From the Frog Pool

It's Ten AM on my first (and last for some time) down day between my three-day exploration of Yilan county and the first of two eleven-day trips with Bicycle Adventures. The rain is coming down but I'm comfy and dry in my room at the Frog Pool, a quirky Bed & Breakfast in the town of Wujie, just outside of Loudong.








Semi-rural Bed and Breakfasts are apparently all the rage in Yilan, and The Frog Pool definitely earns its Artsy cred.

Cheerfully painted, the B&B's common areas contain art, books and alcoves large and small designed for eating, drinking tea, socializing, or in my case, writing up the experiences of the last three days.








Huge windows (some with stained glass) provide views of the surrounding rice paddies and ample light, a good thing considering current weather conditions.  Breakfasts are excellent, and coming from Portland the inclusion of freshly ground coffee was a welcome surprise.






My own room - not pictured, as I've allowed the contents of my bags to cover nearly every surface, a situation not likely to resolve itself until five minutes before I check out - has a rough-hewn wooden desk, a futon, a very comfortable double bed, a CD player with some aboriginal music CD, and an extremely long and deep bathtub.

It's the tub, along with the overall quiet of the area, that I credit with the almost-total lack of jet-lag on this trip.

The Frog Pool is not a place for those looking for excitement; for that I suggest the Art Spa in Jiaoxi, about which I've already written and will write more again later.


But for a travel writer seeking a quiet place to work between storms (both literal and figurative) the Frog Pool has proven a most comfortable lily pad.

More about The Frog Pool here.