On my last day in Taipei, my friend and Taipei native Christine invited me for a drive outside of the city for lunch at a “bed and breakfast near the beach”. I thought, sure why not? It would be nice to see how the countryside looks since Taiwan is supposed to be pretty scenic. And from what “scenery” I saw in Taipei, I thought that outside should be just as amazing.
So we drove up with a bunch of Christine’s friends, one of who was a magazine writer and our contact with the establishment that we were driving up to. We were the third car in a three car convoy that wound up driving out of Taipei and (eventually) up a mountain. The people in front were using the Force to navigate instead of one of those handy dandy GPS units, which would had been more appropriate, I think.
Eventually we found the place. It wasn’t really a bed and breakfast, but rather an organic farm/restaurant in the countryside. Of course, Christine came dressed for a “bed and breakfast” meal and I came in sandals appropriate for the beach.
Stylish but not really weather wise
Of course, all this was moot, since it was RAINING! Clouds all around. Wind whipped storm. And the like. And lunch wasn’t ready. So the owner of the restaurant suggested that we check out the nearby peak where you could get a view of the ocean. Keep in mind that it’s raining and a storm front was going through quickly. So we drove up single lane roads. Scary drops and no guardrails. Before we reached the end of the road and hiked up a hill, umbrellas in tow to the top.
The clouds broke just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the ocean
It almost looks like a painting. It was hella windy and wet, I tell ya!
This is how it looks like when you remove the rain and clouds
Eventually it was time to go back because lunch was ready. So how to go back? Naturally, you go back the way you came. On one lane roads.
Right click here for 13 MB video because it won’t upload right to YouTube (not ready yet)
Imagine 25 minutes of this. And this was coming DOWN the mountain. In the rain. In some spots, the rain cleared up enough so that some of the local wildlife came out. We drove past this big fellas’ friend so we slowed down, rolled down the window and took his picture.
Bloody tourists…
Eventually, we made it back to the compound where, at 1545 or so, we sat down to a full Chinese banquet, although we didn’t know it at the time. We thought it would just be “lunch”. The meal began with toasts and drinking of wine coolers, beer and some homemade witches’ brew that was allegedly “good for you”.
Last time I heard an explanation like that, my grandmother was trying to get me to drink some mystery soup that was black like an oil spill and had mysterious bits in it.
Christine theorized that it was a liquor (yup) with a rice base, like sake. However, what gave it its amber color? What else was in it? No one was telling. I can tell you that we went through (in no particular order): two veggie dishes, a very fresh chicken, little crispy shrimp, fish cakes and a fresh fish. Also more beer and moonshine. A lot more. When the part of the meal came for KTV, Christine and I beat retreat by pointing to the sky (it was dark now) and telling our hosts that we had to head back to the city.
Now I do remember climbing into Christine’s truck and her lowering the seat back for me. I don’t remember the next 90 minutes as we drove back to Taipei. She said I was out like a light, snoring all the way back. I don’t recall that…but I do remember waking up about 6 minutes out from Din Tai Fung. Wah, what timing!
Musings of a Food and Travel Addict