We had a very early start today, but surprisingly no one slept past the 6:30 wake up call! After a buffet breakfast of western and Asian food, and the consumption of mounds of bacon by some, we got on the buses for a one-hour trip to Ten Drum Culture Village in Tainan, north of Kaohshiung.
The site was once a sugar refinery and is now a tourist attraction that includes pole rafts, which the students tried, and a facility that accommodated each of us with our own drum for a lesson. Following that, we were treated to a spectacular live performance by the Grammy Awards-nominated percussion group that makes the village its home and afterwards, a traditional Taiwanese lunch.
After a two-hour bus ride north to Chitou, we explored the Natural Ecological Area of giant, lush evergreen trees and an abundance of birds and small animals
. Experiencing this majestic setting meant a challenging climb up stairs to an altitude of 1,050 metres, but the natural setting, clean air, sounds of birds, and breath-taking scenery made it all worth the sweat. Afterwards students had a half hour of free time in the Japanese Monster Village before heading five minutes to our hotel, Le Midi, a chateau that inspired oohs and ahhs when it first came into view. Set against a small mountain, the chateau could be anywhere in the French Alps, but dinner was very much Taiwanese.
Later the students enjoyed an hour and a half of free time and many chose the games room. Today was full, and tomorrow begins a half hour later with activities in this area.
Climbing up those stairs must be really tiring and the boat rafting seems fun. Did you guys enjoy the food you had? What does Taiwanese food taste like? Is it spicy? Hope to see more pictures from your trip.
It seems fun to be on the boat….but do u guys feel tired climbing up the stairs, wish u all have fun there
Nice to see happy, jolly children having fun! Thanks for the pictures and updates.
Great pics! Love following your adventures on the blog!
Looks like lots of fun all round. Oh to be a kid again.
Great pictures and places ,thanks for updating blog and have fun
Seems like you guys got alot of fun in the boat rafting~ Was it hard controlling it? Was this boat rafting funner than the one we did in g6?
Maggie: Yes those stairs were really tiring and the boat rafting was fun. I leng: The boat rafting was fun. I don't know if its hard controlling it because I didn't get a chance to control it. This boat rafting that we went this year was shorter than the boat rafting we had in grade 6 but I think it was funner because we got to controll it.