When choosing a room at Errantry, it did trouble me a bit. Besides the cartoon room is a quad, which I do not consider, all the other rooms have appealing photos on the website. Since it is my first time, let’s begin from the aborigine room!
When I arrive at the front door of Errantry, I immediately see a spacious garden. Upon entering the lodge is the lounge, and the bar with a hand-drawn Greek sea view painting is stand conspicuously. On the left hand side of the 2nd floor is my aborigine room. I am pleasantly surprised when I open the door, because of the vast space, large bed, and an enormous LCD screen! This guest room is even larger than my own bedroom, about a dozen pings. To a city dweller where every inch of earth cost a fortune, to have a capacious room like this is simply extravagant.
On the snow white bed sheet lays a striped fabric with red and black interwoven, echoing the roman blinds by the window. At the right corner of the room is a simple styled wooden chair with a bamboo basket floor lamp. On the left side of the bed is a long desk and a wooden carving. When I walk over to the bathroom, another surprise awaits. At the entrance is a delicate, handcrafted bamboo curtain. Stepping into the bathroom barefooted, the texture of the stones in the floor feels great. The surround walls have colorful mosaic design, which brightens the grey and black interior.
After Arthur and I went back down to the lounge, I asked him about the origin of the aborigine room. Arthur replied, the largest aboriginal tribe here at Hualien is the Amiss, and then the Taroko. Once he visited an Amis tribe, and was truly impressed by the handcrafts and bamboo artworks of the Amiss. While designing the aborigine room, he decided to massively adopt the Amis handcrafted artworks. The fabric on the bed, curtains, and the bamboo curtain that I love so much, are from the hands of Amis people. To accompany the delicate artwork, most of the grand furniture are made of wood, the wooden bed and hangers made from a combination of teak and camphor, allowing the bold style of the aborigine room has a cultural exquisiteness and mindfulness.
Since just one aborigine room is special enough, I am really curious about the kind of experience other rooms would bring. Once other guests check out, Arthur takes me to tour other rooms as well. First of all, we visit the Japan room. The Japan room is larger than the aborigine room, and it has a Japanese style table to enjoy tea on. The simple yet comfortable king size mattress is placed upon a handcrafted teakwood frame. Upon entering the bathroom, other than the dry and wet separation area, there is a huge bathing pool. Opening the bathroom window, and a exclusive miniature Japanese garden comes into view. You can enjoy the scenery while you are bathing, with no fear of privacy concerns.
Walk into the Greek room and there are three Greek goddess wall sculptures. Even though I already know the spaciousness of all Errantry’s rooms, but when I enter the Greek room, I still can’t hold my surprise. The warm colored Greek room is almost twice the size of the aborigine room; it is so magnificent that even the 37” flat screen appears small in size.
Different from the oceanic style of the lounge, the Greek room chose an island style theme. Simply staying in the room and you will feel the tenderness and warmth of the Mediterranean sun. My favorite though is the wooden chaise. Seating on the chaise, you can almost see Socrates discussing the meaning of life on a anonymous street with a pedestrian. Whether you choose to open the window and enjoy the breeze of Hualien, or turn on the air conditioner to hide from the scorching heat of summer time, simply staying inside the Greek room is a great luxury to both the body and soul.
When we reach the Bali room, I am immediately attracted by the princess bed and the white mantles. The texture of the teakwood and the romantic white mantle are two main attractions of the Bali room. Lying in the bed surrounded by white mantles, I have my eyes closed, and I can almost feel the sea breezes. Beside this lovely bed, the Bali room used a large quantities of wooden and rattan furniture, whether it be the teakwood bed, floor, window blinds, desk, rattan chair, the quality of the room, I think, would only be seen when one is designing one’s own comfy and cozy home, as even a hanger is unique. Walking on the wooden floor barefooted, lying recumbent on the chaise, looking at the Central Mountain Range through an open window, I feel my body and soul begin to relax. Before sleep, don’t forget to take a hot bath, a perfect ending to a day’s travel.
I come last to the cartoon room. The lavish pink lightens up my eyes. I feel like as if I traverse into a fairytale and stumbles into a princess’s chamber. On the wall hangs a large artwork of Taiwan’s picture book author Mei-yan Chen. Arthur says he likes Ms. Chen’s work very much, therefore he contacted Ms. Chen’s publisher for authorization of a painting to be used as the theme for one of his rooms. Ms. Chen was pleasantly surprised and agreed.
Inside the cartoon room, I can almost hear chitchats of girls, and their delightful laughter. If there is a family with all daughters, they will fall in love with this room in a heartbeat. A neat consideration for girls who need more time for makeup, Arthur and his wife Theresa placed a mirror by the beds, so the girls can pretty up in a casual manner and tour Hualien.
Finishing my tour to all the rooms, my thoughts are, Arthur and Theresa have really dedicated their everything into Errantry, so the guests can truly relax and rest. To construct various styles and themes, Arthur and Theresa have discussed with their designers countless times. They also did not forget to integrate local cultures and ingenuity into their designs. For example, the painter of the Greek sea view at Errantry’s lounge is a close friend to both Arthur and Theresa. All the wooden furniture is handcrafted by a local carpenter A-Bla san and Ah-De. In every room there are various photos as decoration, some was taken by Arthur himself, and others were provided by his friends. The life at Errantry incorporates multiple experiences of vision and touch. Almost forgot, a experience that you cannot miss is taste. For me, who rarely eat rice porridge, falls in love with it after I tasted Theresa’s breakfast. It appears simplistic, without any flavoring, to reach that unforgettable taste must be extremely difficult to achieve. Place a spoonful of white, thick rice porridge in your mouth, that simple rice fragrance is enough to make you lose your words.
To me, the experience at Errantry, is the taste of bliss.
By April
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