My last weekend before leaving Taiwan, I wanted to go somewhere special. That special place ended up being a rural town called Pinglin.
An hour’s bus ride away from Taipei, Pinglin was popular enough on blogs and tour websites as a day trip from Taipei, but it’s far from touristy. I went to the Old Street around midday, at what should’ve been peak hours, and there was only a couple dozen people (if that) lounging around at select restaurants. The rest of the town was similar–far from dead, but without the poshness and bustle that I had grown used to in Taipei. Pinglin felt humble and welcoming.
It was a hot, bright day, and nearing noon by the time I finally got off the bus, but I grabbed a YouBike and headed off for the nearby cycling trail anyway. I had to walk myself up more than a few inclines, and I was sweating like crazy the entire way, but the sights made it worth it. I cycled past fields of tea, following the clear river, and then into the mountains, where a gorgeous backdrop of blue skies and vibrant green mountains nearly let me forget about the fact that I had definitely not brought enough Pocari Sweat for the roundtrip. Luckily, there was a settlement with a restaurant that sold drinks out of a fridge. I also took the opportunity to buy some local Bao Zhong tea leaves, and try the local specialty: tea oil noodles.
While doing so, I also took the time to rest and chat with the locals. The lady running the tea store was sweet and explained to me that the tea was grown right across the road, in their family farm. It didn’t seem like they got too many foreigners out there, so it was a pleasant conversation for the both of us.
Once I got back into town, a few hours later, I took advantage of the fact that I was plenty hungry. They really put tea into just about anything: tea steamed buns, team mochi, tea ice cream, tea cookies, tea oil dishes, tea gua bao, and of course, milk tea. I’ll admit that tea isn’t really a preferred flavor of mine, but it was a unique culinary experience, one that I don’t regret at all.
Leaving Pinglin, I was planning on catching up on some sleep (since I’d left pretty early), but I couldn’t help but stare out the window the entire time. I’d seen it on the way there, but the countryside was just as beautiful on the second time seeing it. I ended up having seriuosly sore muscles for the next few days, since I’d pushed myself on the bike way too hard, but I didn’t regret it all. Coming to Pinglin by myself, for myself, is surely one of the highlights of my Taiwan trip.