We also had a nerve-racking experience at the airport. After we had checked our bags and were heading through customs a security officer came and flagged me down and escorted me to the baggage area. They were concerned with what they saw in our suitcases. The boys had purchased some swords at one of the shops and they were stashed in the bottom of the suitcases. So, I had to unload the entire suitcase, dirty clothes and all, in front of the entire airport, so they could inspect the swords. They seemed concerned because the blades were metal but they finally allowed us to keep them and we were on our way.

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There was a lot of lush vegetation and beautiful scenery along the way. Many times the road was perched atop high cliffs that led directly down to the seashore. Weather was still cloudy and rainy and we learned that a Typhoon had hit the island just days before we arrived — so, the weather seemed extreme and would suddenly change from mild to hard rain and wind. At one point we saw a large funnel cloud that had formed a few miles off the coast – luckily we didn’t have to pass too closely to it.

In the afternoon we passed through a small village of aboriginal Taiwanese (in a place called Li De). As a missionary I had heard these people referred to as “mountain people.” They are of different descent than the Chinese people and have different features. As we drove through the village Natalie saw a young girl, dressed in traditional tribal clothes, walking down the street. Natalie wanted to take a picture so we turned around and drove back to try and find the girl. In doing so we found most of the tribe gathered together in a clearing and it appeared they were having some sort of celebration. They were very friendly people and waved and motioned us to come join them. We were hesitant but then decided to park the car and see what they were up to. It was the Kavalan tribe and they were gathering for some sort of annual celebration. They had music playing and a few of them had obviously been drinking! We visited for a while and then they decided to help us get some pictures. One person ran off and appeared a few minutes later with clothing and a staff that he said was for their chief. He helped me put it on and then offered us some whiskey; I tried to politely deny his offer but he was VERY persistent! Finally, after about a dozen “no thank you’s” I finally said, “I can’t drink, I’m the driver” — after that he stopped bothering me but then started hounding Natalie to have a drink. It was a unique experience and we were glad we made the stop.

Our long day of driving ended when we reached Hua Lien at dusk. Hua Lien is a fairly large city located at the mouth of Toroko Gorge, a popular tourist destination. It is a town famous for stone and marble products and the streets were lined with stone shops that sold everything from vases and figurines to full-sized, solid marble dining tables. We looked at a lot of shops and finally found a 7-color jade vase that Natalie liked. It was a 20-minute process to haggle them down on price (but well worth the effort as they cut the price in half before we were done — and they probably still made a nice profit on it .

That evening in Hua Lien we stayed at the China Trust which was very nice and had a great pool. The boys and I went for a swim and the pool attendant offered us swim caps when we got in the pool. I politely declined and said we didn’t need them. A few days later, at a different hotel, we found out that most pools require swimmers to wear the caps — so, I’m sure the attendant has a fun story to tell about Americans who refused to wear swim caps.

We had an excellent dinner in Hua Lien at a local restaurant (recommended by the hotel concierge). The service was great and we had a huge spread of food and lots of great Guava juice for dinner. We were literally stuffed by the time we were done and the total bill was about $30US – quite a bargain. We were also greatly entertained by a large party of business men who were eating and drinking heavily at a table near us. They were loud and playing different drinking games. Half-way through our meal we noticed several of them had drunk so much they were passed out in their chairs. I think the boys were particularly amused and fascinated; it was a little different than the typical scene at Bajio in Pleasant Grove.

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The weather was overcast and rainy so we were glad that we planned to spend the day at the National Aquarium. The aquarium was HUGE and is very new. Many state-of-the-art tanks and displays were enjoyed and we ended our visit with lunch in their cafeteria.

After the aquarium we drove south to find Baisha (White-sand beach). It is quite a different place now with lots of people and several little beach-front shops for dining or renting beach toys. As a missionary we would visit this beach and we would be the only people at the beach (plus, it would be difficult to find a taxi driver that even knew how to find Baisha. The weather was still overcast but occasionally the sun would peek through. Rain poured down several times but we still had a lot of fun swimming in the bath-tub-like ocean while the cold rain came down.

That evening we went the to the Kending night market again. We shopped and sampled foods and the boys had one of the street vendors make them a souvenier; they had their names painted with the letters artistically done to look like a dragon. Natalie also got a funny picture taken with a male dancer outside of one of the night-clubs. Apparently he had been dancing-up quite a sweat because Natalie’s shirt was drenched from leaning up next to him!

