Last weekend, I went for a trip to Yilan with my friends: Олег, Сима и Нина. Originally, I wanted to drive there through the Northern Costal Highway, but instead, we drove the Taipei-Yilan Highway due to Нина's opposition. And the reason why she was against my idea is that she wanted to eat some luwei (a kind of meat or fowl that stewed with soy sauce and strained before serving) in a roadside store on the Taipei-Yilan Highway.
Our first stop is Jiaoshi hotspring, which is my first time to bath in a hotspring. We spent a nice afternoon in the hot water. People say that bathing in a hotspring can improve your health and skin, but I find that bathing in a hotspring makes me feel sleepy. And it is very horrible to drive when one is sleepy. So our second stop is our hotel in the National Center for Traditional Art.
Forte Dong-shan Villa locates in the National Center for Traditional Art. It was originally only for traditional artists to stay, but opened to the public later. Forte combines Chinese traditional exterior and modern interior, which is very special even in Taiwan. The interior is not as good as five-star hotels, but we was very satisfied about the space of our room, which is big enough for 8 people to sleep in if you want to save some money. But Forte has no restaurant or convenience store that open after 8:00 p.m. So it is very inconvenient for dining. We drove to Yilan city to buy food that night.
The next day, we spent most of the day in the National Center for Traditional Art. It features a Chinese old-style street. You can find many nostalgic stuff from childhood. And also, my favorite, Starbucks. And we took the Northern Costal Highway home in the afternoon after I finished my Starbucks coffee.
