But I will summarize it here first:
Last weekend (25/26 November 2017) some friends and I were taken on a trip around Pingtung, Taiwan. It was awesome except for one extremely unfortunate and quite terrible accident.
During the trip we went hiking, canoeing, tea-leave picking and making tofu. All of these activities were done in conjunction with the real locals, people who normally probably don’t really get many foreign visitors but who were very excited to show us their activities and way of life. It was amazing, and if you ever want to do something similar yourself, do not hesitate to contact Lishan Eco Com (tagged above). Anyway, here comes the whole 2000something word report:
Last weekend (25/26 November 2017) some friends and I were taken on a trip around Pingtung, Taiwan. It was awesome except for one extremely unfortunate and quite terrible accident.
During the trip we went hiking, canoeing, tea-leave picking and making tofu. All of these activities were done in conjunction with the real locals, people who normally probably don’t really get many foreign visitors but who were very excited to show us their activities and way of life. It was amazing, and if you ever want to do something similar yourself, do not hesitate to contact Lishan Eco Com (tagged above). Anyway, here comes the whole 2000something word report:
In the weekend of 25&26 November 2017, some friends (one from Ecuador, one from Russia and one from India) and I (from the Netherlands) took a trip to Pingtung, hosted by a tour local tour company from Hengchun. Having been to Pingtung/Kenting 4 times before I thought I probably already saw most of it, but nothing is less true. We had
many adventures and did many amazing things, and in this report I will detail them out for you and tell you why I strongly recommend this trip to everyone who gets the chance.
Since there is no train directly to Kenting, we had to take a train to Kaoshiung (Xinzuoying). When we arrived there, we were picked up by a lovely lady called Xiaoqi. At first we weren’t sure where to go, but lucky for us everything was arranged perfectly and we got a message telling us exactly where to meet her. From here, we were driven to Pingtung. In the car we had full control over the music, so we were able to play whatever we wanted. A nice touch.
many adventures and did many amazing things, and in this report I will detail them out for you and tell you why I strongly recommend this trip to everyone who gets the chance.
Since there is no train directly to Kenting, we had to take a train to Kaoshiung (Xinzuoying). When we arrived there, we were picked up by a lovely lady called Xiaoqi. At first we weren’t sure where to go, but lucky for us everything was arranged perfectly and we got a message telling us exactly where to meet her. From here, we were driven to Pingtung. In the car we had full control over the music, so we were able to play whatever we wanted. A nice touch.
After arriving in Hengchung, we first went to visit Leshan Eco Con. Their office is basically a store which sells many different local products, ranging from small toys to house decorations and food.
We all found the company to be very cool, and so we were excited to see what’s next. After looking around a little bit more and having a sanitary break, we then went on to the next stop. Having seen the schedule beforehand, we knew what was waiting for us: A hike. However, we didn’t know exactly what kind of hike it was going to be, but upon arriving at our starting point we were told that we would follow the trail that school children used to follow to go to school during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.
We all found the company to be very cool, and so we were excited to see what’s next. After looking around a little bit more and having a sanitary break, we then went on to the next stop. Having seen the schedule beforehand, we knew what was waiting for us: A hike. However, we didn’t know exactly what kind of hike it was going to be, but upon arriving at our starting point we were told that we would follow the trail that school children used to follow to go to school during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.
After a short briefing, we started our walk. One thing we found out is that school children did not have it easy in the past. The walk would take them about an hour both ways (although due to our size it would have taken us much longer, but we didn’t walk to the whole path). Aside from the walk itself, we were told by our tour guide Mr. Chang that they used to make their own toys. Now being told is one thing, but he then showed us multiple things that they used to play with: A small piece of hollowed out bamboo in which they would put a small piece of wet paper, and then shoot it out. The kids would use these to see who could shoot the furthest (see photo for an example of this toy). Something else he showed us was how to build traps and snares. These would be used to catch animals ranging from small birds to mountain boars (different traps of course). The most interesting thing that he taught us here was that kids used to put these traps up in the morning on their way to school, and then they would find their prey in it when they went back in the afternoon.
Not only is this in itself a pretty incredible thing for kids to be able to do, but more than that it also showcases the true impact of the “Taiwan Miracle”. To see this with your own eyes and learn it by seeing how people used to live is an eye-opening experience, and one that I am very glad to have had.
