We stayed at a place called Coconut Grove. It's nestled in the mountains away from the city which means, beautiful and tranquil. The kind owner built the whole area with his bare hands. He spent twenty years piecing together everything using bamboo, twigs, strings, coconuts and other resourceful things. It's quite unique and pretty.
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| Here he is making handicrafts using bamboo leaves |
He spends his days entertaining his guests with a unique talent of being able to play any song using almost any leaf. He puts it in his mouth and out comes a tune! It's not exactly a melodious, hypnotizing tune... more like a baby duck with a talent, but it's impressive nonetheless. He's actually pretty well known in Taiwan for this bizarre talent. He said he learned it from an aboriginal when he was young and practiced and practiced.
The rest of his time is spent fixing up his property. He built a large pond and put fish in it for his guests to fish out of. He also makes lots of beautiful furniture and structures using various parts of bamboo trees and leaves. His place feels like a remote, private museum. This man is one of the most resourceful people I've ever met.
We spent one day basking in the beautiful scenery, riding bicycles around a government funded recreational area called Guanshan. To encourage bicycling, the government helps to fund bike rentals shops. So, in a very Taiwanese way, there are probably about twenty rental shops lined up right next to each other right at the entrance, beckoning customers. I rented a great recreational bike for the whole day for $3.
The bike path goes through very gorgeous scenery. Parts of the path run along a river completely surrounded by lush vegetation. The surrounding views are dotted with rich green hills, rivers and streams and complete with fat, muddy water buffaloes grazing and drinking.
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| Three of the many bike rental shops |
All in all, it was a nice weekend well spent. If you're ever in Taiwan, Taitong should not be skipped.
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