Taiwan: Day 1 – Kavalan Compound

I woke up to a hazy, humid, tropical morning at the Kavalan distillery. We got in super late last night after an hour and a half drive from the Taipei airport (which I slept through most of). It was impossible to see much out the window as we landed--a typhoon in the area made the weather a bit rough--and I was too exhausted to do anything other than fall face-first into my pillow when we got here. I crawled out of bed around 6 AM, opened the shade to my bedroom window, and saw the distillery in the distance; the lush mountains lingering in the distance.

Kavalan distillery is really just part of a much larger facility operated by the King Car Company. They make all kinds of other products here including breakfast drinks, coffee, even soap. The entire convention center is located at the base of the hills with what looks like rainforest beyond it. If I didn't know I was in Taiwan I might think I was in Columbia.

We're currently staying in the gigantic convention center that has private rooms, huge conference spaces, a full size theater complete with sound stage, a cafe, and a small restaurant area. Chris and I were both up early so we took a walk around the grounds before meeting the others for breakfast.

There are a number of barrels painted by various artists lining the walkway towards the main distillery.

Mr. Brown's Coffee is also made on site and, let me tell you, after finishing a few cups it's clear that Mr. Brown knows what he's doing.

There are gardens everywhere around the main square.

And even a vineyard tucked in between the distillery building and the mountains. We're getting ready to go on a tour shortly, then we'll head into Taipei for more sight-seeing. I'll be back later with more.

-David Driscoll