After the hot spring cooked eggs, we decided to keep walking towards the Jiben royal hotel. We saw another family of monkeys on the side of the road. They are easy to spot because they get very noisy (like Taiwanese tour groups) and jump from branch to branch when someone walks by.
Our plan was to either find a restaurant or call up the one that was advertising free pick up. However, we then found a sign indicating that the restaurant was 600m away so we decided to walk... uphill.
550m... 500m... was this such a good idea?... 400m... 300m... maybe we should have called them?...200m... the farmer that we had seen coming up earlier with a bag of vegetables is now coming back down with a quizzical face... 100m... we've worked up quite a sweat... 50m... an ugly old shed on the side of the road is not confidence inspiring... "you are almost there".... "just right around the bend"...
The vista opens up on the cloud covered mountains, an orchestra of singing birds, scratching insects, croaking frogs, howling monkeys and foliage dancing in the wind.
The restaurant is a bamboo patio built as an extension to a private home where 5 generations of the same Taiwanese family lived.
As dusk comes, we can see the lights of the nearby city, Taitung. A counter in the restaurant offers wood carved products, rare teas, a variety of body oils. The lady, somewhat surprised to see us without reservations, welcomes us and demoes a mint essential oil to help cold down our overheated bodies. She takes our order for dinner and two drinks (one from a flower and the other prune, both very strong).
The food is zen; simple but tasty, including a mountain vegetable in a light black bean sauce. Eating slowly while admiring the show that nature is putting on is very relaxing.
We soon take our leave, pay our dinner (700$NT total) and use the free ride back to the hotel...
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