"I know that at times you want to be alone and to leave the environment you're familiar with for a few days, a week, a month. That's fine. But alone isn't necessarily lonely. You don't have to fly far away or use up all your savings. Take a train, go to a different city. There's great scenery here, too. You can be alone and no one will bother you. If you want to talk to someone, you don't have to worry that no one will be there when you get home." These are words to travelers from hostel owners.

This hostel is called "Just-Like-Home B&B," and its owners are an unmarried couple who seem as if they've been married for years. They only moved to Hualien three years ago. The man, Ah Zheng, was born in 1975. He's a self-taught woodworker who also teaches tennis. The woman, Zhao Shuqin, is one year older than him and likes to make things. The interior design and decoration is all done according to her own natural sense. With the help of Ah Zheng's father, an experienced cement worker, they've turned their three-story, 180-square-meter building into a comfortable, peaceful living space.

Ah Zheng, originally from Hualien, and Shuqin, originally from Yilan, both went to school and worked in northern Taiwan. Shuqin says that the decision to go back to Hualien with Ah Zheng was a simple one: "I wanted life and work to be tied together. I wanted to put all my energy into the things that I love."

Zhao Shuqin refers to herself as "the housekeeper," while Ah Zheng refers to himself as "the hired hand." Shuqin is warm and attentive and gives guests recommendations for secluded destinations reachable by bicycle (such as County Highway 193), local delicacies (such as cuttlefish soup or lamb), and interesting shops (such as the clever Nuoshi Abao museum, or the favorite of the younger artistic crowd, the Muxin Bookstore). If you want some company for dinner in the evening, you can just let the owners know. There's even a long-stay discount for solo travelers.

Just-Like-Home B&B has had all kinds of guests. There are office workers looking just to relax. There are college professors who come with their laptops in order to work. There are housewives getting away from it all for a few days. There are also new army recruits who are right about to enter the service. Here, they all become family and keep in touch afterward. Amazingly, some have even decided to move after staying here.

Zhao explains, "We make friends through running the hostel. People who stay here see this simple way of life where we're our own masters, and they yearn for that too." When they have a chance and the conditions are right, they naturally make the move to Hualien. In her experience, the fastest come back within two weeks, while others take six months to a year before they can get everything at home in order and move. All in all, more than ten people have moved to Hualien after staying here.

These neighbors who've been "pulled in" by the housekeeper help each other running their businesses, going on errands, talking each other through rough times, and rescuing stray dogs.

This couple with so many friends plan to find a spot in the mountains and call some people together to build a house where they can work the land and devote themselves to study. It would also be a place for the next generation to dream.

Homey hostels by the mountains and the sea have become a national favorite in recent years. "Hualien hostels" was second in the list of search terms relating to Taiwan tourism released by Google for 2008, second only to "Penghu hostels." Pictured at the bottom of the page is Just-Like-Home B&B's guestbook, in which guests share their feelings about their stays.

Homey hostels by the mountains and the sea have become a national favorite in recent years. "Hualien hostels" was second in the list of search terms relating to Taiwan tourism released by Google for 2008, second only to "Penghu hostels." Pictured at the bottom of the page is Just-Like-Home B&B's guestbook, in which guests share their feelings about their stays.

Homey hostels by the mountains and the sea have become a national favorite in recent years. "Hualien hostels" was second in the list of search terms relating to Taiwan tourism released by Google for 2008, second only to "Penghu hostels." Pictured at the bottom of the page is Just-Like-Home B&B's guestbook, in which guests share their feelings about their stays.