On Saturday, we left Taipei for Chiayi to take the Alishan Forest Railway on Sunday.
Today, we are retracing our steps northwards again to Sun Moon Lake
via Ershuei and Chencheng.
Prepared by the ultra efficient staff at Visitor’s Centre.
€1 = NT$ 36.00 - our senior’s fare was 50% of the above. These are local services and we used the Easy Pass. There is no reserved seating and we were correctly advised that there would be plenty available.
We are now in Ershui,
awaiting the 12.00 to Chencheng (the Jiji Line)
The narrow guage rail brought us into the mountains.
A little boy, who ignored his mother’s entreaties to step back and allow others to photograph the line!!!!
The area was intensively cropped with what I think are pineapples, bananas and crops I didn’t recognise.
On and on the train travelled across bridges,
past level crossings
past homesteads:
and stations, including the Jiji station, the station that gave its name to the line
At Shiliu, a group of monks, who had been sitting opposite us indicated to us to exit the train but following our schedule, I replied Chengcheng. On arrival at Chengcheng 5 minutes later, the 12.50 bus had just departed.
We have to wait for the 14.00. I think in retrospect, we should have obeyed the monks.!! We may have arrived in Sun Moon Lake earlier!
The scenery was as we had experienced all along the route. The Twainese farmers are an industrious lot and evidence of their organization and labour are to be seen everywhere.
(Ensure you get a lake view room). We’re about 3 km from the town but that is no hardship as the town itself is a typical, large seaside town, reminiscent of Queenstown, NZ or Lake Louisa, Canada, while here one has peace and tranquillity. As I write it is now 1600 so we will order dinner here and enjoy the sunset from our bedroom balcony.
At Shiliu, a group of monks, who had been sitting opposite us indicated to us to exit the train but following our schedule, I replied Chengcheng. On arrival at Chengcheng 5 minutes later, the 12.50 bus had just departed.
We have to wait for the 14.00. I think in retrospect, we should have obeyed the monks.!! We may have arrived in Sun Moon Lake earlier!
We lunched and then went in search of the bus stop - sign located 30 metres down the road. An enquiry as to the status of the bus stop illicted an offer from a couple to drive us to Sun Moon Lake! We declined as it is 30 minutes away!! People are so kind and helpful even though in this town, people speak no English!! They take out their iPhones, consult maps and engage with google translate in an effort to help. The Madarin translation of our itinerary helped to confirm our destination. We had boarded the correct bus outside Chengcheng elementary school.
The bus climbed up into the mountains. The buses are of a high quality as are the country’s roads
The scenery was as we had experienced all along the route. The Twainese farmers are an industrious lot and evidence of their organization and labour are to be seen everywhere.
We arrived at Shuishe, the largest but one of a small number of centres that dot the lake. We enquired as to the location of our hotel Sun Moon Lake Bamboo Rock Garden? It was located a km or two outside the town. It is a former botanical research facility with a bamboo grove in the back yard. The hotel provides a shuttle from the town but we hadn’t noticed on booking.
From our bedroom, the view of Sun Moon Lake is spectacular.
(Ensure you get a lake view room). We’re about 3 km from the town but that is no hardship as the town itself is a typical, large seaside town, reminiscent of Queenstown, NZ or Lake Louisa, Canada, while here one has peace and tranquillity. As I write it is now 1600 so we will order dinner here and enjoy the sunset from our bedroom balcony.
Tomorrow, we will take the 5 minute walk to the Chaowu Pier, from whence we will take a boat tour of the lake and stop at the cable car station and take the 1.9km/ 7 minute to see a spectacular view of the lake from the hills above and check out the bamboo grove!!
And then it’s off to Taichung High Speed Railway Station by bus - a 2.5 hour journey, from whence we will board the HSR ( High Speed Rail) for a 40 minute journey to Tainan, the former capital and oldest city in Tiawan.
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