Travel like a local in Taiwan

29/06/2022

#童部野放 #暑期營隊 (活動網址跟報名在留言唷)
暑假小朋友，要往那兒去？！疫情當下有什麼選擇？！
營隊特色：
少人數--每梯15人
躲疫情--大自然的部落生活
學文化--體驗最深刻的阿美族人生活
(隱藏版亮點：跟姜薑將獎一起玩耍)
玩什麼？
體驗部落生活技能
原民部落從大自然中衍生的生活方式
吃什麼！
體驗部落飲食文化
自己學習食材取得、能夠烹煮、用阿美族的用餐方式
學什麼！
學習與大自然相處
原民部落對大自然的態度、智慧

#暑期限定兒童營隊
#部落深度探索

13/03/2020

Æ Lang Taiwan Bistro@Taipei*

Immediately fell in love with this bistro on the very first visit. Lively dining environment with cozy and warm lighting. Foods are delicious and impressive. You can taste the effort the entire team have put in on choosing ingredients and designing menu.

If you feel like having a relaxing night for lovely meals and drink, A Lang Taiwan Bistro is definitely your choice!

11/03/2020

Alishan coffee*

Do you know that Alishan (阿里山) coffee has taken place on the world stage? The climate of Alishan creates optimal growing environment for coffee trees.

It is recommended to experience to roast your own coffee bean and then brew your own coffee when you travel to Alishan. It tastes even better with Aiyu jelly.

Enjoy fresh air and mountain view with a cup of Alishan coffee!

09/03/2020

Bamboo fence for little vege garden*

Built a bamboo fence to make little vege garden more beautiful.
DIY is always a best way to create good mood and nice things.

06/03/2020

Homemade pickled hot chilies*

It seems like it is not considered a meal without serving pickled hot chilies which have soaked in rice wine for months. Indigenous people pickle Facing Heaven Chili (朝天椒) or hot pepper and keep in the refrigerator or in the room temperature. Even though it is really spicy to me, it tastes great and does actually enhance the flavor of foods.

04/03/2020

Indigenous-style Bento*

Did a food container by using shellflower stalk and foods are wrapped in shell-flower leaves. Simple but nice and filling lunch has made my day!

02/03/2020

Dong-Yan-Shan National Forest Recreational Area*

It's good to go outdoor, get some fresh air and surrounded with lots of trees. Please keep fit and stay healthy especially during this situation.

13/01/2020

Weaving with sword grasses*

In Kiwit community (奇美部落), which is one of Amis communities living in hidden paradise in the mountains, they use sword grasses (Miscanthus) to weave containers for cooking whole fish. The weaving skill is passing down to the next generation by the elders.

In the Amis language, "Kiwit" means tough, durable and vital fern, which also reprents strong spirits of the Kiwit Tribe.

08/01/2020

Eight-trigram fishing method*

The eight-trigram net (八卦網) is one of traditional fishing methods. In the past, indigeonous people used ramie to make fishing nets to which lead weights are added so that the net can sink quickly. More lead weights make the net easy to open and become round, but it also makes it heavy, about 10 to 12 kg. Good skill and physical strength are needed to throw the net properly. It is also necessary to have an understanding of the tides and fish species. As the eight-trigram net has limited length, it can only be used in shallow water.

06/01/2020

Stone hotpot*

Indigenous people use Maifan stone (麥飯石) to cook hot pot, which is so-called “stone hotpot” (石頭火鍋). First, they pick up Maifan stone from riverside, wash to remove sand and ash, and heat them up. Then, they place Maifan stones inside a container made from betel nut calyx to which is added water, salt, shrimp, crab, fish and vegetables.These stones release their remaining heat to boil water and foods.

04/01/2020

Bits and pieces in Beipu Old Street*

03/01/2020

Beipu Old Street in Hsinchu*

If you are interested or would like to experience Hakka culture and history, Beipu Old Street in Hsinchu is an ideal place to visit. The old street is not very long, yet there are many historical buildings around which you can spend a good quality time including Citian Temple (慈天宮), Jinguangfu Mansion (金廣福公館), Zhongshu Mansion (忠恕堂), Jiang Axing Estate (姜阿新洋樓), etc.

