Undeniably, most of the people attracted to Taiwan by its famous street food. I , however, stepped on my flight on a journey to find myself, the one got left behind and slowly forgotten in a fast-pace city life. I didn't know what I was going to find during my short trip, but I do hope to meet some lovely folks with my finger crossed.
I came across Alvin Xu's blog and facebook page with couples of "Hualien"googling. Quickly capture by the warm colored theme photos he posted and his catchy motto “I gives all I have”, I quickly confirmed the booking with a few email exchanges.
Hualien stop is the almost the ending of my Taiwan trip. I dragged myself out of the train with a beaten body after 6 hours journey. Alvin was already waiting in the train station with a big happy smile. Immediately, I felt quite secure and got the feeling that I can relax because I was in safe hand.
His hostel is just 10 mins ride from Sincheng train station.
Walking in Taroko Tribe’s Home, I felt a special warmness. It just felt like coming back home after a long road trip, you open the door of your home, Mom is yelling from the kitchen saying “ you are back, finally. I are preparing your favorite dishes for dinner tonight. It is almost ready.” It is just that magical.
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| Alvin’s iconic big smile |
I wandered around the hotels up stair / down stair while Alvin was busy preparing a hearty lunch. I almost could not believed my ears that he told me he merely spent one year to decorate this hostel, his second home. If you pay attention to the details, you will be deeply impressed by Alvin, the talented local artist. Behind the walls with numerous thank-you postcards and photos from the past travellers, an iconic white tree lovely presents above a vivid red background. Alvin told me this is the icon of his hostel and I got to take a picture in front it to prove that I have been to Home of Taroko Tribe.
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| The icon of Home of Taroko Tribe |
Alvin love cooking and coffee and claim himself as Alvin Oliver because he got the same cooking style as Jamie Oliver. While we were having lunch, he started bragging to me that they supposed to give him the honor of three-star michelin chef since he always give all he his with his heart and soul when cooking. I laughed, but I admitted that that is definitely one of key point of being a good host and chef. And I really appreciated his honesty and sharing his true feeling with a total stranger. Of course, we are good friends now, just like family using his original words.
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| Alvin was busy preparing lunch |
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| Best meal during my trip |
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| “Dessert is must-have, and it is the perfect ending of a meal” -- Alvin |
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| A corner of my room |
I believe it is my luck that Alvin invited me to attend a festival of roselle harvesting in Tai Ma Li， Taichung. Quickly say goodbye to Hualien, we rushed to train station to take the first train to Tai Ma Li.
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| A yummy local burger |
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| Me and Alvin at the front gate of Taroko National Park |
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| View outside another 6 hours train |
Finally, we arrived at Tai Ma Li. I was so amazed by the crowd in this small tribe. And I simply could not wait to get involved in the festival.
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| Happy crowds enjoying the festival |
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Alvin signed up for the event
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I was working hard on decoring roselle
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Roselle drink, high in vitamin C and anthocyanins. Plus, it is very tasty. Simply awesome.
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After working on the roselle followers, Alvin brought me to a handcraft workshop to introduce me the artists of Bayi workshop. Alvin told me that Typhoon Morakot took out around 50 houses on August 8th, 2009. The destruction of the flooding put villagers of Tai Ma Li in deep sadness. Slowly and steadily, they left anger and sorrow behind and firmly believe that they could rebuild their home by their own hands. With the help of government and local design company, Bayi workshop was borned to create handcrafted bracelets and necklaces made with ceramic beads. Bayi is the native language for husbands saying “honey” to their wives. It is a perfect name for workshop since it was founded by 10 local married women.
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| hand crafting bracelet |
I didn’t sense any miserable feelings during the conversion with Annena, the leader of the workshop. Instead, I was so impressed by her funniness, welcome and confidence about the future of the workshop and the home rebuilding process. Unlike most of the tribes I have ever been, here people are very well connected with the rest of the world. Friendly peoples kept asking me for facebook id so that they can keep the connection with me. They even joked with me that they were going to perform gangnam style’s horse dance in the festival. I was so amazed by their optimistic and openness to the outside world. I guess that is how I fell in love with this place.
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hand crafting bracelet
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| Different patterns with different meanings |
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| Alvin and Annena |
My trip in Tai Ma Li ended in a beautiful Sunday morning. I promised Alvin and Annena I would definitely come back next summer. The magical sunshine outside the car window made the last part of my journey unforgettable.
Taiwan is an amazing land with picturesque sceneries, delicious cuisine and especially and most importantly with those lovely people.
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