Errantry Lodge & Studio: 5/1/12

May 27, 2012

Working holiday in Taiwan's B&B by Sally_6

At fLoWeR PaLaCe_Chishingtan Bay (七星潭)

Today weather seems pretty good (cloudy) and I had no other plans at that moment. Arthur and Theresa decided to go over to Chishingtan to get some fresh fish back. Of course, I tag along with their plan. During the journey, Arthur guided me the way (short cut) and also advised me to avoid the busy street.Upon of arrival (around 4 plus late afternoon), weather was cooling and windy. Felt the sea breeze against my pores… ❤

Crowded Chishingtan Beach

While Arthur and Theresa went over to the fish stall selecting the fish, Ruby, Jam, Jelly and I went over to the beach to see the clear turquoise ocean pacific. The super clear turquoise waves were relatively strong.
While Arthur and Theresa went over to the fish stall selecting the fish, Ruby, Jam, Jelly and I went over to the beach to see the clear turquoise ocean pacific. The super clear turquoise waves were relatively strong.

Powerful clear turquoise waves

Alot of people around fishing….Jam and I walked a distance….towards to the ocean. Stepping on the small rocks …viewing the powerful waves coming inwards… Playful Jam is extremely active and running around. Love the nature and the breeze. His naive mind and his cheerful laughter had occupied my loneliness. Of course, Jelly was too young to run around. She was trying hard to catch up with us. At the beach, besides enjoying the breeze, we picked up some small rocks too! (◑‿◐)

Fishing Time

Shortly, Arthur and Theresa were back. We roamed around the beach and enjoy the peaceful moments. Looking at Arthur holding Jelly small little hand and walked towards to the seaside. My mind was thinking….when was the last time that my dad held my hands… I was trying hard to recall and memories started to flash into my mind. Sweets … It had been 6 months but the pain has yet to go away. Lost of directions and minds not cleared. Perhaps time will heal the wound…. I was trying hard to struggle not to let the tears rolls down on my cheeks. ..Envy little Jelly! She is too young to understand and treasure the precious moments. Hope Jam and Jelly have a bright future! (a◕‿◕a)

Authur and Jelly

Theresa and Jelly

Sally's Blog

AT FLOWER PALACE_SHAPODANG STREAM RECREATIONAL AREA (砂婆礑溪)

Today seems abit exhausted. Weather seems to be slightly warm. No plan at that moment. After some discussion with Jam, we decided to cycle to this “little palace” which known as Shapodang Stream.
Getting gears ready and here we GO! GO! GO!

Errantry is located very near to this "little palace". Distance estimate 3.5km. However, we still halt at 7-eleven to get drinks and snack (for tea break as both of us felt hungry even after heavy lunch...Gosh) (a◕‿◕a)

Surprisingly upon arrival, not much people. But still saw some people swimming and fishing. Jam immediately took off his scandals...threw his barefoot into the cooling spring water! And he began to splash the water. He enjoyed it so much.... His laughters and playful thoughts had always brightened my days!

Both Jam and I enjoyed soaking our barefoot into the super duper cooling spring water...surrounded with more than 1000m high mountains, rocks and forest. Stream source is clear, broad vision, a beautiful landscape is the upstream-lover's paradise. I was totally attracted by this beautiful nature landscape (a❤‿❤a)

Little details of this stream:

Shapodang stream (Saha Dang, Atayal language) is one of the Meilun Creek and also Hualien City’s and Jian Township water source. It also goes by the names, Sha-p'o-tang Ch'i, Sha-p'o-tang Hsi, Shapodang Xi. It is a body of running water moving to a lower level in a channel on land in the country of Taiwan. Its center lies at a latitude of 24.01667 and longitude of 121.6 and it has an elevation of 13 meters above sea level. This stunning section of river is an exciting spot for river tracing, but it isn’t technically difficult and thus suitable for just about anyone. However a permit is required for such a trip. The clean blue waters are a great place to cool down in the summer heat. Not only that, Shapodang stream is endowed with abundant natural resources...rich alluvial gold, clean water and forest resources. The water is not deep at all. It is like a natural swimming pool. The water only comes up to about the knees or thighs of an adult. The water is crystal clear; the streambed can be seen as well as little fish or stream shrimp swimming in it. It is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon having picnics and barbecues, and is particularly suited for a good swim.