27/12/2019

BIRDY 3 Folding Bike*

Thanks for sponsoring BIRDY 3 for two-day bike trip at Hualien. We began the ride from Yuli Railway station to two Bunun tribes - Nan'An comunity (南安部落) and Gufeng community (古風部落). It was a pleasant journey!

26/12/2019

Walami Trail at Yushan National Park*

6km uphill of biking from Nan'an Visitor Center to the entrance of Walami Trail (瓦拉密步道) was exciting. Yet, the most exciting thing was that we found claw marks of Formosan black bear aka Taiwan black bear on several trees along the trail.

We had this colorful "Bear Bento" for lunch with the magnificent views and listened to interesting stories of our guide and bears he met on Walami Trail.

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25/12/2019

Merry Christmas 🎄🎉🥰🎉🎄

Wish all of you and your loves enjoy the day with joy and laughter!

20/12/2019

Bunun X Beans*

Bunun people (布農族) migrant from places to places for living. During the migration, beans keep Bunun people alive as they are easily to be stored. Bunun people at NanAn community work hard to preserve as many bean species as they can at the garden. We learned the name of different bean species and experienced how to plan beans at the garden. After that, we enjoyed rice balls with beans with mountainous view.

18/12/2019

Hairy crab at NanAn community

16/12/2019

Hairy crab habitat*

We visited hairy crab farm at NanAn community (南安部落) in Hualien county. They were breed in natural ponds which contains more than six types of algaes with water from Lakulaku River (卓溪).

13/12/2019

Behind the scenes of looking for wild camping spot*

11/12/2019

Night of wild camping*

Enjoyed the moment we were together - barbecued, cooked roast chicken, made camp fire and sang songs by songs. We always wanted to do wild camping as it was part of our memories. Time flies, things change, yet the bonding between us remains the same.

09/12/2019

Hurray~ Found a great spot for wild camping!!!

After exploring a few places, we decided to set up camp nearby for the night. It was a suitable spot to us - nice view, not too far from the road to load camping equipment, nearby the stream, easy to access firewood.

06/12/2019

By the time we arrived Wushe, it was too dark to find a spot for wild camping. So, we spent a night at a campsite nearby Bihu (碧湖). We made a small campfire on fire stand and chit-chatted around it with hot sugar cane sticks. It was definitely a chill night!

The weather was just perfect the next day and the view was stunning. Yet, we couldn't wait to find a spot for wild camping.

04/12/2019

Cooked with cast iron pot*

It was the first time we cooked with cast iron pot.The chicken and mushroom stewed rice was far more tasty than we expected. Rice and vege were soft, chicken was juicy and mushroom was flavorful.

What a nice meal in a cold night on the camp site!

28/11/2019

Winter is coming and is getting cold.
Definitely need vitamin SEA and ocean BLUE～～～
Miss sitting on the bench, enjoying view of the Pacific Ocean, and having millet egg rolls with Roselle juice.

C'est la vie!

26/11/2019

Fun time on the river!

We created a poll last week and asked if you prefered to canoeing on the broad river or between bushes. It seemed like most of you love to have more fun while canoeing.

Hope this video makes you a happy Tuesday! LOL

22/11/2019

Views of 87 cm in height on Tamsui river*

The weather was nice with cool breeze. We set off at Guandu temple and landed on Shezi island (社子島). After having the famous fish cake at Shezi island for lunch, we headed to mangroves and enjoyed the sunset on the way back.

Canoeing is very interesting. When we sit on the canoe, we are so close to the water surface and beoame "short". What we see has become different from that we are in normal height. Different types of travelling give us different types of scenery.

Thanks to coaches and a group of lovely people who made the canoe experience wonderful!

20/11/2019

Mangroves and kandelia candel*

19/11/2019

Canoeing on Tamsui river

Listen to the sound of water is soooooooo relaxing. Anyone feel the same too?

