Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

I had a slow morning and started with brunch at the hostel owner’s wife’s café.  It was great-

My tea came with a sweet foamy topping which was just the tea itself all whipped up-

I still don’t like tea!

I decided against any kind of bike and started walking along the west shore of the lake-

I came across these trees that were alive but obviously often in water.  They are Warburg willows that are an endemic aquatic species and the branches grow upwards-

Once I thought I’d gone far enough, I stuck out my thumb and the seventh car picked me up.  He thought I should see where the former president used to live when he came here and so that’s where he dropped me off.  First I saw a Christian church, the Sun Moon Lake Church of Christ that former president Chiang Kai Shek built for his wife in 1971.  It was damaged in 1999 by the Ji Ji  earthquake but has been restored and is now open to the public.  They have one service each week and Roman columns-

It’s a popular place for weddings partly because of the view-

Afterwards I had a pearl black tea, then started walking east.  Along the way-

Wenwu Temple is in the distance-

Nearby are some floating islands.  According to the Legend of Fish Woman and the Floating Islands the locals overfished the lake and made the lake spirit, who was a mermaid, angry.  After arguing for three days, they came to an agreement to build bamboo rafts covered with vegetation to give the fish somewhere to spawn.  They also help prevent erosion and clean the water-

Wenwu Temple was once two temples that were relocated in 1938 because of flooding after the Japanese built a dam.  It was rebuilt in 1968 then repaired after the 1999 earthquake-

 

The Grand Hall-

Two large red lions protect it-

There are other unnamed stone statues outside-

There are three floors and on the first floor is the Prayer Palace housing five different deities including the God of War, God of Wealth, Emperor Wenchang, Guan Ping and General Zhou Cang-

From afar, the ceiling looks like heads-

but on closer inspection they are actually carvings of fairies- 

Next were these men masked with paper but I have no idea why-

There are booths where you can buy offerings such as paper to burn-

and incense.  There is a format for praying explained on a sign out front explaining how to pray.

1.  Light two incense sticks on the tip using the lighter at the incense lighting station.

2.  Face towards the entrance and pray to all Gods above for a peaceful world, favourable weather and a prosperous future for all.  

3.  Place one stick in the sensor.

4.  Enter from the righthand side and walk towards the inner hall.  Light the second stick, introduce yourself to the Gods and tell them your wishes.

There are hanging tokens offered by devotees asking for wishes-

The second floor has a room for matchmaking!  Yue Lao-

is a Chinese mythological character from the Tang Dynasty (618-907).  He is one of the deities in Daoism/Taoism which is a religion emphasizing harmony with “the way” and living in accordance with nature.  It encourages naturalness, simplicity and non-action.  Yue Lao oversees the fate of marriage between men and women-

Nearby is a stone statue of a tortoise that should be touched in certain parts when asking for certain wishes-

There are lots of carvings with dragons because the Chinese believe we are all descendants of them-

and snakes which are a symbol of transformation, intellect and divine power-

On the third floor there are altars respecting 3 religions: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.  The altar to Confucius-

who as a philosopher had a huge impact on East Asia with many dynasties following his ideas.

There’s also an altar for the Medicine Buddha or the Blue Bodhisattva, all in ultraviolet blue-

The third altar is for Taoism-

At the very top are arches and carvings reaching up to the heavens-

totems too-

There’s a three tortoise statue - see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, a Confucius saying-

and lots of koi in the pond-

The roof’s architecture is very cool-

and so is the view-

I hitchhiked back to town and a pastor picked me up.  That’s all he could say in English and that was after using a translating app.  I stopped at 7-11 and picked up lupper.  Lots of travellers have raved about the selection-

which might be true but the taste is less than mediocre.  My meal-

I spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening at the hostel sitting in the sun and visiting.  Tomorrow I will take a bus to Taipei, my last stop of this grand adventure!

 Taichung to Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

The women in my dorm were restless last night.  A couple had their lights on all night and another two were up around 4.  I finally got up at 6 and was on my way to the train station (I hate saying that Rip!) by 7:15.  Once you’re repeating a trip it’s easy and I was to the THSR station and at my bus by 7:45 - an hour early.  They didn’t care; they put me on a bus and we were on our way to Sun Moon Lake.

Along the way-

Betel trees-

I’m staying at the Dreamy Nomad’s Hostel-

which is run by a man from France who is married to a Taiwanese woman.  It’s a very nice place with an open roof deck-

I was here by 10 but couldn’t check in until 3 and because it was a pretty clear day I thought I better do my sightseeing-

I bought a ticket for the boats that take you to 2 different places on the other side of the lake.  The pier is nice and very busy-

Travelling across the lake-

My first stop was at the Xuanguang Temple-

It’s dedicated to Master Xuanzang who is world famous for his sixteen year pilgrimage through India and his career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures.  He is one of the most illustrious figures in the history of scholastic Chinese Buddhism.

From here I walked up-

past a prayer tree-

to the Xuanzang Temple which is dedicated to the same guy-

Continuing up I got to the Oien Pagoda-

The decoration on the outside corners-

I climbed to the top where the views were great-

Looking down-

From here I returned to the pier and had a couple tea eggs-

They are hard boiled eggs steeped in a marinade made from tea, soy sauce, and 5 spice-

The shell is cracked so the egg can absorb the flavours from the water-

They also cook them with mushrooms and were delicious-

My next stop was Ita Thao, a nearby town-

It was crazy busy.  I sat in a park for awhile enjoying the sun, then had a deep fried potato snack-

I returned to Shueishe -

and visited with others at the hostel.  One man is from Philadelphia, the volunteers are from Paris and Germany and my roommates are from the U.S. and France.  

Tomorrow I may rent an electric bike to do the 33 km route around the lake but one of the men told me today that the route is very busy so I’m wondering if it’s wise with my arm.  He didn’t think so.  Today was Sunday and there had to be 30 coaches in the parking lot next to the hostel. Tomorrow will hopefully be way less busy.  I may just walk parts of the loop.

P.S.

Souvenirs-