Port of call
This unique, mysterious place has been in operation eight years now, running even before guesthouse management laws were fully developed in Taiwan. It could be considered a pioneer in this industry.
Back then, Kao had just returned from three years traveling around Africa, having left her job as an administrator at Taipei's Municipal Jen-Ai Hospital. After her return, she got interested in the idea of making pottery by the seaside, and with a few friends found a fixer-upper on the Hualien coast. Once the place was all fixed up, her friends could no longer make it over, and so Kao chose to use the empty rooms as a guesthouse.
"When I was traveling overseas, I often headed out of the cities to find somewhere quiet to unwind for a few days, to just be with myself for a while," Kao recalls. Based on that experience, she chose to make Desert Castle a place of solitary, undisturbed peace. Gradually a number of like minds were drawn to the peace of Desert Castle.
"Not everyone can handle peace and quiet. Some people even get kind of frightened by too much quiet and too much space," notes Kao. A good third to half of the guests here are repeat visitors.
In order to maintain the simplicity of the place and really appeal to those who need and appreciate such places, Desert Castle has not been built onto, and sets limits on the number of people who stay and which people are allowed to stay there. "Gatecrashers," who drop in without a reservation, are also not welcome. The majority of guests are individuals, couples, or pairs of girls, while families are few and far between. Least welcome are families with young children, as they make it "too hard to keep the peace and quiet."
For eight years now Desert Castle has offered a port of call for those who need to get away from home or escape the city for a while. Some people stay for ten days to a fortnight, doing nothing but staring out at the sea, sleeping, and losing themselves in thought, while others come to listen to music, read, or write with no-one around to bother them.
Kao is fully aware that people like this are in a minority, but she believes that attracting this kind of guest who can put everything aside and take a break outside holiday times will help the place stay afloat.
"In what do we find the significance of travel? In having things that strike deep in your soul; these things are the greatest harvest from travel," says Kao. Desert Castle, eschewing superficial visual and auditory stimuli, often does touch the soul of people. Has it touched yours? Perhaps next time you're considering getting away from it all, why not try Desert Castle?
Address: 117-1 Shihti Bay, Neighborhood 1, Kangkou Village, Fengpin Township, Hualien County
Tel.: (03) 878-1134