Unfortunately, during the latter part of our hike, one of the groupmates lost his balance and landed weirdly on his leg, thus getting a fracture in his fibula (a bone in the calf). Because of this an ambulance had to be called, and we had to carry him safely to the end of the hiking trail. Even though this was an extremely unfortunate incident, he was taken care of extremely well. Two organisers took him all the way back to Tainan by themselves, to go to NCKU hospital. They came back the same night but had a pretty tiring trip because of it. The emergency response was, overall, pretty amazing.
Because of this emergency, our schedule was slightly delayed, but at around 2:30pm we finally arrived at the location where we were supposed to have lunch. We didn’t really know what to expect for lunch, but after the hike and everything that was happening around it, we were pretty hungry. And boy, was it good. To be honest we still don’t really know what we ate, but in Chinese it is called Yu-lai-gu, which literally translated to rain-comeout-mushrooms. But they are not really mushrooms. It’s more akin to seaweed (see photo). Now I know this might sound kind of strange, but all of us agreed that this lunch was extremely good (I would say one of the best we’ve ever had but I don’t want to exaggerate too much). Anyway, there were basically two dishes: One “seaweed” with egg, which a little bit spicy and very delicious. The other was a sort of dumpling with the “seaweed” inside, as well as the things you might find in regular dumplings. After this we were taken out to the field to see how the food is grown, but unfortunately we were behind schedule and couldn’t spend too much time there.
Unfortunately, during the latter part of our hike, one of the groupmates lost his balance and landed weirdly on his leg, thus getting a fracture in his fibula (a bone in the calf). Because of this an ambulance had to be called, and we had to carry him safely to the end of the hiking trail. Even though this was an extremely unfortunate incident, he was taken care of extremely well. Two organisers took him all the way back to Tainan by themselves, to go to NCKU hospital. They came back the same night but had a pretty tiring trip because of it. The emergency response was, overall, pretty amazing.
Because of this emergency, our schedule was slightly delayed, but at around 2:30pm we finally arrived at the location where we were supposed to have lunch. We didn’t really know what to expect for lunch, but after the hike and everything that was happening around it, we were pretty hungry. And boy, was it good. To be honest we still don’t really know what we ate, but in Chinese it is called Yu-lai-gu, which literally translated to rain-comeout-mushrooms. But they are not really mushrooms. It’s more akin to seaweed (see photo). Now I know this might sound kind of strange, but all of us agreed that this lunch was extremely good (I would say one of the best we’ve ever had but I don’t want to exaggerate too much). Anyway, there were basically two dishes: One “seaweed” with egg, which a little bit spicy and very delicious. The other was a sort of dumpling with the “seaweed” inside, as well as the things you might find in regular dumplings. After this we were taken out to the field to see how the food is grown, but unfortunately we were behind schedule and couldn’t spend too much time there.
Next we went to a local tea field to pick tea leaves. We were told that tea is not native to Kenting as I thought, but rather it was brought in by the Chinese. Because they brought in different types of tea (Oolong, black and green), and it was kind of mixed, the tea from Kenting is now a special blend of tea. Because of the rain we did not get to spend too much time collecting tea leaves, which was just as well considering that due to the season there was not a lot to pick anyway. However, we did learn something new about tea, and we did manage to find some tea leaves. After picking the leaves it was time to head back to the company to learn a little bit about how tea is processed, and more importantly why. Or that is, we learned later why this is important. The way we were taught was by trying: First we tried tea that was properly processed like you would find it in stores normally, and after that we made “tea” with the fresh leaves we had just picked. Both were nice, but the first one was much better than the second one. Another thing we thoroughly enjoyed was some kind of green tea bread we were given to eat (see photo).
After the tea programme we were supposed to go to the beach and do some other activities, but due to delays and unsatisfactory weather we ultimately didn’t go there, and went back to the hotel instead. This hotel turned out to be super nice, with huge and comfortable beds and bathrooms. Because we were all pretty tired due having gotten up early and a slightly chaotic day, we decided to stay there for a little bit and take a short nap. After about an hour we were taken by Xiaoqi to Kenting Street where we had a free program, doing whatever we want. We decided to have some dinner and drinks. One tip for those who plan to go in this trip in the future: If you stay in Hengchun, and go out in Kenting Street, it will be very hard to get a taxi after midnight. So keep this in mind (we ended up having to ask the police for help ordering a taxi for us, which took about an hour from when we left the bar).
