A rainy Day in the Tea Fields: Pinglin

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Tea is an integral part of many Asian countries, particularly Korea, China and Taiwan. Since we had not made the trip to visit a tea plantation in Korea, we figured the lush countryside of Taiwan would be the perfect alternative. We woke up early on the morning of Sept 18, first taking the subway 1 hr, then waited for the bus that would take us to the tiny village of Pinglin. The bus ride to this village was 45 minutes long and went through the curviest, steep and narrow road we have ever seen! The driver, clearly knowing the road like the back of his hand, was flying around the corners, even in the thick fog, his barreled on, giving us the feeling of being on a roller coaster.

Pinglin is well-known in Taiwan for the tea it grows and it was evident from the moment we got off the bus. The railings lining the river had small teapots on each post. Our first stop, and the only tourist attraction in the town, was the Tea Museum where you could learn everything you ever wanted to know about tea, and then some. We learned about tea culture through over 500 years of history as well as the process for planting, cultivating and preparing the tea. At the end of the tour we were given a small sample of tea for tasting, which was quite delicious and tasted something similar to oolong tea.

Now that we were tea masters, we planned to rent bikes and ride through the countryside and see the tea plantations close-up. Mother nature, however, had other plans for us as she unleashed a huge downpour that left us soaking wet and tea-field-less. We took refuge in a gas station convenience store, eating some hot noodles to kill the time and when the rain let up (not fully stopping though) we donned our ponchos and umbrellas and decided that the tea fields were worthy enough of us getting wet! After walking over a few bridges and along a river, we finally reached a big group of tea fields, just as the rain took a break! The tea fields were reminiscent of rice paddies from Korea in that they were tiered for drainage purposes which gives a splendid view! Walking through the fields was great because it actually smelled like tea from all the leaves! Among the tea fields were also bananas, limes and pomelos, a common Taiwan fruit, that we are told if you eat too much of, your farts get realllyyyy stinky! Hehe We decided to not test out that theory!

Just as we finished our hour long tour through the fields the sky opened up again and we bee-lined it for the bus station! Once back in Taipei we went to the huge night market for dinner and shopping. This was definitely one of the best night markets we have been to yet! Lining the market is stall after stall selling a variety of freshly fried and grilled foods, all with long lines, reassuring any newbies that the food is worthy, and that it was! We had some fried chicken breasts with seasonings which was very tasty and cheap! Once our appetite was satisfied, we ventured into the jungle, also known as the market. Each thin alleyway was rammed with people wheeling and dealing with the shop owners and playing carnival-style games for cheesy stuffed animal prizes. Although we did not play the games (like we really wanted to carry around a huge stuffed bear for the next 3 months!) or buy any items (ditto), the vibe in the market was awesome!
We returned to our hostel that night to find out that the typhoon Fanapi was expected (really, this time) to hit land early the following morning and that we’d be in for a wild ride.

The next day was our last in Taipei and unfortunately we spent the entire day stuck in our hostel! Because of the typhoon, Taipei completely shut down! Trains, buses, subways, tourist attractions, stores, everything was closed! the only places open were convenience stores (and good thing because there was no other way to get food!). We spent the day watching the wind and rain rip through, with winds so strong that Taipei 101 Building swayed 15m in the gusts! Branches, signs and garbage littered the flooded streets to prove how vicious the storm had been. Luckily for us, Taipei did not get the brunt of the typhoon and by the evening the rain had stopped and the wind died down a bit, just enough for our flight to Manila to get off the ground on time!

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