Sally's Blog

May 25, 2012

Working holiday in Taiwan's B&B by Sally_5

AT FLOWER PALACE_TAROKO GORGE NATIONAL PARK (太魯閣國家公園)

»-(¯`·.·´¯)->Taroko National Park<-(¯`·.·´¯)-«

Kate, from England, one of the guest at Errantry Lodge. Alone travelling to "Flower Palace" ...cycling around the estate and explored. Really cool and adventurous.

I was so fortunate that I could travel with her to Taroko National Parktogether (as I was off). Hired Ms. Ho (cabby lady cum mandarin speaker tour guide) picked us up at 9am. At here we began out adventure trip. Kate, is able to understand simple mandarin however I could assist on the translation. So she can understand Taroko better!

Arrived at Taroko around 10am (estimate an hour ride from Errantry Lodge).
During our ride, Ms.Ho introduced some sightseeing places. Very well detailed. We began our trip starting from Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) . The scenery is pretty awesome. Fresh and cosy air and high mountains. Kate and I walked pretty fast and we managed to track quite a distance (an hour for round trip). Due to time curfews, we did not manage to finish the whole track. We covered some major scenic spots such as Shakadang Trail, Eternal Spring Shrine, Buluowan, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, Tianxiang..and some which I could not recall (so sorry) (✖╭╮✖)
We really enjoyed our trip very much (all thanks Ms. Ho, her professionalism had made us avoid the super duper crowd). Alot of China/Korea tour buses (unbelievable). Estimated 20 and above..gosh {{{(>_<)}}}

I suggest if anyone who wish to go to Taroko National Park, you can hire Ms. Ho. She is very professional and plan your route smoothly in order to avoid the super duper crowd. Beside that, she will also provide detailed information of each scenic spots ❤

Below is Ms. Ho information and trip fare (2-way)
Name: Ms. Ho Jia Ling (何佳凌)
Mobile: +886 932 651 572
License cab plate number: 916-XQ
2-way trip fare: NT 2,500 (excludes lunch at Buluowan Service Station)

Some Scenic spots details:
Taroko National Park is also known as Marble Gorge. It is one of the world heritage and it is famous for it spectacular mountains and marble canyon created by erosion process few thousand years ago. Situated 15km north of the city of Hualien. It has 19km long marble and granite canyon craved by the Liwu River that is one of the deepest in the world.

Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) known as Mysterious Valley. It has natural scenic beauty and offers the deep blue marble water flowing in the first curve of the trail. Originating from Shakadang River nearby Siaosing Mountain, Shakadang River Valley stretches towards the Liwu River near Taroko. With a total length of 16.65km. It used to be an important venue along Shakadang River where the Taroko people held their traditional activities. Shakadang trail was established by the Japanese in the later phase for the construction of Liwu Power Plant. This trail goes through Wujianwu and Sanjianwu which were formerly part of the Huhus tribe. Shakadang trail runs for 4.5km and takes about 4 hours (round trip by walking). This is the best route to explore the living past of Taroko people. The best time to visit is the month of May when the Tung tree flowers bloom making the trail with flowers the air like snow flakes. The Shakadang River's flow is both fast and unpredictable thus swimming is prohibited. Need to watch out for falling rocks and farm vehicles too.

Shakadang River

Buluowan - Eternal Springs Shrine (Changchun Trail) was built to commemorate 212 personnel military veterans who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. The trail winds along the cliff face. The ground rock is unstable in this area and it is susceptible to rocks falls. The track length around 2.03km. The stairs are steep and slippery...so must be extra careful.

