Adopted by a family in TAIWAN 台灣 - 400km solo riding across Taiwan (Part 3)
The main island of Taiwan, lying just over 100 miles from the coast of Southeast China, has been home to various tribes for centuries. Largely undiscovered, I was intrigued to explore the country on two wheels. This country is inhabited by almost 24 million people and has two thirds of its landmass covered by mountains. In the two previous episodes, I started my 400km ride over the span of 5 days from Chiayi city on a rented 158cc scooter.
On my last day of riding, I planned to return the scooter to Chiayi while trying to see more Taiwanese countryside. Join me in this episode as I stumble upon a family of tea farmers where an initial misunderstanding turned into a really heartwarming interaction. She was basically saying that I am your Taiwan mom. Hello, good morning. Today is my last day riding my trusty 158cc scooter all the way back to Chiayi town where I first started my journey from.
It says that it will take about three hours. I would suggest probably four hours according to my pace and oftentimes I would do stops. I want to let go and try to immerse myself in whatever that the day is going to be like and hopefully there will be lots of different local experiences that I didn't encounter previously.
As simple as small interactions would be great because it gives me a sense of motivation. Exciting times, I can't wait. yay off we go It is quite a steep turn. There's this Shin Han Tea that I passed by and I'm intrigued by this. Hello! What is it that you sell? We sell tea Can I drink here? We don't have it right now Oh, no? We're not serving right now This is cold brew tea You can drink Oh, thank you! I've just got this free tea. What's your name? Oolong tea Oh no, I meant what's your name? Oh, my name is Peilong Oolong.
Oolong tea. She gave me for free. Such a beautiful view. Very good! I was thinking initially of drinking tea here and have this view. I think they said they're not doing it right now. Yeah, she just gave me this free Oolong tea.
It's cold tea as well. So refreshing. (She was explaining the different types of tea they sell) All of this looks beautiful. Is this shop yours? Yes, this is mine Really? Wow. So you're the boss? Yes This seating with an incredible view over here. I cannot believe.
Just beautiful. The surrounding is, and you get to experience drinking tea while sipping in the view. Just the fact that she owns this, I think it's so cool.
Salut to those who own a business at such a young age. [Music] We are about to leave the Highway 14, which is this road that we've been riding on. Look at this smooth road.
Unbelievable. Just the quality of this. I think it's a bittersweet feeling as always when you complete a journey.
But this doesn't feel as tough as it usually does because it's been only for five days. I think what's cute is my scooter against this backdrop. Some of these flowers are colorful and the curvy roads on top of that. There is also like these hills. But also my scooter is so handsome. They are cool.
Makes it a perfect combination. This traffic, it's so boring. But to me, this is so fascinating.
I get to see like these two massive buses. Lots of cars being stuck in between on this curvy road. [Music] I think a lot of the major road works would be caused by landslides. Especially given that Taiwan is an island.
And often they would have this like typhoon season. [Music] It's so fun when you are riding and surrounded by high cliffs. Just feels like you are very tiny.
But you are probably. Hello, can you go this way? [Music] Oh yay. Because they are also going this way. Alright. It's quite a busy intersection this. I think everyone is going in the same direction that I am going. [Music] (This lady was asking if I wanted to buy tea leaves, but I didn't understand due to my limited Chinese) I am a foreigner. I can't speak Chinese very well. Is it at your house, correct? Yes. Do you want to drink tea?
Yes, I'd like to drink. I am just following this lady. Because she is inviting me to drink tea. Look at this.
So many cats. Wow. [Music] [Speaking in Chinese] So that's I think black tea or red tea I don't remember. So random. Where are you from? I'm Indonesian, but my home is in England The tea is 1080 Taiwanese Dollars per pound I thought you are selling a cup of tea to drink.
Not the whole tea. The tea will sell per pound. I am sorry. I think there is some misunderstanding because I thought I would be able to drink tea and pay for my drink. So I think the lady is a tea farmer.
The family is a tea farmer. They have got tea garden. They are selling basically a bag of this tea. Unfortunately there is no way I can buy them because I don't have space. This is how they brew the tea.
It's so filtered. So pretty as well. You are so cute! (lady) Say thank you to Auntie! I think what she was saying if you need to buy tea you can call me.
