Shihmen Reservoir, Hsinchu, and the Amazing Hospitality of the Taiwanese

Since our only real day off is Sunday, we always try to do something with it. Rather than just sit around and be lazy like we want to. Two Sundays ago, we went with another teacher from the South and met up with a Taiwanese girl named Sophie in Longtan. It was about a 45 minute scooter ride to get there, as a passenger, I can tell you that this scooter ride sucked. But we made it there and then got into Sophie's car.

While I haven't missed driving a car (considering I only had my license for two months before coming to Taiwan), I have missed just sitting back, relaxing, and riding in a car. Sophie was an amazing tour guide. She took us to Shihmen Reservoir in Longtan which is the reservoir where our water is supplied from. It was so massive and beautiful. Definitely worth the drive. There were a lot of hiking trails so we walked for awhile and then Sophie took us for lunch. Afterwards she took us to a few more stops and we thought our day was about to end.

Getting tired here....

Completely at ease in the car

Rick loved the rice patty fields

This wasn't the case. Her parents called and wanted to take us to a mountain in Hsinchu so off we went. They were such an adorable family and the nicest people ever. Again, I definitely appreciated the air conditioned van we were driving in. The mountain there was beautiful, such an amazing view of some rice patty fields in Hsinchu. While we were there, her mother announced that she was taking us out to dinner at a restaurant in Hsinchu so off we went. The food was amazing and she would not even think about letting us pay. We were so appreciative and they were so kind. 

Us with the beautiful town of Hsinchu behind us.

Rickie and I outside the restaurant we ate at

Our day ended and I hope to see Sophie and her family again. They were wonderful people and I hope that one day we can treat them to something.