18/11/2019

Which trail would you choose to canoe?

Right：Canoeing on broad river
Left：Canoeing between bushes

15/11/2019

Canoeing on Tamsui river*

Taiwan is surrounded by the sea. In winter, it is not suitable to canoe to the sea, due to the northeast monsoon. What if I feel like canoeing in the winter?

After years of efforts of water treatment, the water quality of Tamsui river has been improved. It is currently opened to public to do canoeing on the river. Aslo, it is safer to canoe on the river since it is calm water.

Can't wait to do canoeing on Tamsui river the coming weekend. I am so ready!!!

13/11/2019

Tree bark wallet DIY*

Dulan community (都蘭部落) is one of Amis tribe in Taitung, which is known as a town full of surfers and artists.

There is a tree bark craft workshop - 'Unique Tapa' (獨樹依織), exhibits a wide range of tree bark artworks and handicrafts, including clothes and hats.

We were taught to make a simple wallet by first removing the bark, then beating it until it becomes soft, and last folding and sewing it. During DIY process, an elder artist explained how bark art is important to the tribe and hope to pass this almost forgotten aboriginal skill to younger generations.

Photo credit: Xin Lee

11/11/2019

Old Masters: Australia's Great Bark Artists

Introduction to 'Old Masters: Australia's Great Bark Artists'
『大師：澳大利亞原住民樹皮畫特展』簡介

Learn about the Arnhem Land artists and works from the world's largest collection of bark paintings on show in the exhibition 'Old Masters: Australia's Great...

10/11/2019

National Taiwan Museum X National Museum of Australia*

It is highly recommended to visit "Old Masters: Australia's Great Bark Artists (大師|澳大利亞原住民樹皮畫特展) exhibition at National Taiwan Museum, which is available on 2019.10.4 to 2020.2.9. The exhibition shows bark paintings done by a group of amazing Australia Aboriginal artist. All paintings in Old Masters are from the National Museum of Australia's collections.

"Bark paintings are proud statements of a group's and an individual's identity, linking them to their sacred worlds, their lands, their religious beliefs, and their histories."

Old Masters exhibition reminds me of an old Amis artist in Dulan tribal community (都蘭部落), who is talented in bark handicrafts. I had been there several years ago and did a bark wallet by myself.

Aboriginal art is fascinating!

08/11/2019

Umbrella snake in Taiwan

Umbrella snake*

Bungarus multicinctus, famously known as umbrella snake, is one of highly venomous species found in Taiwan. We met this at Buklavu community (布谷拉夫部落aka武陵部落) in Taitung while we went on an adventure led by a Bunun hunter at night.

06/11/2019

Nice day for a bike ride X YouBike*

Last weekend, I brought my friend, who is from Malaysia to experience taking YouBike in Taipei.

YouBike is a bike sharing system in Taipei City. There are many YouBike stations in Taipei and one good thing is you can rent the bike at place A and return it at place B, by simply using EasyCard. First 30 mins of usage is FREE of charge and NTD10 for the following every 30 mins. YouBike has three gears - low, medium and high and a key to lock, which makes it more user-friendly.

We began our ride from National Taiwan University, following riverside bikeway to Tamsui. On the way, we passed Shei Ji Island, Dadaocheng Wharf, Guandu Nature Park, Guandu Temple, mangrove swamp, Tansui Old Street, etc. It was a lovely day! We enjoyed Autumn breeze and views very much.

YouBike is very convenient for both daily transport and short-distance travel. You should try it if you travel to Taipei.

04/11/2019

Wild honey harvesting in Taitung

First-time experience in wild honey harvesting*

Last week, we were led by two experienced beekeepers to where they place bee box and harvest honey. We were taught how to differentiate which bee box is occupied, how to tell when hives are ready to harvest, how to removes hives from the box, etc. Never thought of holding a large piece of hive with full of bees and honey. We tasted the honey straight away from the hives removed from bee box, it was so sweet!

Feel free to drop a message to if you are interested in this experience. We are happy to assist you in any futher questions.