Fall Taiwan Tour with Solala

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Fall Taiwan Tour with Solala Towler!

 

Nov 5 – 18

$6250 includes airfare to Taiwan and back, all hotels (double occupancy), meals, classes, shows, and travel expenses in Taiwan! Private room $7250.

Each day will begin with a group breakfast at our hotel, then qigong with Solala and will finish with group dinner and Daoist energy meditation.

All along the way there will be time for reflection, sharing, exploring, eating incredible food, learning and practicing qigong and making new friends!

We will be working with Dana (Xu Shu Xin), a delightful and experienced guide. She will travel with us for the whole trip and be our guide, translator and confident on our journey!

To register online go here:

 

double occupancy

https://abodetao.com/store/#!/Taiwan-Tour/p/573678334/category=0

 

 

Single occupancy

https://abodetao.com/store/#!/Taiwan-Tour/p/573678334/category=0

 

Paying by check or credit card go to solala@abodetao.com or call Solala at 541.345.8854

 

If you wish to arrange your own flight with miles you have, let me know and I will deduct the cost for your flight from the trip.

 

Wish to arrange a payment plan to be able to afford the trip? Let me know!

 

Our itinerary so far:

DAY ONE- TRAVEL TO TAIPEI

 

DAY TWO

 Going slowly as we acclimate to the new time zone.

Doing a little qigong after breakfast…

(Wuji Qigong, an ancient Daoist qigong form from Wudang Mountain)

Rest until lunch…

After lunch visit the famous Wisteria Teahouse

 (www.wistariateahouse.com)

Afternoon off or going out on your own.

Dinner with group.

Evening circle/meditation

 

DAY THREE

Breakfast at hotel

Qigong with Solala

visit the Longshan Temple, a temple dedicated to Buddhism and Daoism… We will do some divination by using wooden blocks that you drop onto the floor to answer your questions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz-9rQ1KR7w

A few blocks away is a whole street full of Chinese Herbs stores and stalls.

Lunch.

Eat some mango shaved ice or visit an ice cream parlor that has many strange and wonderful flavors! (Kidney Bean, Mung Bean, Guava, Oolong Tea, Dark Plum, Kiwi Fruit, Peanut, Mango (my favorite)!

Have a private tea ceremony with Master Tsai!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ORpxd3R2ok

From our friends at the Globalteahut.org:

Many of you who have been to our Center know about the great influence Master Tsai Yizhe has had on all that we do. He is our teacher, brother and a great tea sage. He shares tea and wisdom with a spirit of hospitality that most tea lovers have encountered, freely given the way tea trees open their crown and offer leaves to passersby. His work to protect the environment of Taiwan has earned him our ever-lasting esteem. His works continue to inspire us. Through his preservation efforts, Master Tsai established the Tea Mountain Preservation Society (茶山 保育協會), which works together with farmers around Taiwan and mainland China to create mutually beneficial connections between tea lovers like us and farmers. In exchange for stewarding the land sustainably in ecologically sound ways, the association agrees to buy the entire production from the farm every year. This connects tea lovers to the source of their tea and removes the financial strain from the farmer, allowing them to focus on stewarding the land and crafting fine tea. It is a win-win situation and one we have been supporting since we had the honor to meet Master Tsai. 

Dinner

Attend an amazing show at the TaipeiEYE Peking Opera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2PzXu96g0g

 

DAY FOUR

Breakfast at hotel

Qigong with Solala

  Ride the longest cable car ride in the world up to Mao Gong, a mountainous area outside of Taipei!

(www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xyOkLkR0nU)

Eat Jasmine tea infused ice cream!

Visit a teahouse where the floor is a pond (with fish), walk over a small bridge, and step across a stone path to reach the tearoom, overlooking the mountains!

Have lunch in a restaurant where tea is an ingredient of every dish! (See video above)

Visit one more magical teahouse overlooking the forest and have high quality with yummy tea snacks! (See video above)

One the way down from the mountain visit a lush Daoist temple dedicated to Lu Dong Bin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICfwkPDL-qQ

Dinner

Group circle and meditation

 

DAY FIVE

Breakfast

Qigong with Solala

Travel by train to Miaoli where we will visit the Global Tea Hut center and have a powerful tea ceremony with tea master Wu De!

https://globalteahut.org/pages/about

Also, meet with a powerful mountain-dwelling Daoist master!

We will spend the night at Miaoli

Dinner at night market!

 

DAY SIX

Visit a tea farm and pick your own tea and process it very simply so you can take it home with you, with lunch prepared by the farmer’s wife!

Head down to Sun Moon lake!

(we will spend two nights at this scenic area)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=346_V0wsFV8\

Our guide, Wu De, from the Global Tea Hut, will take us to some very special temples there.

In evening attend dance performance by indigenous natives.

 

DAY SEVEN

Breakfast at hotel

Morning qigong with Solala

lunch at lakeside

exploring this beautiful area on your own or with group

dinner at outdoor market

 

DAY EIGHT

Breakfast then qigong on the lakeside.

Head back to Taipei

After lunch visit a huge outdoor flower and artist market with tons of teaware and art at reasonable prices, including jewelry makers and lots of painting, carvings and more from local artists!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpHo9T-2iyk

Enjoy the best hot chocolate I have ever had (yes, in Taipei no less)!

Dinner together

Evening circle and meditation

 

DAY NINE

Breakfast

Qigong practice

Rest of the day off for individual exploration and rest.

Dinner together

Evening circle and meditation

 

DAY TEN

Breakfast at hotel

Morning qigong with Solala

A short train ride to Yingge, where we will be lead on a “forest bathing” hike thru the forest to a magical temple on the top. We will also have a tea ceremony in nature with local tea master El Kalinado.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWTwyW07QDY

If time permits, we can visit the old street with tons of cool pottery shops.

Train back to Taipei for dinner.

Evening circle and meditation

 

DAY ELEVEN

Breakfast at hotel

Morning qigong with Solala

Visit the world famous art museum

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-palace-museum-taiwan

lunch at the museum.

A stroll down Dihua street before dinner. A very interesting area filled with shops, Chinese herbal pharmacies, a tiny temple and lots of cool street food.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qbmxmZ9Z4w

Dinner together

Evening circle and meditation

 

DAY TWELVE

Breakfast at hotel

Morning qigong with Solala

Visit the Yonglian Temple, a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, Guan Yin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLB7DGsRWCY

Visit an amazing incense shop that specializes in agarwood (sometimes called aloeswood) incense, described by my Daoist teacher Hua Ching Ni as the highest vibration incense! (Optional)

Learn how to offer incense in the Daoist way, with humility and a special invocation from Hua Ching Ni!

 Return to Wisteria Teahouse for lunch.

Visit Zhinan Daoist Temple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICfwkPDL-qQ

 

DAY THIRTEEN

Breakfast at hotel

Morning qigong with Solala

This will be our last day in Taiwan so we have a little more relaxed schedule this day. There will be time to explore/rest/pack for the trip home or join Solala at another magical teahouse, Qingtian Teahouse.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a60bZS1oz0).

Lunch on your own (I recommend the amazing baozi (dumplings)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5QEGllGlSI

my favorite is the one that starts at 1:30 minutes!

A very special last dinner in Taipei

Evening circle and meditation

 

DAY FOURTEEN

Fly back to Mei Guo (The Beautiful Country in Chinese)

 

 

Questions/concerns…write to me solala@abodetao.com or give me a call at 541.345.8854.

 

 

Don’t see something here that you would be interested in doing? Let me know!