The next day breakfast was served at 8am. A bit early considering we got home at about 2:30am but that was our own fault, and anyway we survived. Breakfast was toast, some fruit and a Taiwanese tea-egg. It was very simple but it tasted really good.
After breakfast we went towards our first activity, and it was an awesome one. I had been swimming before in Taiwan, but this time we went to canoe out on the sea. Now I know this sounds a bit dangerous, but at no point we felt like we were in danger at all. We just had a ton of fun. Before we went out on the sea we had a practice inside a bay, until all of us were comfortable enough canoeing that we wouldn’t get lost out at sea or drown (not that that every was a real concern anyway but still).
When we were all comfortable with our skills, we set out to canoe to a beach at the other side of the bay. Our goal was to get to this beach, and once we got there to do some “canoe flips” and try to get back on the boats by ourselves. This may sound like it’s quite easy, but for most of us it turned out it was not quite easy. I mean, flipping a canoe is not that hard of course, and neither is turning it back around. BUT then comes the hard part: actually getting back on the boat. I think me trying to get back on was a supremely funny thing, so at least other people were entertained while I was suffering. But in all seriousness, I think it is a vital skill when you go out on the “open sea” on a canoe, and of course it was also really fun to do. After practicing flipping and the like we went for another, slightly more challenging trip. It was then that one of our groupmates saw a huge seaturtle stick its head out of the water. Unfortunately, I didn’t personally see it but if you’re lucky enough you might.
After breakfast we went towards our first activity, and it was an awesome one. I had been swimming before in Taiwan, but this time we went to canoe out on the sea. Now I know this sounds a bit dangerous, but at no point we felt like we were in danger at all. We just had a ton of fun. Before we went out on the sea we had a practice inside a bay, until all of us were comfortable enough canoeing that we wouldn’t get lost out at sea or drown (not that that every was a real concern anyway but still).
When we were all comfortable with our skills, we set out to canoe to a beach at the other side of the bay. Our goal was to get to this beach, and once we got there to do some “canoe flips” and try to get back on the boats by ourselves. This may sound like it’s quite easy, but for most of us it turned out it was not quite easy. I mean, flipping a canoe is not that hard of course, and neither is turning it back around. BUT then comes the hard part: actually getting back on the boat. I think me trying to get back on was a supremely funny thing, so at least other people were entertained while I was suffering. But in all seriousness, I think it is a vital skill when you go out on the “open sea” on a canoe, and of course it was also really fun to do. After practicing flipping and the like we went for another, slightly more challenging trip. It was then that one of our groupmates saw a huge seaturtle stick its head out of the water. Unfortunately, I didn’t personally see it but if you’re lucky enough you might.
The last stop on our trip came after the canoe adventure. After taking a hot shower and changing back to our normal clothes, we went to a community center around the corner from the canoe-rental place. Here we were told to wait a minute while the food was being set up. We quickly found out we were to join a buffet-style lunch with the local community. Similar to the first day, the second day’s lunch was once again extremely good. The dishes ranged from simple vegetable, to seaweed and Taiwanese style sweet and sour pork. Maybe it was because we were hungry from the morning’s exercise, but we once again were very amazed by the quality of the food. Personally, I had 2 servings because I was enjoying it so much. Another important thing to mention here is that most of the dishes contained tofu, since this community makes its own salty tofu.
This was the second to last activity: Making tofu. Now none of us had any idea how tofu was made, but we found out the process is very, very fast. Starting from when the soy milk was put together with the mixing ingredient until the tofu was set it took about 20 minutes. Incredible. The funny thing is that this particular type of tofu is made using salty sea water extract, which makes the tofu itself salty as well. It was quite unique and very tasty.
After the tofu there was one last activity: Putting hermit crab shells back on the beach. Since they have trouble finding their “houses”, the local community has taken it upon itself to provide them. They do so by taking them from fishermen and putting them back on the beach. In order to make sure that tourists don’t take them as souvenirs, we wrote a marking on them as well (our name and KTNP: Kenting National Park, plus a personal message).
As I said in the beginning, this was an extremely memorable trip and I think that everyone who gets the chance should try it at least once. If I were to give it a grade on a scale out of 10, I would give it a 10. This due to the people who organize the trip, the people who are part of the communities and the activities that you get to undertake during the trip.
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