This is my second trip to Taiwan. I knew I would be back there :-) This time was a bit different from the last time, no walking in the markets, no visiting the modern 101. We went up to Cingjing, a hill at the middle of Taiwan where we could breathe fresh air and see the beautiful scenery.
First dayWe reached Taipei at about 3 in the afternoon. Then we took the high speed train immediately to Taichung. It was very fast. It took 60 minutes to reach Taichung. There was a free shuttle bus to town (not always so lucky:-)) We reached town easily so far.
There were some difficulties walking to the hotel after getting off the bus. I was misled by the bus driver and walked to the opposite direction. I was not stupid though and I asked people the way every 10 yards. Taiwanese people were very nice. Everyone I asked was very friendly and helpful.
We reached the hotel after circling for an hour in the street. The hotel was quite good. The room was comfortable and there was free internet.
After settling down, we took a taxi to Tapa Tapa, a Spanish restaurant to have dinner. I would not recommend it to anyone because it was not what I expected. The standard was far behind the Spanish restaurants I had been to in Hong Kong. Later I heard that it was the habit of the Taiwanese restaurants to use MSG in the food.
At Taya Taya
Second Day
After staying for a night, we headed to the hill. I felt quite excited because I had planned the trip for two months.
We took the free shuttle bus back to the High Speed Station where I expected to catch the bus up the hill. Unfortunately, when the bus arrived, it was full. We could not take the bus and was touted by a taxi driver.
After all, we had to share a taxi with another couple. The price was double to the bus fare. Ah well, if we didn't take the bus, I didn't know what to do because there were only two buses per day and it was the last bus.
The journey up the hill was dangerous. The driver took over others at the double white lines, spoke on the mobile phone and ate and drank all the way. Thank God we reached there in one piece.
We finally reached the hotel
A view from the window of the hotel room
We went to the little Swiss Garden after settling down. It was beautiful inside - a typical tourist spot :-) We took some photos, walked around and fed the fish.
It was just a warming up of the three days' trip.
Before dinner we took photos from the neigbourhood
At six o'clock, we had dinner in the 'hotel' (they didn't call it a hotel, they called it a 民宿). Before dinner, I was surprised to see four of my old LKY students. They yielded at me when they saw me. Obviously, they were very excited but I was a bit shocked. I could not recognize them. They graduated in 2004 and now became adults. It was easy for them to recognize me but not the other way round. I felt sorry that I didn't have a chance to chat to them after the meal because they left early. They didn't stay in that hotel.
We had a drink before going to bed.
Third Day
Our plan was to take a bus to Polei and changed bus to Sun Moon Lake. When the assistant manageress was helping me about the route, a girl came and offered to give us a lift there. The girl was with her Mum and brother. They were going to Sun Moon Lake too. We were very lucky to meet them. The Mum wanted to see the sheep (this was our plan for the next day) so we waited for them to come back from the farm and joined them to the lake.
We had a walk and took photos while waiting for them.
We arrived at Sun Moon Lake. Then we had a ride on the cable car above the lake.
A view of the lake from the cable car
Sun Moon Lake
None of us dared to play on the rides. We walked around and watched the show by the Taiwan's aboriginal tribe -the Ami.
After that, the family had to go back to Taipei. We said goodbye to them and had a little walk in Sun Moon Lake.
Then we took a taxi back to the hotel. The trip was very luxurious and expensive, not what I had expected. Only because it was getting late, we had no other choice. I always wanted to take buses because it was cheaper and more adventurous. The taxi driver pointed at a park when we were at a traffic light. He said that the park was right in the middle of the whole Taiwan. Later the driver picked up his daughter on the way so she would accompany him back to Polei after dropping us. So strange!
We didn't want a big meal in the evening so we went to Starbucks and 7-11 to get some take away. We ate in the room and enjoyed a movie while eating.
Fourth Day
A view in the morning before seven
It was the best day of all. After breakfast, we checked out and left our lugguage in the hotel. We had a nice and slow walk up the farm. The weather was nice - not too hot and not too cold. The air was fresh and the scene was fantastic. It took us less than an hour to reach the farm.
We sat down and watched the sheering show. Then we walked around, took pictures with the animals. We fed the sheep and lambs . It was fun. The little lambs were so cute :-)
The lamb enjoyed the milk so much
It became foggy when we left the farm. We were so lucky to take photos before the fog arrived. We walked slowly back to the hotel to get our luggage at about twelve. We was going to take a bus but ended in taking a taxi down. This time we were very lucky to share a taxi with four other people. The driver only charged NT 100 per person, cheaper than taking a bus. Wow! Make a change.
We reached Polei and had a walk before taking a bus back to the High Speed Train Station. It was a small town situated at the centre of Taiwan. I was going to stay longer but the weather was not so good there. So we took a 2 o'clock bus and changed train back to Taipei.
Fifth DayGot up early. Reached the airport. Back Home.
Taoyuan Airport, Taiwan
Bye bye Taiwan :-)
