We had booked a 5 day round Taiwan tour with Edison Travels, a local tour company. The agreed pickup time was 7:20 am and the driver arrived on the dot. Not bad for first impressions. After meeting up with the rest of the group - there were about 20 of us from all around the world, we set off for Sun Moon Lake.
Sun Moon Lake is located in the middle of Taiwan and is the largest natural lake. It is 762 metres above sea level and has an area of around 8 km2. The east side of the lake is like a sun, while the west resembles a crescent moon, hence the name. If one drew an imaginary line across the two we will find at the end of the line Ci En Pagoda, which we will be visiting next.
We were first driven to the pier so we can enjoy the lake at ground level and also to find our own lunch in the town of Ita Thao (pronounced Ita Sao, Taiwan Aboriginal language meaning we are human). There were some boats docked on the pier, used for cruises around the lake. The lake is very clean, so clean we can almost see the bottom of the lake! No swimming or dipping in the lake is allowed, save for an annual swimming contest. I was very impressed with the quality of the water and the cleanliness of the surroundings.
For lunch, we walked up and down the main street and bought two deep fried stuffed chicken wings from a stall with a long queue of people. It was stuffed with glutinous rice and quite dry. Next, we walked into a small clean looking restaurant run by a young couple, their baby in a pram nearby and their elderly mother. We did not know how to read the menu so I had to ask the wife to help read it out to me.
We ordered a fish soup dish thickened with corn starch and had finely sliced bamboo shoots and veges, and mee sua with minced pork. Both dishes were small but very delicous, especially the fish soup. We were not quite full, so we ordered a soy braised three layer pork dish atop rice after we finished the first two bowls.
With a full belly, we were taken to Ci En Pagoda where we enjoyed the magnificent view of the lake from the top of the pagoda. We were told that the Lake was a popular honeymoon destination for the previous generation, and it was not difficult to see why. The lake was just so peaceful and calm... just what a couple needs after a few months of stress and pressure.
The view from Wen Wu Temple a short distance away was just as beautiful. The temple is dedicated to two gods - Confucious the god of letters and Guan Gong the god of war. The name of is derived from Wen (literature) and Wu (martial arts) showing homage to Confucious and Guan Gong. The temple is circa 1969, but maintained very well.
At the temple's gift shop, Gaz wanted to buy a little cartoon keychain of Confucious. Being Chinese illiterate made it very difficult for us. We could not just settle on any long bearded, bald headed, kindly, robed figure... there were about 3 on display. So we asked the salesperson and she very quickly picked out Confucious for Gaz.
Our last stop before hotel was Peacock Garden, set up by Chiang Kai Shek's wife. We were lucky enough to see three peacocks showing off their plumage and one that jumped the fence twice, nearly landing on my shoulders. There were also some indigenous birds on display.
Our hotel that night was Fleur de Chine, one of the top 3 hotels in Taiwan. All I can say is that it definitely lived up to its reputation! In each room was a deep bath tub and a shower with Japanese style stool. We were told that the water for the bath is sourced from natural hot spring water. One plus about the water is that it has no fart smell!! The tub was so deep I could float in it if I wanted to.
The rooms were very clean and modern and had little perks like free fruits and cookies. There was a well equipped rec room and the hotel organised a free flute recital and nature walks for those interested. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the hotel.
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