The Lavender Cottage: Little King Kong-free heaven!

May 27, 2006

I’ve been working for 2 weeks on the video portion of this post, trying out a new app (Powerdirector). The background music is quite ‘fromage’, and my commentary is…superfluous.Anyway, you’ve been warned.

If you live around Daken like we do, or even in many parts of Taichung now, you know about the little black “no seeums” which pack a punch in diametrically opposed proportion to their diminutive size. I assume they are some sort of sand fly, based on their size and aerodynamic properties. Their taxonomy hardly interests me, though; big hell on tiny wings is as far a classification as I, or anyone, should need. To conjure them in my mind, even for a moment, is to awaken their phantom poison which lingers dormant long after being bitten: a dermal incubus. Locals have aptly given them the monicker of “Little King Kongs”. My wife and neighbors, Taiwanese or otherwise, all agree that this is the one tarnishing factor which most darkens our otherwise idyllic, if not entirely pastoral neighborhood. It’s probably why the rents are so cheap.
(The photos you see here were taken on the “mini-trail” behind our house, which is part of our housing complex)
So you can imagine the dream-like experience we had on Mother’s Day, when just minutes away from our home we chanced upon a mountain retreat in Xinshe (Shinshe) that was little King Kong-free. The name of this Shangri-la is Lavender Cottage. There is a short write up for it in an old issue of Compass:

Fulfilling their dreams, two young women came to the lush environs of Xinshe to create their own ideal world, turning a plot of betelnut trees into a lavender garden. Combining herbal agriculture with a perfect escape, the two women have found their establishment especially popular and famous amongst the many notable surrounding cafes and resorts. Visitors go to Lavender Cottage to experience a retreat of simplicity, herbs and nature.

Not a sand fly in sight, we were able to stroll the grounds without doing the “venus shuffle”, a slightly wild and rhythmic gesticulation which we are in the habit of doing while cruising around our own backyard (our housing complex is called ‘Venus’).


There was a ‘wishing bell’, which my wife says is more of a Japanese thing. You write your wish on a paper tag, fasten it to anything remotely stationary in the general vicinity of the bell, and then give it a good ring.
My wife was pleased; not chasing the kids with ineffective bug repellent was a rare joy. No doubt we shall return. Here is the video of our trip, which includes the motorbike ride. I wasn’t holding my phone up with one hand, while driving with the other. Honest, mom.

Posted in family, review, taiwan