Imagine yourself frolicking in hectares and hectares of land planted to lychees and strawberries and feasting on the freshest and sweetest harvests to your heart’s content. Or savoring the saccharine and plump blueberries you just picked from a row that smells of morning dew. The juices of the fruits ooze in your mouth. Like a child, you unmindfully allow the sweet juices of these fruits to roll down your arms. You are just simply happy and content to be in a fruit paradise. Then you realize you are enjoying these fruity treats at some of the 300 leisure farms in Taiwan.
Yes, for quite sometime now, vast leisure farms have been one of the many reasons to visit Taiwan. Hippocrates once said that you are what you eat. This couldn’t have been proven truer than on a wonderful trip to Taiwan to experience the freshness of its fruits and vegetables leisure Farms. Taiwan has an abundance of these farms that produce part of the world’s supply of tropical and exotic fruits (even livestock).
Taiwan, with an amazing variety of historical influences, Chinese and Japanese among the most obvious, has come of age. It now boasts a vibrant economy as its people forge “agriculture-related” entrepreneurship along with cultural, educational and artistic approaches. Today, they have taken to the science of ecological leisure farming — now more popularly referred to as leisure farm tours — which has become a hit among many travelers around the globe.
One recent Sunday afternoon, a group of Filipino journalists convened in the Miascor VIP Lounge of NAIA in brewing anticipation of a learning and discovery platform of Taiwan’s new tourism market. Travel arrangements were organized by Jane Chen and our diverse group included Suzette Morelos, farmer Ronald Costales, Zac Sarian of Manila Bulletin, publisher of Chinese-Filipino newspaper Jimmy Cheng, Jude Bacalso of Cebu, physical therapist Edwin Santos from Tyler, Texas and yours truly.
It was a brief and comfortable EVA Air flight from Manila to Taipei. After a good night’s rest, the Novotel Airport Hotel served a delightful breakfast spread that complemented our restful slumber as we embarked on a busy day that found us first in Yilan region at Wang Shan Leisure Farm where over 450 varieties of pumpkin are grown in all sizes with bright, colorful appearances. The owners were exceptional in their presentation of their crop. Our marvelous tour guide Ngan Kok Lim was just as accommodating in sharing the masterful details of pumpkin planting, attracting over 60,000 visitors yearly. Owner Lin Wang Shan has been farming for three decades. After 10 years of operation, careful cultivation, and innovative research and development, planting techniques have radically evolved.
From scratch, we each were asked to make a kind of vegetable snack, which was a perfect way to conclude our first stop in anticipation of an exceptional lunch spread.
Sanfu Leisure Farm warmly received our group and the astonishing features of its enclave highlighted the life of multiple species including frogs, spiders, parrots and flora of innumerable variety. Engrossed in creative tinkering with a kaleidoscope, this kid-learning experience kept us alert even after a sumptuous lunch.
At Sanfu Leisure Farm, they believe that harmony is happiness and health is wealth. They believe that we are lucky to live in harmony with the environment and are fortunate to enjoy the resources of the earth.
Hard to miss is their enjoyable purple house garden where you will find clear springs, lots of foliage, fish and fowl, all in free-range revelry.
You will appreciate the fireflies at night as they are centrally located by the mountain range. You will also witness the raging river and around 22 out of 32 kinds of frogs.
Next stop was the Fairy Tale Organic Village Farm where mulberry picking is a major highlight. We also enjoyed a sumptuous fare of specially prepared hotpot dish complete with a medley of seafoods, fresh vegetables and your choice of lamb, beef or pork. There was a variety of organic food, namely mulberry, kumquat, garlic and organic seasonal vegetables. In the back porch, all are welcome to feed the farm’s house fish, witness the clams and black shell shrimp or get pampered with foot massage and learn more about the silkworm berry.
From here, we proceeded to the Agrioz where we made kumquat candy in specially prepared jars for us to tow in our journey. This do-it-yourself activity brought so much joy to each and every one of us. If you have never seen how candied fruit is made, you will learn it here. The old candied fruit factory has turned itself into a place where you can witness the “simple” process, moving from raw harvest to all-natural candy products. The vestibule of Agrioz Candy Fruit Museum exhibits the famous golden oval kumquat candy and hot tea. Oval kumquat is a fruit originally from the Zhejiang province in China. This fruit is good for digestion and for throat health, too.
We had lunch at the Old Mother chicken restaurant where the only dish on the menu is this simply divine tender chicken, which melts in your mouth. We slept at the Shin Kong Chao Feng Ranch and Resort. The tourist orchard area and dairy cattle area is its foremost feature. There are lemons, avocados, bananas, grapefruit, kumqauts, oranges and other fruits that abound. There is a zoo that everyone will enjoy as well, and an impeccable ecological aviary and animal park with deer, rabbits, sheep, mini-horses and so on. Insects and butterfly ecosystems are displayed in their most natural habitat.
In Shin Kong Chao Feng Ranch & Resort, there is an incredible spa of hot spring water that calms your body, mind and soul. There are therapeutic swimming pools to sit, soak or swim in.
There is a fantastic tour in Agrioz that educates participants on how the farm produces the Kumquat candy reminiscent of the fascinating Jellybean factory in California.
At the Fataan Leisure and Agricultural Region, we learned how to braid very colorful tapestry and perform a very enthusiastic dance routine. Here we also had a sumptuous lunch of very exotic variety. The Fataan Wetlands Ecological Museum displays various models to show specific ecological habitats for visitors to understand the environment.
Master Bear is where we were welcomed by gleeful singing and dancing alongside rows of log cabins, and the intriguing “RV” or recreation vehicle type of billeting. Fireworks and fire lanterns brightened the night sky. Master Bear Resort is located in the Beinan River. Bear kitchen dishes use Taitung agricultural products for the native and most classic local dishes — fruit meals that consist of pineapple, mango, banana, cantaloupe, melon and passion fruit. You can enjoy all these fruits at Master Bear. It was under a faint moon that we had a show of talent as our very own Jude Bacalso and Suzette Morelos serenaded the group with renditions of famous love songs.
The local manager of the area cooperative, Steven Peng, shared the marvel of the rice school where we learned about different varieties of rice. We also learned different phases to process the grain from harvest to packaging. We invited him to visit our International Rice Research Institute located in UP Los Baños as he has been to a few world-class scientific rice production centers such as the one in India. Undoubtedly the best rice meal bowl among our many delectable meals was served in this facility along with braised chicken and a host of organic vegetables.
The Kuan-shan Town Farmers Association Recreation Travels Center is famous for agricultural products with rice as its main feature. Apart from understanding the variety of rice type and ancient milling equipment, the visitor can also purchase a wide range of rice products.
At Tai Yi Ecological Leisure farm where the core area is 13 hectares, we were able to pick strawberries as well as harvest natural honey. Affordability and accessibility to Taipei has catapulted this leisure farm to one of the most popular destinations. Early booking is wise to secure its boutique hotel rooms featuring indoor hot spring baths and luxurious beds with exclusive greenbelt porch panoramas. The array of international smorgasbord breakfast service is magnificent in its great high-ceiling refectory. Steamed sweet potato has become a favorite among our travel bunch; it is the perfect food for a journey of this caliber.
The leisure farm tours are a heavenly excursion to satiate the mind and stomach. We enjoyed the sights, the sounds, the views and the company of newfound friends. We all agreed at the end of this trip that Hippocrates was right: “You are what you eat.”
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For more information on Taiwan’s Leisure Farm, call Jane Chen at 0917-5209001.
Email me at miladay.star@gmail.com.