We started our day 3 slightly later since the traveling journey was not as long as yesterday. We woke up at 8am to get ourselves prepared and to have our breakfast before Ah Kun picked us up at 9.15am.
Ready to set off.
Ah Kun first brought us to Taichung Station to purchase our train tickets for tomorrow to Taipei. Today was our last day in Taichung and we will be heading to Taipei tomorrow morning. After purchasing the tickets, we then set off to Lavender Cottage which was about an hour drive away.
We drove past this beautiful bridge and Ah Kun dropped us down for a quick photo taking. He was really nice and gave suggestion to our itinerary, so glad that we met him.
Lavender Cottage (薰衣草森林)
We reached Lavender Cottage (薰衣草森林) at about 10.30am. Lavender Cottage is a quaint farm located in the mountains of Hsinchu County, at Xinshe District.
The entry ticket is NT$150 (or $6.95) per pax. One will be given a coin which can be used to offset NTS50 purchase inside the gift shop and restaurant. I love this idea because we can use the ticket to purchase certain items for free.
Lavender Cottage is a relaxing and pretty little garden. As the name Lavender Cottage suggested, the garden is decorated with beautiful lavender flowers and purple decor.
Lavender Cottage is founded by two coffee-loving, herb-loving young women loved to draw. Tired of working in the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, they decided to quit their jobs and start new lives as farmers. They bought a hill in the middle of nowhere and began working towards their dream of a hillside coffee shop surrounded by lavender. After years of hard work, the dream was realized and Lavender Cottage was born.
It was a perfect place to begin my day at Lavender Cottage. The entire park is filled with lovely flowers and abundant trees. It has a wonderful atmosphere, breathing the fresh air in the morning and the quiet surrounding makes me feel relaxing.
Pots of beautiful plants and flowers can be found around Lavender Cottage, it was very soothing while strolling in this space.
Every little corner was beautified with greenery.
It may not be the most magnificent place in Taichung, but a relaxing place I would say. We have a relaxing morning in the vibrant garden.
Surrounded by beautiful flowers put me at ease. Walked along the calming garden and experienced a sense of peacefulness. How I wish I have the luxury time to go for such a morning walk every morning.
We reached the hill that was planted with greenery. We climbed our way up to reach the top to check out the scenery above. Here's the view from the top.
During our time at Lavender Cottage, we got a news from bf's sis that his drawf hamster, Cookie, has passed away. It was a sad news for us, may Cookie be at a better place.
Things to do at the top of the hill will be to write our wishes on the leaf shaped paper, hang it on the wishing tree and ring the wishing bell. May our wishes come true.
The "best" part about writing the wishes was that I suddenly forgotten how to write my Chinese name and a lot of the Chinese characters, so I just wrote a very brief one. Oh gosh, I'm so guilty of it.
We were treated to a sea of green surrounding, we stood there for quite awhile enjoying the view before going down the hill. Everywhere we went in Taichung, the city is surrounded by forests, mountains, valleys and nature. So laid back and relax, how I wish our life can be like this every day.
Forest Carousel spotted, you can use the token that Lavender Cottage has given to exchange a ride on the Carousel and experienced the scene of happiness in the two minutes of each turn.
I started to strip off the thick layer of jacket as I felt warmer after the walk or perhaps my body have adapted to the cooling weather. I love this beanie very much, winter season gave me a reason to wear it.
Our tickets entitled us to a door gift.
We went to Purple Hill Cafe to redeem our gift which turned out to be Lavender Sparkling Drinks. I was not used to the lavender taste initially, but after a few mouthful down, I started liking the taste and found it refreshing. We passed one bottle to Ah Kun, our driver.
At Purple Hill Cafe, we also used one of the Lavender Cottage coins to offset our purchase of ice cream. The 2 cones of ice cream were just nice NTS50. I opt for Berry Yogurt while bf chosen Mint Chocolate.
Sitting down and enjoying the cone of ice cream while admiring the lavender field. It was a relaxing way to recharge myself. The cold did not stopped us from eating ice cream.
We spent some times sitting here after we finished eating the ice cream, taking things slow and enjoying what Lavender Cottage offers. We were always rushing for time back in our home country to the point that we forget what is it like to slow down our pace and just enjoy the present moments.
I brought the other coin back home as souvenir to keep.
We visited Dream Dancer's House after our short break. It was a small cabin that blend well into the natural wooden surrounding, it invites travelers to find their dreams and courage through this little cottage.
Inside the cottage, travelers can choose their favourite cup to enjoy a cup of rainforest coffee. Each cup has their own stories to tell.
Everything here is so new to me, the slow paced countryside life has drawn me to stay longer. It left me with the desire to explore more parts of Taichung, I'm sure there are still more for me to explore.
The bear was so huge and could occupy the entire bed. I was feeling good right now as my sadness, anger, sorrow, and depression have been brought away by all the happy encounter.
I love this tropical paradise, how I wish I could take my life slow every day and allowing me the time to appreciate what each moment offers. It has been an enjoyable trip so far.
I love the vibrant colours background that was behind me, it was so beautiful. Although there wasn't much exciting things to do in Lavender Cottage, we still enjoyed strolling around the garden in the cooling weather and soaking up the greenery vibes surrounding us.
Lavender Cottage
No. 20, Zhongxing Street, Xinshe District, Taichung City, Taiwan 426
Entrance fee: NT$150
Mushroom Garden (百菇莊)
Ah Kun has recommended us to have our lunch at Mushroom Garden 百菇莊, which was just 20 minutes ride away from Lavender Cottage.
The eatery provides fresh and most authentic taste of the mushroom which comes fresh from their own cultivation in the Mushroom Garden.
We tried on Braised Pork Rice with Mushroom at NT$35 (or S$1.62). It was the most delicious braised pork rice we ever tried. I like the soy sauce that was drizzled over the rice, giving the rice extra fragrant and how tender the braised pork was.
Apart from the rice, we also ordered Mushroom Soup 百菇羹 at NT$60 (or S$2.78) and Mushroom Cube at NT$55 ( or S$2.55) for sharing.
The bowl of soup contained nearly ten kinds of mushrooms that were based on the mushrooms produced by Mushroom Garden. It tasted like our Shark Fin's soup, except that this was vegetarian soup.
We decided to try on Mushroom Ice Cream at NT$30 (or S$1.39). It is so unusual to see mushroom flavour ice cream and we know we definitely must try this.
First taste, the flavour was weird. Subsequently, we got used to the taste and we loved it. It has a hinge of milky flavour and not too sweet as well. We enjoyed having ice cream on a cold weather, it was our second ice cream of the day.
After the lunch, Ah Kun brought us around the garden to see how they cultivated the mushrooms, the mushroom can be purchased as a great gifts. Ah Kun has gone beyond his duty in transporting us to our destination, he also become our tour guide.
Mushroom Garden is worth a visit for their delectable and valuable food.
Mushroom Garden
426, Taiwan, Taichung City, Xinshe District
Operating hours: 9am to 5pm daily
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