Eternal Springs Shrine (Changchun Trail)

Swallow Grotto known as Yanzhikou (燕子口). It offers you a great spot of gorge wall and magnificent blue water. However the weather (rainy and windy) had caused the water to be brownish. Need to be extra careful when turning into narrow snake turn (if you are driving). Both Kate and I took a leisure walk along the Swallow Grotto and enjoy the gorge scenery. Swallow Grotto is consider as part of Taroko Gorge and overall the spot was composed of marble cliff faces covered with small holes. The track length covers 0.6km. The forest along the trail is verdant, giving you a short forest bath. The beautiful colors painted naturally on the rocks in Swallow Grotto. The natural erosion by Liwu river and ground water created the wonderful shape on the Gorge cliff. There're alot of holes among the gorge cliff of Swallow Grotto and you should be able to locate swallow nest inside.

Swallow Grotto

Cimu Bridge (慈母桥) known as frog bridge. There's a gigantic frog sitting beneath the bridge. The name of Cimu came from a tale story where a mother was washed away while tried to save her child. The pavilion / frog's crown was built by former president, Chiang Kai-shek in the memory of his mother.

Cimu Bridge

Tianxiang (天祥) is the site of an old Atayal village at the confluence of the Liwu and Dasha Rivers. Its name commemorates Wen Tianxiang, who lived in the 13th century and was the last prime minister of the Song Dynasty. Scenic spots at Tianxiang include Xiangde Temple, Tianfeng Pagoda, a suspension bridge, the Wen Tian-siang Memorial Garden, the Plum Garden, and Tianxiang Church. In winter each year the Plum Garden blooms forth, forming a sea of white blossoms stretching from the highway to Xiangde Temple. Shanyue Village at Bulowan, another old tribal settlement in the gorge, offers a new and unique type of accommodation for the area. The air around Tianxiang is fresh and I felt the peaceful wind blowing into my face. The area around Tianxiang was just silence enough to have good medication.

Xiangde Temple

Yue Fei Pavilion (岳王亭) is situated at 173km on the Central Cross-Island Highway, between the Tzumu Bridge and the Houliu camping ground. The Yue Fei Pavilion is an excellent place to watch the waterfalls on the opposite side of the Liwu River. The pavilion, built early on during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway, is named after the folk hero of ancient China, Yue Fei. There is a suspension bridge across the river that leads to roads that were used to access the forests of some major mountains in the part of Gorge-the main peak of Liwu Mountain, Panshi Mountain and Chilai Mountain. The east access point leads to one of the park's Ecological Protection Areas, entry to which is not allowed expect with a permit. The bridge is closed to general access and can be dangerous.

Yue Fei Pavilion

Kehen (刻痕) a reaching sky-steep cliff. This cliff is called Zhuilu Cliff extends eastward from Liufang Bridge to Jincheng Bridge. With width 1200m and height 1100m. Zhuilu Cliff is the widow and highest precipice in Taroko Gorge. Right beneath the cliff, you can see lay heck on the deck viewing changes in clouds and lights of the Gorge.

Kehen

More information of Taroko National Park Homepage Link

More pictures Link

Sally's Blog

Working holiday in Taiwan's B&B by Sally_4

AT FLOWER PALACE_DINNER EXPERIENCE AT SARLEE'S

Busy holiday and need to re-charge. Found a fine dinning near my homestay.
Ambience _ European style
Ordered set meal_Grilled Boneless Chicken Short Rib that served with Cocktail + Salad + Soup + Dessert + Beverage (⊃⌒*⌒⊂)
Overall charges (included 10%) - $27. 74

Overall taste:
Salad (Lettuce is crunchy) and the sauce is homemade (secret recipe) and abit refreshing. The prawn is fresh! The chicken is quite crispy and the beef inside the drumstick is very juicy. Gravy is quite thick.
Best: Cream corn soup in bread Bowl (homemade daily)
Overall rating: Worth to try but price is rather expensive. Portion is quite huge. Perhaps 2 paxs can share.

Cocktail - Taste like Burbon Slush (Orange flavor)

Salad - Caesar Salad with Smoked chicken & potato with shrimp (燻雞凱薩沙拉與鮮蝦洋芋)

Soup - Cream soup in Bread Bowl (野菇雞濃湯附麵包盅)

Dessert - Blueberry Cheesecake (藍莓芝士蛋糕)

Drink - Black coffee (黑咖啡)

Sarlee's Homepage Link

Location of this restuarant: No. 105 Jianguo Road Hualien City

AT FLOWER PALACE_TIME SECOND-HAND BOOKSHOP(時光二手書店)

(\ /)
( . .)♥
c(”)(”)

Labor day! Gosh...busy holiday (-'_'-)
Idling around the usual route and managed to locate another second bookshop_Time (時光_二手書店).

