Our Taiwan Trip (Day 3)

We woke up at 拉拉山達觀渡假農場民宿 and it felt really refreshing and nice. There's nobody to hurry us either. What else could be better?

And we really took our time taking a leisurely walk around while waiting for breakfast to be ready. Based on what we had eaten last night, I was pretty eager to try out their breakfast. Meanwhile, Alfee got more and more confident with the camera. He was able to compose and choose the functions as well. I can't help but to think he's growing up really fast.

And true enough, breakfast was simple yet very yummy! Or maybe it's just in sync with my kind of food for breakfast - porridge.

Amazingly, we actually headed back to the room after breakfast. We thought of gathering our stuff to drive off to some sightseeing places, but it started to drizzle so we waited...

And waited… with tidbits...

Until we decided to just hang out in the owners' vegetable patch. Sophie was delighted to see how her favourite carrots grow in soil. Alfee, on the other hand, couldn't care less. The lady owner was very patient with the kids, explaining what and how her vegetables grow.

I don't know how we kept ending up in the games room but we did… again. It was a never-ending story. The kids just love the idea of paling in a room with nothing but games and cushions.

Finally, we got our act together and left the minsu for lunch somewhere nearby around 11am. It was not easy to order for the Loys. The kids were of no help at all and the place was a little old and 'minimalistic'. I ordered some steamed chicken dish, snow peas and a pot of soup. Everything tasted really good. I almost wanted to take away the soup and drink in the night for supper but CK disapproved. How sad...

I had thought that 拉拉山神木區 was something like those trails we always took in Australia. However, it wasn't really. For a start, a huge part of the area has been cordoned off for repair works. We were told that many old trees, in fact some of the oldest trees, were uprooted by the last typhoon. Poor trees. 

There was essentially only one path to take and it took us just 15 mins to cover everything. And that was already a stretch. Since I brought food and water, thinking that I need to recharge the kids, we stopped to munch… several times.

I thought I could take some selfless with the gorgeous trees behind but every shot was a failure. Maybe they didn't want to be taken, or it's simply because the lighting was bad and I don't know how to compensate the light. 

Our next snack stop became our last stop. We didn't realise that was the end of our trail until our driver told us to turn back. Even though it was a very short walk, we kind of liked it. It was relaxing to be with such old trees.

Not enough walks in the 'wilderness' so when we returned to our minsu, we took a walk to the stream nearby. It was not done up but it has its charm. 

And because we had some time before dinner, we really took our time and enjoyed the peace and serenity in the minsu premises. 

And of course, we had to do a 'Beatles'...