Taipei had felt like a home away from home. An extended weekend in the London of East Asia. So next up was Alishan, an area in the Taiwanese countryside, known for mountain wilderness, waterfalls, high altitude tea plantations and a number of hiking trails. The area is popular with tourists and mountain climbers and has become one of the major landmarks associated with Taiwan, gaining fame for its production of wasabi and of course tea.
Before we departed on the high speed rail to Chiayi City we made sure to stock up at 7-Eleven for yet another snack stock up.
Side note: 7-Eleven has become a staple for us to get a quick breakfast or a snack on the go. With amazingly fresh food including cheap tasty vegan sushi, having the familiar orange, green and red striped building on almost every street has done wonders for our bank balance and restored energy levels after busy days spent walking.
Our impression on the friendliness of the Taiwanese continued as fellow passenger immediately offered a seat swap so Emma and I could sit next to each other. The train was on time to the minute and was so comfortable. A bit of a change when we switched onto the bus, with not enough space for 1h30 journey some people were turned away and Emma and I had to sit in something looking like the disabled area of a London bus where all the bags were stored. After a bit of an uncomfortable, windy journey we found ourselves in the beautiful hill station Fenchihu. It was a town close to our homestay and, unsurprisingly, extremely hilly, making manoeuvring our 50kgs of luggage particularly difficult. After a decent workout and calming a man panicking over our unattended bags (briefly left at the bottom of some steps while we tried to find the elusive train station) we finally made it to the storage lockers in said station. It was a beautiful town and after a nature boardwalk, nice lunch and delicious doughnuts, we got a taxi to the Alishan Tea Homestay where we were greeted by our amazingly welcoming hosts Danny and Dora.
The homestay also had their own tea plantations and teas, hence the name. Danny, clearly a pro in hospitality (later confirmed by stints in the Maldives), refined our full Alishan itinerary to ensure we maximised our stay there. He even started with a free tasting where we sampled many of the teas growing mere meters away, going into tremendous detail about the growing, cutting and fermentation process. Perhaps the most interesting thing we learnt was that caffeine levels are often erroneously associated with the colour or flavour of the brew, and “strong” teas that are darker in colour are expected to be more caffeinated. In fact it usually is the opposite that is true as the fermentation process that makes the taste strong also reduces the level of caffeine.
After the tasting Danny kindly drove us to a nearby town to a place he had suggested for dinner. We narrowly lost all 50 free seats in the restaurant to a coach load of Asian tourists so settled for the place next door and after some tea-oil noodles and deliciously boiled veg we called it an early night.
The next day we woke up early for a short sunrise walk in the tea plantations and then caught a bus to the Alishan National Forest Recreational Area. Obviously another pitstop at 7-Eleven to stock up on breakfast + lunch supplies and we were on our way.
Our luck with the weather had finally run it's course and for maybe the 2nd time in 3 months we had some rain! Tired from standing on an overpacked bus we opted against doing the steep Tashan Trail that Danny had recommended. We decided to just enjoy the natural surroundings on a leisurely stroll in the nature park. All that changed however when we accidentally stumbled across the entrance to it, and perhaps in a game of chicken we both said "f**k it, why not". It was gruelling. Maybe even harder than Roy's peak. 3.5km of constant up and down steps before a steep 400m ascent to the top! We had saved our lunch to eat at the top and shared food with fellow hikers while making conversation using the google translate app, which has been a major help for us.
Asians are so generous with food and I always feel a bit awkward refusing it when there is a language barrier. I live in hope people understand I'm vegan and I'm not just being rude or super fussy. Being vegan is not really a thing in Taiwan, but being a buddhist is. Being a buddhist vegetarian, like a monk, is basically the same thing as vegan. So when a fellow hiker essentially offered me everything in her bag I eventually got the app out and told her I was a buddhist monk to provide a reason for all of my declines. In the end I felt even more bad when she began clapping and bowing to me in respect, but at least she got the point and gave her apple instead. This time I took it, smiled and bowed in prayer motion as I imagine a buddhist monk would.
With tired legs we descended down the same path and enjoyed the rest of Alishan Nature Park. It was so beautiful and felt like walking through an enchanted forest that included a serene lake, a cool mountain train and huge cedar trees that were over 2000 years old. Definitely one to put on the travel list!
Our next stop was Kaohsiung, Taiwan's third biggest city, a port known for it's many skyscrapers, diverse parks and art scene. With some time before our check in we went to small coffee shop, 灰。咖啡, which was highly recommended. It felt like a youth hangout spot, with pro independence signs/stickers on display, it gave us a real feel of the city. We treated ourselves in the evening to some foot massages and dinner at a great build our own ramen place, 入素蔬食滷味 達仁店, where you picked all the ingredients prior to cooking and had tofu done more than 10 ways! This is a concept we'd love to see in the UK. Salad bar meets noodle soup.
When we arrived in Taipei we started a mandarin podcast with good intentions but we were both finding it quite difficult and hadn't made it past the 4th lesson. All we had memorised so far was thank you (Xièxiè) and bathroom (xǐshǒu). Like Mr Bean's vacation or Karl Pilkington it was another embarrassing moment when I left the restaurant saying toilet whilst smiling and bowing.
The next day we picked up some breakfast bao buns before heading to Dayi Warehouse, a cool events space. It felt like an edgy part of town and it started to have a real buzz in the afternoon. We saw a manga exhibition and some other exhibits and the wandered around town stopping at Mottainai Vegan Cafe for lunch (where I got overexcited and ordered 3 desserts). We then fancied a drink so tried to find a bar. Taiwan doesn't seem a big drinking place and was evidenced by our long quest to find an open one. Once we did it was further evidence when I ended up going behind the bar to make an espresso Martini because the barmaid was unable to do so. It was a nice interaction as we both worked together with her learning in the process. Thankfully both our nerves were calmed when Emma gave the quality control sign off and we enjoyed our respective drinks.
Our last day in Taiwan was spent eating amazing Japanese food at 和合樂屋日式蔬食 河堤 for breakfast followed by watching wake boarders at Lotus Wakepark, which was a nice way to close out the week and excite us for some skiing in a couple of weeks in Japan!
Initially I was not as keen on coming to this country, I had heard some average reviews and was apprehensive about the vegan food options. It was Emma that insisted we come and I could tell she was going out of her way to ensure I was having a good time and was well fed. Honestly, I'm so glad we did as it's been a massive hit and would recommend all to come here, vegans and omnis alike!
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