We started the day by waking up early in the morning even before the rooster in the farm crows. We had a breakfast buffet which was different from the usual buffet we have in Singapore. There was a wide spread of cooked dishes to be accompanied with porridge. It was very delicious!
The main highlight of the day's programme was to experience a farmer's life. We experienced the primitive way of cooking which took hours for the food to be ready. We began with putting bricks together to make a stove and throwing some wood and newspapers into it to start a fire. We then wrapped some raw peanuts, chicken, sweet corns, eggs and sweet potatoes in aluminium foils before throwing them into the stove to cook. Soil was then used to bury the stove to keep the warmth in.
While waiting for the food to be cooked, we went to the fruit farm in a pickup and a 4WD. The ride was fun because we felt as if we were on a rollercoaster. When we reached the farm, Xiao Qiao introduced the owner of the fruit farm to us. She explained how to choose sweet guavas and allowed us to pluck two guavas from the trees. We learned that Taiwan seeks to make their produce highly marketable by having them genetically modified. The modified guavas have fewer seeds. After the fruitful time, we returned to the farm, thinking that our food will be ready. Little did we know that the primitive way of cooking takes at least 4 hours for the food to be ready.
During the wait, our teachers, Miss Yun , Mdm Irni and Miss Koh made us practice our moves for the performance that we are going to perform in Siding Elementary School. The practice went very smoothly as the teachers managed to get everything in good order.
Halfway through, we saw our farm guide waving to the teachers, trying to tell them that the peanuts we had cooked earlier were ready to eat. We unwrapped the aluminium foil and ate the peanuts. Although it was a little bland, we still liked the peanuts we cooked as we had put in a lot of effort in roasting them. We continued to savour the rest of the local produce which were cooked in the similar way.
Soon after, it rained heavily. We thought that we were not able to go to the spa anymore. While waiting for the rain to stop, we went back to the reception counter and painted some ‘piggies’. It was a test of our creativity.
Fortunately, the rain stopped and we were able to go to the spa. Yugi advised us to dip into the hot pool before jumping into the cold pool. After the relaxing and rejuvenating time at the pools, we had our dinner. It was followed by the making of Tang Yuan. We boiled and ate the ‘pink balls’. It was simply delicious even without any fillings. We then had a debrief and wished everyone in the farm good night. We will surely miss the friendly staff (Xiao Qiao & Xiao Jie) at the farm.
Good night,
Crystal Tay & Choy Ting Yi
(on behalf of all the Taiwan-trippers)