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-