Thursday we packed up, left Shifen and headed to King Car Orchid Park. Before we went into the greenhouses we had a lecture on Phalaenopsis production in Taiwan. I learned that to promote vegetative growth the greenhouses must be kept at 30˚C during the day and 25˚C at night. To force flowering, the orchids are kept at 25˚C during the day and 20˚C at night. The professor also stressed the three most important things to keep your orchids alive and healthy:

 (1) Watering- do not over water!

 (2) Light- orchids require at least 6 hours of light a day, move plants away from or toward the window to manipulate the amount of light they receive

 (3) Fertilizing- to see blooms on a regular basis apply a weak fertilizer solution every time you water them

After the lecture we were able to take a tour through the various greenhouses. I was wondering why we were able to go through the greenhouses without de-contaminating ourselves and at the end of the tour our tour guide explained to us that these greenhouses are specifically used for tourist visits. We were able to see the orchid in all of its stages, from seedling to full bloom. They were so beautiful! Another interesting fact is that Taiwan is the only country allowed to export Phalaenopsis to the U.S. with its medium, which is sphagnum moss.

After lunch we winded our way down the east coast and stopped at Cingshui Cliff. When we first pulled into the stop I was wondering what was so special about this spot. Little did I know, we were not staying on the Cliff, but we were walking down to the ocean! I was so excited!! It was a rocky beach and the waves broke right on shore. I thought I was standing far enough away from the breaking waves, but I was wrong, and my whole butt got wet! With the towering cliffs behind me and the crashing waves in front of me, I definitely felt the power of Mother Nature.

After spending some time on the beach we got back on the bus and headed to Hualien to settle into our hotel. We had dinner and I tried kidney and fern. The kidney was disgusting and the fern was so-so. After dinner we went to a store that is famous for making mochi. I had peanut with mochi and taro with mochi, they were both delicious. We attempted to make it to the city’s night market, but what we thought was going to be a fifteen minute walk one way turned into a forty minute walk and we did not even make it to the market. If you ever go to Hualien and want to go to the night market make sure you are hungry and take a cab!