hostel recommended by Jade, the very helpful owner from Taipei's FlipFlop Hostel. I am so lucky to be staying there. It's immaculately clean and tidy, with some funky colours and decorations from different countries. The young couple who owns this 8mth old hostel are the nicest people I've met in Taiwan. Marcus and Vicky will look into every of my needs, placing an extra warm purple fleece blanket on my dorm bed when they saw me shivering after a day of scooter riding with Zheng You. Such gestures shown without being asked touched me. 

The day after AliShan, Zheng You invited me to join her on her rented scooter and travel to other smaller towns in ChiaYi. Her mission is to collect stamp chops in specific shops or visitor's centre in each small town. This stamp-chop collection is quite a craze among a group of Taiwanese. It was cold riding the scooter as the air in Chia Yi during those days turned cold again. Managed to 'scoot' to a handful of small towns. We did not get to stay and explore this town which breeds oysters. We do manage to savour some nice oyster dishes at a popular stall. 

There was a few times we took the wrong routes and hence spent longer time.
The way back, I was shivering on the scooter. Zheng You has to catch the 7pm train back to Taipei.

I had some nice chatting time with Marcus and Vicky during my last night got to watch 'Lemon Trees' and Israeli film from Marcus wonderful collection of DVDs. No mainstream movies but truly a film-lover, he watches many art-house of indie films from overseas. I was all by myself in the common area and slept late that night. What a bliss to have such privacy and feeling at home.

Before I left ChiaYi, I felt a punge of unwillingness. I hope to be able to come back here again, to stay in this hostel again and to explore ChiaYi at a much slower pace, with my family or friends. In one of my conversations with Marcus, he explained why backpackers hostel in Taiwan operate in such low profile, almost in a discreet manner. There are no large sign with the name of the hostels I have stayed so far in Taiwan. In fact, none at all. In Taiwan, the government has not set or agreed upon the regulations in setting up hostels. Only hotels or Ming Su are allowed, with higher rates, and regulations to follow.

Pan Zi * Fatty the cat. She was a stray adopted by Marcus & Vicky. They love him a lot and called him Pan Zi as he had a huge stomach when they first found him

Many of my friends mistaken hostels as Ming Su in Taiwan. The owners of backpackers hostel have travelled and learned about the demand for such hostels for budget travellers like us. Hence, the gradual springing of such accomodations. All done disceetly.

I shall be sharing my first WWOOF experience ... as I am already on my third day here in Ping Tung. And what a wonderful experience it has been... till then, take care, all my loved ones. ~_~