Taiwan - Day 3

Day 3 begins at breakfast at Ferrary Hotel.

Pork ham, egg noodles and chicken

Porridge with various sweet condiments.

English translation: DD Xiao Chen

This was the point where we gathered our luggage a before loading them onto the bus. 

 

Topped off with two cups of grape juice and we proceeded to our first destination on our last half day in Taipei. 

Nations Revolutionary Matyrs' Shrine (國民革命忠烈祠)

This is a shrine to commemorate the war dead during the war. 

The entrance 

We were early by half an hour so we manage to snap this photo with no other people around. 

The soldier at the entrance

The show has started

The soldiers marched into the shrine to pay respects and then marched out again. 

Got a close up shot 

Many tourists on a Saturday 

Way cleared for the end of the march

About half an hour later, I gladly got onto the bus to escape the hot sun to the next attraction. 

Pixiu Gallery

A place where we learnt the basis of feng shui and of course, an opportunity to spend money. 

Forgive my finger on the top left corner

The sifu explaining to us on how to touch the pixiu correctly

We were seated inside the gallery where we learnt about the bits and pieces of feng shui. Quite an entertaining session. At the end of the talk, we received the opportunity to 'know more about ourselves' through our name. 

The end of the story? I did not buy any pixius. 

Shilin Official Residence (士林官邸)

This is the official residence of the first president of Taiwan. 

The first station is the toilet so we had some time to snap photos with the bears. 

Huggable bears

President Chiang Kai-shek's car

His house has a huge garden. 小陳 told us that the president used to ride a horse with his wife for a leisurely tour around the garden.  

A cute teddy bear in the garden 

A lot of green is good for the eyes 

A pavilion in the middle of the garden

Rhino beetle

There is a dinosaur in the garden!

Flowers everywhere. So pretty. 

They also had a private church for themselves and their special guests. 

Comfortable cushioned chairs

The sun was still beating down mercilessly after the tour. I was so glad to get up the bus for the cool air within. 

Next, we had lunch at Five Dime (伍角船板), a unique restaurant with a cave-like ambience. 

The exterior 

My heart was pumping quicker and hands began to sweat walking up these steps. Quite scary to ascend whilst looking through the gaps in between the steps. 

So many white carps. I hope the restaurant doesn't cook them. 

Closer look

It's a full course meal with 6 dishes and 1 soup. 

Unlimited rice

Fibre is important during travel 

The hungry people 
 

After the lunch, time to deposit some 'gold'. 

Even the toilet has such unique design 
 
At 1:30pm, we departed Taipei for Taichung. 

The last view of Taipei. 

Goodbye, Taipei! I will be back for more shopping next time. 

Approximately two hours later, we reached the next destination. 

Flying Cow Ranch (飛牛牧場)

Situated in the Tongxiao Township in Miaoli County, the ranch has lots of farm animals akin to 'Hay Day'. If you have played that game before, you will definitely enjoy the Flying Cow Ranch. 

I was looking forward to the milking session until the tour leader shared her stories about the cow pooping and urinating halfway during the process. 

The hike up the ranch, probably a few hundred metres away. 

Saw some blue flowers along the way 

Look at the cute cows welcoming us 

A little house at the corner of the ranch

We were given this coupon to exchange for milk later 

Pony ride for children. Cost NTD100 per ride. 

The first animal we saw here was busy eating grass. It's good strategy to eat more before carrying a little person on his back. 

Bunnies!

These two were inseparable

A bunny house! How cute.

Here's a funny sign. I have never visualised a dog swallowing a rabbit whole like this. Have you? 

The sign was especially drawn to deter dogs from bringing their dogs into the bunny house. 

Rabbits do have great imagination in thinking your finger is vegetable. 

Some chickens feeding from their feed. 

 

Spotted two hens incubating her eggs

The hen on the right got her eggs rolled out and she used her beak to push it back under her. First time seeing this so I was pretty excited to witness it. 

It is ironic to be so kampung in a kampung. 

Mountain goats waiting to be fed by the people down below

A postcard worthy photo

A goat lost in its own pen

All of them waiting for bottled milk from tourists

Ducklings huddling in the corner. They were also waiting for food from the tourists. 

These few were on the way to the human feeders for food. 

Check out the kid drinking milk from a milk bottle. 

Another postcard worthy photo. You can see the whole range from this angle. 
 

Dogs are scary in the eyes of farm animals. 

Finally it was out turn to experience milking the cow. I just pressed the udder only slightly with my thumb and forefinger. Saw some droplets of milk dripped. 

Here's a photo of me milking the cow for a few seconds. 

The cow was shy so we blurred this photo. :D

Some cows we saw after the milking session. 

At about 6pm, we went for lunch at the Cow Ranch Restaurant after claiming our Malt Milk from the cafe. 

It tasted like cendol

Dinner time! 

The highlight of the day - cow's hot pot with some local dishes

Mantou made from milk 

The milk broth tasted like soya

Last picture of me with the flying cows at the restaurant. 
 

We walked back down the road to the bus along the underlit path and proceeded to our accommodation for a couple of nights. We reached an hour later. 

What I saw blew me away when I inserted the room keycard into the power slot. 

One word: WOW!

 

We were given a queen bed each!

A chaise sofa to feel like a queen 

A tub for relaxation 

Really neat, don't you think? Glad that we will be staying here for two nights before going to Kaohsiung for the final two nights.

Day 4 happening in a few hours soon!