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After leaving Kaohsiung we headed south toward Kending – this is the beach resort area of Taiwan. It was about two hours to drive there and we made a few stops along the way. Our first stop was a good beef-noodle shop. The boys again had swei-jous and we all got our clothes dirty with splashed soup! We did some shopping along the way and then we make a quick stop at Fang Liau.

While I was serving as a missionary in Chao Chou I knew a member named Jackie Jang that lived and worked in Fang Liau. My companion and I would stop in for a quick visit every other week as we traveled to Heng Chun for district meeting. Sister Jang worked at the fisherman’s co-op as an accountant. The co-op hasn’t changed a bit… the same old fisherman selling their catch to the wholesale buyers right on the dock. We inspected the catch for the day and were surprised to find a HUGE, LIVE lobster waiting for a buyer. It was amazing… the fisherman even offered to let me hold him. He told me to really hold it firmly because it would try to get away. Just as soon as he finished telling me that the lobster gave an incredible flip of its huge tail… the noise was almost enough to get me to drop it… luckily I maintained my grip and he didn’t get away!

A short time later we arrived in Kending and checked in at the China Youth Corps Hotel – a youth hostel that has been converted into a “hotel” and has buildings with traditional Chinese architecture. The accommodations were excellent and we really enjoyed our stay here. After a quick change at the hotel we drove a few minutes to the beach and enjoyed the warm water and explored the reef seeing bright-colored tropical fish and eels.

In the evening we called Tiffany Lu (Lu Jya) who is a member in Hengchun. We had met her a few days earlier in Kaohsiung at the 50th anniversary celebration. She and some other friends met us at Smokey Joe’s for dinner. We had a good time looking at old pictures and talking about missionaries and the Church in Taiwan.

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The meeting was a little boring for Davis, Thane, and Natalie as the only indication of what was being said came from me as I did some sketchy translating. As the speakers concluded the branch president stood and made mention that many missionaries over the years had served in Chao Chou and that they had one in attendance that day… he proceeded to ask me to come forward and share my thoughts with the congregation. It was a humbling experience to stand and try to express my feelings with my rusty language skills.

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After the sunrise activities we did some additional walking tours around the trails and visited the Elder Sister Pond and other sites.

After we finished at Ali Shan we packed-up and started our journey to Kaohsiung. The drive to Kaohsiung took a couple of hours but was very pleasant as we were able to travel on some of the newly constructed freeways in Taiwan. After finding our hotel and checking in we had to do a little research and make a call to the Kaohsiung missionary headquarters to find the location of the Church celebration planned for the evening; there was a 50-year missionary celebration in the outdoor amphitheater next to the Love River (Ai He). Members and missionaries both participated in a play and singing that illustrated the teaching and conversion of an early member family in Taiwan. While the performance was being setup and practiced, missionaries were contacting and answering questions for curious passers-by.

While at the performance we also met some missionaries that are currently serving in Chao Chou (which is where we plan to visit on Sunday and attend church services). We were able to directions to the new meetinghouse and it was exciting to hear them talk about the branch and growth that has taken place there.

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Yesterday we visited Taichung – we visited the mission home and they had just finished a zone ocnference so there were lots of missionaries in the office. We were able to meet with the President Waterson for a few minutes and we enjoyed getting to know him. It is amazing to see how the church has grown in Taiwan and how missionary work is progressing. After meeting the missionaries we walked around the city and had dinner at “Fattys” (an Italian place) — We’ll start experiencing the local cuisine later.

Tonight we are staying up in the mountains at a place called Ali Shan. We are staying at the Ali Shan House – it really feels like a “local” hotel with its Asian-style furnishings and authentic food. We are surrounded by lush forests that are literally “in the clouds” and are anchored by ancient Cyprus trees; many of them are more than 1000 years old, and some are around 2000 years old. We’ll be getting up at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow to go see the sunrise on the top-top of Taiwan. It should be fun but will make for a long day! After that we are off to Kaohsiung.

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After our visit to AIT we headed to Taichung. This is where the mission offce/headquarters are located. We had a nice visit at the misson home with several elders. A missionary zone conference had just concluded so the mission office was croweded with missionaries. The mission president, President Waterson, took a few minutes to meet with us and welcomed us to the mission. It was a great experience for Davis and Thane to see all the missionaries in action and to meet the mission president. I think they are getting a sense of what missionary life is like and what it is all about.

Tonight we stayed at the Landis Hotel in Taichung — it is a very modern hotel that was very nicely furnished and had a great breakfast with both Western and Chinese fare. Thane enjoyed a bowl of Fruit Loops (which made us chuckle).

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