I think they were asking if I wanted to go to their tea garden but unfortunately I need to go. I'm sorry I don't speak much Chinese. I won't understand If it's a little bit of Chinese, I can understand.
So this is I think the granddaughter. And that's the husband. I think she is trying to look for a translator so that we can communicate. I think even the kids really like tea.
(lady to the kids) Isn't Auntie so beautiful? Thank you! (kid) I want to see! I will show you a bit of the house. So I think they live with the entire family. With cats, cats, cats, cats, cats! Some motorbikes I think this is how they use daily transportation.
It's a beautiful house with this writing. I'm just going to drink this last tea. [Speaking in Chinese] They were asking when I was going back to the UK. And they thought, oh you're riding back to school to the UK.
And I said no, no, no, no. But it's such a lovely moment that I am just cherishing. [Speaking in Chinese] We'll meet again. Yes, we will meet again.
[Speaking in Chinese] I was given this tea. So big. And she says just a little. She was basically saying that I am your Taiwan mom. So every time you come here you should have mommy. Yeah, that's my new Taiwan's mom.
That's my new Taiwanese family. You can give her a call I'll leave my phone number. Ah, ok ok Last drink, okay, okay. [Speaking in Chinese] It's good to ride very slowly. Be careful Thank you so much! Hug! She was like, okay.
[Speaking in Chinese] Bye-bye. [Speaking in Chinese] Oh, how cute. Bye bye! Thank you all! Bye-bye. How sweet was the experience because I just love the fact that it was all so spontaneous.
But it's so wholesome as always. And at times this is the kind of experience I've been looking for. And sometimes I'm like, oh, I was just thinking a few minutes prior to that I was saying, I'm so frustrated.
I haven't been able to get any proper interaction. And as soon as I said that, oof, someone's burning trash. As soon as I said that, something magical happened.
I just have to believe it. I just have to trust. Now I'm just going to cover some distance and, yeah, ride back because I still have 85 kilometers away to go until I return my bike. But, oh, lovely. Such, such a kind family. Just like so innocent. You know, yeah, I love that.
It's so fun to go through like different towns, looking around what the people look like. What do they do and stuff like that? There's my petrol station on the left. Can I turn here? [Music] What do you want? *Trying to count in Chinese* Correct! You are so beautiful! Ah, thank you. Wait a second!
Wait a second! Alright, you can do it now (She asked if I wanted to buy some drinks) No, thank you! 105 TWD Where are you going? I am going to Chiayi Chiayi? Yeah, correct! That's good. A full petrol 150 time. Bye-bye. Welcome home. Oh my God. It feels like home indeed. How do you feel? Great. It's like a sense of accomplishment.
So we've come to a Japanese restaurant. Turns out they're selling Japanese food. Sorry, my bad. I thought it was a Taiwanese food. But what's interesting is the fact that every eateries that we've been to, they will give you this, lots of menu to choose from. The problem with that as a foreigner, I can't read any of this character. So I don't know what is it.
So this one is a bit more useful, I suppose. You've got photos and whatnot. So this is just a matter of gambling, really. So we've got a set-meal for the both of us.
I've got a set-meal with, I think, chicken, black pepper, anything spicy. I'm just craving for some spicy food. Yours is more like, or pork cutlet, but it's the same type of side dish. We've also got an extra croquet and a couple slices of banana. Everything is vanished, as you can see. We ate it all.
The meal was superb, just like so hearty. I felt bad that the first night I came back to Chiayi instead of showcasing the Taiwanese meal instead we opted for a Japanese food. Anyway, I didn't know it was unintentional. It was an honest mistake. Good morning. Today we are leaving Taiwan, actually. But before leaving, I would like to show you a bit the newly renovated Japanese house that we've been staying at. This belongs to
one of our good friends, "Hao Pengyou" in Chinese. I think it's very cozy, especially being in Chia Ise tea, which probably many tourists don't even know. Where is that? My friend also has a dog. Hot dog!
Yes. No, no. Stay here. Stay here. The hot dog really loves Dave, obviously. Thank you so much for watching today's episode.
Like this video if you enjoyed and share your thoughts in the comment section below. I love reading your comments. See you again next time on the video from South Korea.
Bye!
2024-04-03 07:17
