Taiwan Day 7
July 8th - Yilan
Okay, today was definitely a memorable one. I started off feeling pretty melancholy, I missed my family a lot. That being said, I got myself a hearty breakfast, the last from FX Hotel for a little bit, and then finished packing up my stuff. We got on the bus and took off for our road trip to Yilan. The views were stunning along the way and we drove through the longest tunnel in Taiwan, a good eight miles. Which was pretty interesting. We then stopped off at a rest stop and despite my best efforts in finding the scallion pancakes ( they were right at the front I’m just blind) I could not and instead got a Korean beef with rice bun burger. It was surprisingly very good and the tea they provided had jellies in it. Overall I was very pleased with the meal. Moving along, we got to the DIY boba tea place. Normally I would be brimming with excitement over something like this, but I was still feeling mopey. I did enjoy the hands on distraction that making the boba tea provided. It ended up being pretty good too. I had to chug it though, which put my milk tolerance to the test. It’s a good thing I had a big lunch. Getting on the hot bus after was lowkey cruel and unusual punishment though. Anyways, after that we went to the coolest place, more below. The National Center for Traditional Arts completed we went to our new hotel. 100% better than the last. My room is actually room sized and not the size of a closet. The bathtub is amazing, there’s a pool with a slide that’s already been tested and I rate it 10/10. I can’t wait to try the breakfast tomorrow. After we settled into the hotel, I went hunting with Alexis and Alexandra to find the scallion pancakes that had eluded me earlier in the day. Got them, they were delicious. Definitely did not disappoint.
Academic Reflection
I’ll note before I start, I am fully aware this reading wasn’t due until Friday. However, we moved some stuff around today due to the typhoon coming and since the reading went with the National Center for Traditional Arts I figured I’d do it now. Let me say, I was still in a mood when I got here, I left joyful. The reading states that no matter what your tastes are, you’ll find something you like here and they weren’t kidding. I had so much fun making things for my boyfriend and even for myself. While the reading mentions pottery and calligraphy, which I did see but didn’t participate in, I actually found myself immediately drawn to the metal work. I wish I had time to do something like a ring or bracelet engraving, but the keychain I engrained is still really great. It made me so happy to be able to create something that I know my boyfriend is going to love. I continued exploring the stores and found a leather shop. I got to stamp myself a keychain which is super cool. Finally I stopped in a traditional Chinese medicine shop and got my parents some candies and dried fruits. I felt my spirits uplifted. I’m also glad I got to experience traditional Taiwanese arts, I never would have imagined I’d enjoy it so much. Also something cool was all the xiyouji references I saw, Sun Wukong on the wall and puppets of the Tang monk and of Sun Wukong. There was even a guy walking around dressed like the Tang monk.
