Seeing the forest and the trees
Located in the Sanjiao Community, the Hola Family homestay is an excellent place for experiencing the local pace of life. Its owners—lawyer Liu Jiongyi and his wife Xie Yuanling, a teacher—operate it together. They too are pioneers in Dalin.
Breakfast is a do-it-yourself affair. The hens the homestay raises have just laid some eggs, and you can collect them to make your own breakfast. You pick the vegetables from the garden yourself. If you don’t feel you’ve eaten enough, no problem: There’s zero distance between the field and the table. The homestay epitomizes the town’s slow-food ethos.
The homestay’s rooms have no air-conditioning—all the better for the cool night breezes and chorus of frogs to accompany your slumber. At night you can go out with Liu Yichang of the Chiayi Beishi Cultural Development Association to look for tree frogs. On a small path through the fields one suddenly comes upon a group of fireflies engaging in their slow flash dance.
The farmland green tree frog (Rhacophorus arvalis) was first named and determined to be a species endemic to Taiwan in 1995. Since it was first discovered in Chiayi, it is known in Chinese as the “Zhuluo tree frog,” after the old name for Chiayi. Though extremely particular about its environment, it can be found in most Dalin neighborhoods—a testament to the success of Dalin’s efforts at environmental protection.
To fully appreciate Dalin’s unique charms, you’ve got to relax, travel slowly, and take things one step at a time.
No doubt the same advice applies to life in general.
Shop proprietors also participate in the tours, jumping at the chance to tell their stories. Pictured above are the owners of Shixin Watches and Spectacles
Shop proprietors also participate in the tours, jumping at the chance to tell their stories. Pictured above are the owners of Shixin Watches and Spectacles (top) and Big 10 Café (bottom).
Exploring every nook and cranny of the Hola Family homestay, you can enjoy the blue sky and lush scenery free of charge. The homestay’s owners welcome guests to come and have a chat, while enjoying Dalin’s slow pace of life.
Dalin has a 500-year-old bishopwood tree. Its verdant branches appear to have a lot of life left in them.