好友相伴 @ 溪頭

#2024-0525

Together with Franklin and his wife, Qiumei, we all had a wonderful time walking nearby and then enjoyed a peaceful stay at Ginkgo Hotel (孟宗山莊) last night.

(By the way, this hotel is full of poetic beauty, with innumberable new and old "classical poems" hanging here and there on the walls. Some of them were created by great poets of the Tang and Song dynasties and are quite familiar to Jean and me. For example, Xin Qiji's "Hè Xīn Láng (賀新郎 - 甚矣吾衰矣)," copied in beautiful calligraphy and hung on the wall in Room 519, where Jean and I stayed for the night, is one of Jean's favorites. Jean has sung it in the past, either in casual performances or in formal competitions!)

This morning, the four of us left Ginkgo Hotel for a hike soon after we had breakfast on the hotel's first floor. As we stepped out of the main lobby, we saw two kinds of flowers that I had never seen before: the "Dì Yŏng Jīn Lián" (地湧金蓮) and "Zhēnzhū Băo Lián" (珍珠寶蓮 or 台灣酸腳杆). Additionally, there was a wooden sign next to the hotel entrance with some extremely important information for our hike here in the Xitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區). 

Following are a ChapGPT translation of the Forest Therapy and Five-Sense Experience that we saw on the wooden sign:

1. Sight: Carefully observe the rich and ever-changing colors.
2. Hearing: The chirping of insects, the calls of birds, the sounds of wind, rain, and streams -- the symphony of nature.
3. Smell: The fragrance of flowers and plants, the scent of the forest, refreshing and invigorating.
4. Touch: The sensation of touching and walking on the forest floor, feeling its temperature and texture.
5. Taste: The earth's bounty, natural delicacies that nourish both body and mind.

As you can see in the photos below (except the very last one), we have really spent a wonderful day visiting the Xitou Nature Education Area and the nearby villages today.

-- Thank you, Franklin and Qiumei, for coming; remember to come again to us whenever you can in the future!

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茲抄錄 "孟宗山莊" 之《森林療育與五感體驗》如下：

• 一 視覺：仔細觀察色彩豐富千變萬化。
• 二 聽覺：蟲鳴鳥叫風雨溪聲大地天籟。
• 三 嗅覺：花草芳郁叢林芬多神清氣爽。
• 四 觸覺：手撫腳踏森林溫度絲絲感受。
• 五 味覺：大地豐饒天然佳餚滋養身心。

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  An Evening at Xitou: 大水蟻 ● 螢火蟲 ● 妖怪村     (2024)

2)  Life Notes: 好友相伴 at 宜蘭 (B)     (2023)

3)  溪頭剪影（橋花水石藤林道）     (2010)

4)  溪頭剪影（午後山涼霧起時）     (2010)

An Evening at Xitou: 大水蟻 ● 螢火蟲 ● 妖怪村

#2024-0524

Our good friends Franklin and his wife, Qiumei, visited us this afternoon. To entertain them, Jean and I suggested we all go to Xitou (溪頭) for a one-night stay at Ginkgo Hotel (孟宗山莊) so we could enjoy a relaxing, pleasant hike tomorrow morning.

In the evening, the four of us took a walk nearby and discovered several interesting sights: thousands of termites flying hurriedly under the lights outside the French windows, hundreds of fireflies flashing in the dark areas of the bushes, and a mysterious, old-style area called "Monster Village." There, under the guidance of a staff member, dozens of parents and children were searching for "monsters," which were red stickers with images of ugly faces!

After our walk, we returned to our accommodations for the night. Wow! There were so many classical poems written or copied in beautiful Chinese calligraphy. See the pictures below for some highlights! "Have a nice sleep," we said to each other, calling it a day. "Enjoy a peaceful night here, dear friends, and have sweet dreams tonight!"

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相關文章：

1)  溪頭剪影（夜行晨走新山客）     (2010)

2)  溪頭剪影（天出北熊化霧星）     (2010)

3)  山莊的吟詠 (A Meeting at Ginkgo Hotel)     (2018)

4)  A Private Rehearsal  and  節目片段／轉分享：《賀新郎》     (2020)

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於溪頭 孟宗山莊 拍攝的 "大水蟻"

《維基百科》稱之為 "白蟻"

牠們是蟑螂的親戚呢

片長 55 秒

Click & see! Termites flying out there!