Entree Kibbles: Mandatory Shopping Stop at Aboriginal Specialty Product Center (毛王爺之家) in Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan

I am thankful this wasn't at the start of the day as the morning grouchy mood without my local coffee would have been disastrous for the mandatory shopping stop that was an obligated part of our tour package to Taiwan.

We stepped in after a relaxing cruise around the scenic Sun Moon Lake and it was mesmerizing to be greeted by a majestic statue of a deer with golden horns.

Claiming we had plenty of time to take photographs later, we were ushered to the room where we would be 'lectured' on health products worth the money in our bank account.

No photographs allowed of the "seller", unlike our experience at the tea factory the day before. Anyway, the focus was on the nutritional benefits on their product, a Chinese medicinal fungi known as lingzhi, of which there were about 200 species.

Best would be the red, wild one, said to be the louis vuitton of lingzhi, and of course, available for sale in pill form at this Aboriginal Specialty Product Center. *rolled eyes* Such marketing antics might have worked 20-30 years ago but seriously?! In this era of online shopping and google research?

I was honestly more curious with the name of the center. 毛王爺之家; which meant the House of the Prince of Mao. Who exactly is this prince?

Apparently, the former patriarch, an aboriginal leader, by the name of Mao Xinxiao, had a distinguished reputation in the area, and the prince title was said to be bestowed upon by President Chiang Kai Shek. Note that the origins of the prince title were debated by some on Google though.

There were many photographs of the Prince of Mao with foreign dignitaries, including former Malaysia prime minister, Mahathir. There's even one taken of the princess with the mother of our beloved Mr Lee Kuan Yew!

Photographs captured my attention more than the sale speech, especially photographs taken of the area in the aftermath of the devastating 921 Earthquake in 1999, where over 2,400 people died.

Coming back to the shopping, I recalled it was quite expensive. Aside from lingzhi, you could also procure royal jelly, which was procured by one of our tour mates. *phew* Anyway, descendents continued to live in the building next to Aboriginal Specialty Product Center.