Taiwan Day 7

Taiwan Day 7 - Tai Chung + Sun Moon Lake

After Ci Qing, Sun Moon Lake was the other side trip that we made in Tai Chung. Breakfast was in the hotel as it was included in the package.

Murals line up the corridor walls. Apparently this hotel wasn't doing well in the past and underwent a total revamp not long ago. I would say this is a rather successful turnaround for them because I would most definitely come back again

Very 几米...

The modern looking breakfast area that's illuminated fashionably

And this little guy was here to help us reserve our breakfast table

The choices were limited but the food was really, really good. And I am one who doesn't give the thumbs up easily

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As we were in a rush, we decided to take a cab to the bus station that serves the route to Sun Moon Lake. From here, you will be able to get either the normal bus tickets to Sun Moon Lake, or you can also get the package that includes the boat ride across the lake. 

We wanted to explore the place on our own time, and not wanting to waste 2 hours stuck on a boat looking at trees, we opted for the normal tickets.

Waiting for the bus to come

It took around one and a half hour to get to Sun Moon Lake. And I shuttered at the thought of having to cycle the cat around when there were only bicycle shops in view. But luckily scooters were available just a few steps down the road

And we chose the red hot scooter simply because it was photogenic. Lol

Time to study the map to plan the best way to maximise the day. Sun Moon Lake is very easy to navigate as well, with tourist points labelled clearly on the map. Basically we wanted to go one round by the lake and to make a detour out to the Aborigine Village halfway

Riding on scooters meant that you can stop anywhere you like to take pictures. Although it felt slightly more dangerous in Sun Moon Lake as compared to Ken Ting because the roads were much more winding

First, we stopped by the peacock garden

The peacocks roaming free in this large enclosure, it's good to have so much land. which makes the whole place seems so vast

A closer look at the peacocks

And this one is a blue bird. Lol

Their resting room…I would think they prefer to be outside

From the peacock garden, we went down a side road that leads to the Aborigine Village. You will be able to get there in 15 minutes as compared to half an hour if you were to take the main road

The huge garden at the main entrance. It was probably around the size of four football fields

Despite its size, it was beautifully decorated and well maintained

The amusement park which was relatively empty until throngs of screaming school children came along. The rides were mostly outdated ones. Boo...

MA LA SANG! The rice wine that was featured in the movie Cape No.7

We took the cable car ride all the way across the lake

And got seduced by a discount coupon they handed out and had a dessert break at the cable car station over at the opposite end of Sun Moon Lake. Not too bad but nothing to shout about

Before heading back to the top of the Aborigine Village and walking downhill to explore it

One of the performing theatres but the showtimes were pretty sparsely scheduled throughout the day. So we didn't get to see much of their performances

Except for this dance item where they would grab bystanders to join in. We stood afar to watch. Lol

Prior to buying this plate of wild boar meat, we were treated to some great tasting tapioca handed out by another tribe. So when we came to this next tribe and they were selling their local wild boar meat, we thought it would be different from those in the night markets but alas. It tasted the same. And it wasn't cheap either

You get to visit the houses belonging to the different tribes 

 But after a while, it gets slightly boring because they all looked the same 

 There's also the gimmicky koi pond where you can buy bread crumbs to feed them

The Aborigine Village is a really huge place which would probably take half a day to fully explore it in detail. But that was that, and we were on our way back to the circuit to go round the lake before the sun sets

Sun Moon Lake is supposedly famous for their tea eggs and although the smell was aromatic, it tasted like any other tea eggs. Thumbs down again…

Taking a break to admire the lake along the bicycle route which is regarded as one of the most beautiful cycling track in the world

And I hope no one crashes into the bride...

And lastly, catching a glimpse of the sunset on the final stretch back to the town centre

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We were actually very fortunate to get back in time for the bus back to Tai Chung. Although it's another long journey back but I am really glad they were because that meant I could catch some rest after a whole day of riding. Feeling old… 

After we got back, we decided to explore the shopping mall that was near our hotel. There was a cinema but we really didn't want to push ourselves to catch a late night movie. Otherwise it would be awesome. It's been a long time since me and my dearest meow catch a late night movie. Hope that we can do so once we get our own place!

There wasn't much eating options in the shopping mall. I mean there were restaurants and cafes but we wanted to try something local. Headed over to a night market but to no avail either. We ended up eating at a roadside restaurant when we came across it while walking to the night market.

It was bustling with the locals. So you can never be too wrong when you go along with it

They are famous for their charcoal cooked ginger duck in a pot

Can't really comment much on this. Never a fan of ginger but anything for the meow who wanted to try it so much 

But definitely must have a safe option in the form of an egg. Lol

And something to fill the stomach

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Verdict? Too expensive for the meal, considering that it was a road side environment and the dishes were really simple local food fare. And there was only one way to pacify the unsatisfied.

Dessert time was calling at this rather posh confectionary store called Miyahara (宫原眼科)

A great place to buy back gifts for your family, friends or colleagues. If you have cash to burn that is...

Although we were still full from dinner, we really wanted to try everything from this store. We ended up with a large cup of bubble tea...

And two scoops of their gelato ice cream in a tub with three choices of toppings

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Blurp. Best word to end this post.