Taiwan...Fall in Love with this Beautiful Island

Early on in our trip to Taiwan we met Bruno Huang and his lovely wife. Bruno was our interpretor for our visits to the Yi-ming Temple, The Orchid Garden and the Hsinchu County Government Trip. He asked a big favor of our GSE Team...to help promote Taiwan to the world! He stated, "Taiwan is such an amazing place! I am sure that everyone will fall in love with it once they come."

Mailani, Jeff, Meagan, Chris and I can truly attest to this statement. We did fall in love with the beautiful island of Taiwan and it's hospitable, generous people. Taiwan is promoting itself as a premier tourist destination. Travel there...you won't be disappointed!

Go Team!

Our Taiwan Team!

As a gesture of respect for our host country of Taiwan, our team wore Chinese attire for our farewell dinner and presentation in Taoyuan.  We really love our Chinese clothing and continue to wear it at home in the U.S.A. - at work, at Rotary, at weddings and just for casual wear.  Plus, when people ask us about the clothing, it gives us a chance to tell stories about Taiwan!

A favorite photo, taken after a bike ride along the coast (Taiwan Strait, western side of Taiwan) when we stopped for a water break.  We took a moment to sit on these concrete pedestals to chat, relax (Jill even did some yoga!) and listen to the soothing sounds of the sea.

Dressed alike in our Rotary GSE jackets, we received these beautiful plaques with crystal replicas of Taiwan along with an individualized message for each team member.  谢谢

La La Shan - Home to 5,800 Year-Old Trees

The former name of the Lala Mountain was Daguan Mountain. In 1973, a professor of Culture University discovered here a wide expanse of red cypress divine trees whose view is similar to that of the divine trees in Ali Mountain. The name of Lala Mountain has spread since then, and the mountain has attracted many tourists from various areas. In 1986, the government formally established a nature protection zone in Daguan Mountain.  In addition to cloud-reaching red cypress trees, the Taiwan yellow cypress trees in the zone there are also color-changing trees such as green maple trees and beech trees. In autumn when the weather turns cool, green leaves change into red, thus rendering the view even more poetic. To facilitate tourists, the forestry bureau has built a footpath for viewing landscapes. After entering the recreation zone, walk along the trail. You can see giant red cypress trees whose ages range from 500 years to 3,000 years. Among them are five giant trees about 2,800 years-old.

http://travel-taoyuan.tycg.gov.tw/e_content/spot/spot02.aspx

Friends!

Having a laugh with our Rotary friends at The Tea Museum

Three Jeff's!

What a fun group at PDG Porite's house - we ate, talked, karaoke'd and danced!

Wendy & Tyler

Wendy lived in California during her teens, graduated from the University of Southern California and returned to Taiwan to marry, work and raise her adorable son, Tyler.