Just outside of Hsinchu, a scenic mountain road winds up to the Lavender Cottage, as it is called in English on its advertisements. The literal translation of its Chinese name, Lavender Forest, seems more accurate, however. The so-called cottage is more of a park/garden, filled with acres of herb gardens and flowering plants.

A short walk from the parking lot leads to a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and the valley below. The entrance fee to the park is NT$100, but that includes a discount on a meal in the restaurant and NT$50 off any purchase in the gift shop (even if the total of the purchase is only NT$50).

The "cottage" itself, the main building in the park, is a three story restaurant that serves a wide variety of lavender-related and non-lavender-related dishes. Most of the seats are on the upper floors and boast magnificent views of the scenery. In the middle of each floor is a quaint woodstove, which must be quite useful in the cooler mountain climate, especially as Hsinchu is particularly known for its chilly breezes.

Immediately behind the restaurant is a large patio area where guests can enjoy unusual flavors of ice cream, the specialty, of course, being lavender. Guests can either sit in the sunchairs on the patio and take in the view from a distance or walk straight down to the garden area past several birdhouses. The garden includes not only lavender, but also many other herbs, tomatoes, and even blueberry bushes.

The Lavender Cottage also has several gift shops in other places in Taiwan, but these are not nearly as remarkable since they are just stores and don't have the same atmosphere as the park. While the soaps and sachets may be nice, they aren't what makes the trip to the Lavender Cottage worthwhile.A visit to the Lavender Cottage will probably not take more than a few hours, so if you have driven a long way, a trip to the nearby town of Beipu is one way to complete a day trip. Beipu (北埔) contains an "old street" typical of Taiwanese towns, but is more interesting because of its Hakka (客家) specialties.

One of these specialties is "lei cha" (累茶) a tea ground with a pestle that includes many more ingredients than ordinary tea. Through the winding streets and past countless historic shops selling local crafts and specialties is a teashop. The interior is all shiny, reddish wood, and all customers have to remove their shoes before sitting at a table.

The waitress then brings a tray of ingredients including tea leaves, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and other nuts. The guests take turns grinding each of the ingredients to a fine powder. Though it initially looks simple, it takes some time and can get tiring, as indicated by the name.

Once everything is ground, the waitress takes it away to add hot water to it. The finished product looks like a bubbling, green witch's brew. It is ladled into cups to which a mixture of dates, raisins, and unidentifiable chewy sweet things are added. Although the mixture looks a bit strange, it tastes delicious.

Another attraction of Beipu is some of the architecture left over from the Japanese occupation. An imposing mansion which belonged to a Japanese official is an impressive sight, and is occasionally opened to visitors. Finally, there are the ubiquitous temples, always a work of art, though similar almost anywhere you go.

Neither of these places can be easily reached by bus, but both of them are only about an hour and a half from Taipei. For directions and more information on the Lavender Cottage, call 03-5841193 or go to their website, www.lavendercottage.com.tw (unfortunately, it's only in Chinese). To get to Beipu, take Expressway No.68 to Zhongfong Road, exit at Provincial Highway No.3, and make a right turn onto Beipu Road.