Along a quiet street has one unique second-hand bookshop. Environment and architecture itself has created a unique atmosphere of the bookshop. And coupled with boss's intentions, has made "Time" become an well-known second-hand bookshop.

Beside books, hand-made groceries also can be found. Not only that, treasure can be found too (書中自有黃金屋)! And the prices are usually very fascinating ♥‿♥
Well, I did find some good books and bought them! Hopefully my backpack will not overloaded... ღ

Order a cup of drink, sit at a corner. Listen to the oldies and enjoy reading...every corner of the bookshop has its own beauty. The feeling is extremely tremendous.

Business Operations:
Tuesday - Sunday
11am - 9pm

Working holiday in Taiwan's B&B by Sally_3

AT FLOWER PALACE_UMA LEATHER CRAFTING WORKSHOP

Roaming around Golden Triangle Shopping District....trying to recognise the street names and shop houses.

Manage to find a unique shop along Zi You Street No. 63 (自由街 63號) ....Uma Leather Crafting Workshop

A small little store along the inconspicuous road...Walked in and saw a young lady doing some craft. I approached her and found out that she was making some leather wallet...with pictures.Out of curiosity, I asked the lady what these pictures represent. To my surprise, all the lines on the Uma (one of the tribal) represent their skills and empowerment. If without these drawing (on their faces), will not get marry. So fascinating!

Had taken some shot at the workshop. If you happen to in Hualien, you can visit this little workshop can get some unique souvenir.

** All the designs are done by the teacher and all are handmade by the student. ツ

Reasonable price starting from SGD 10 … ❤

card holder (small wallet size)

wallets

stationery holders

card holder

The student

AT FLOWER PALACE_OLD BOOKS STORE (舊書舖子)

•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•
I felt so fortunate that I could attend the fifth Flowers Autumn Photography gift presentation even though it was a short period. Thanks Arthur for giving me this opportunity. Finally managed to locate the book store (as I had tried to locate myself during my ride but always failed)! I am really a road nerd..LOL (╯3╰)

Made some news pals in this photography session. Beside that, found some good books in the store. I was so temping to purchase the books...After second thought, I decided not! Worried backpack would be overloaded... Well will go again to read at the store whenever I am free (a❤‿❤a)
There are some second hand books and new ones too! Not only that, sofa and chairs provided at some corners, whereas you can read the books and enjoy!
If you want to find some good books, regardless art, health care, innovations, cook books, travel etc...
you might want to visit this second hand book shop (a♥‿♥a)

** Liitle background of this _Old Books Store
The boss shifted his house to Hualien and started to work as a volunteer in Resources and Collection (資源回收場當義工)
Whenever he found the books that he loved, he would bring back home and read.
Since after that, he had collected alot of books and he decided to open the first second bookshop in Hualien.
Previously was located along Jie Yue Street No. 8 (節約街 8 號).
Due to landlord re-renovate the building, now this bookshop has relocated at Guang Fu Street No. 57 (光復街 57號)
Business Operations:
Tuesday to Sunday
1pm - 9pm

Details of this book shop:
Before relocation Link
2010. 12 Relocation Link

一家很不起眼的店, 看似乎很平凡。。。
可卻是第一家二手舊書的老店。感覺還很不錯。
雖然店沒有像以前舊式的fu~~﹐可是店裡還是保留了一些舊的回憶。。。書的選擇也變得更多了耶!

能讓你放下快的腳步, 感受和享受閱讀的樂趣。。。

Working holiday in Taiwan's B&B by Sally_2

AT FLOWER PALACE_BITS AND PIECES AT ERRANTRY LODGE

Another rainy weather! Gosh (✖╭╮✖)
Finished my work early today and stay indoor. Planning my next route and looking at the cloud sea around the mountains. Relax at a corner and enjoy the peaceful moments....

A place where you can completely relax and enjoy your journey ღ