sun moon lake I.

back in may, we took a trip to central taiwan including beautiful sun moon lake. our time was limited so we knew we had to come back. just one week after typhoon morakot we were a little concerned but luckily for us it turned out that central taiwan was mostly spared of the devastation. this is part 1 of 2 of our three day trip. (part 2)



the bus took us directly to the lake from taipei - public transportation can be soooo convenient in taiwan - however it did take 4 hours as opposed to about a 2 1/2 hour drive by car.



we arranged a b&b for the first night and they gave us a discounted ticket for the popular and rather touristy (but must do) boat tours (abt 2 hrs.) on the lake.



even on a weekday, and after a typhoon, it was quite busy on the lake... waiting for docking on lalu island.



this is all that's left of lalu island today. not much information/facts can be found on the internet in english but from what i could gather this was a sacred place for the aboriginal thao tribe and used to be much, much larger until the japanese colonizers dammed the lake in the thirties which caused water levels to rise by more than 20m. the devastating 921 earthquake further submerged it and today it is but a little platform. tourists are not allowed on land but can circle and take photos from a number of floating docks surrounding it.



a sign showing the changes in the island's geography.



next stop is is syuenguang temple...



meihe gardens. a tranquil lookout near shueishe...



afternoons are mostly cloudy this time of the year and the photos may look gloomy or even chilly, but we certainly didn't need the tropical vegetation to remind us that it was almost 30 degrees with rather high humidity. still a nice change and a relief from steamy taipei (the lake is about 800 meters above sea level)



a not so itsy-bitsy spider...



supposed to get much busier on weekends...



the mountains in the distance beyond and above the clouds reach 3,000 m (10,000 ft)...



day 2. taking a early morning stroll in the gardens of our b&b...



waiting for breakfast.



renting a scooter (nt$500 for a day, abt. us$15) is a great way to get around. at abt. 35 kms in circumference you can ride around the lake at your own pace in a day.



the mornings are usually sunny in august...



lots of lovely trails, paths to walk, hike or ride your bike...



strictly no swimming (except for the yearly "swim across sun moon lake" event). fishing is allowed.



lakeside view...



further up the trail...



if i were a deity i would definitely chose wenwu temple as my residence...



you see what i mean?



and the view only gets better as you ascend...



wishing pendants...



you buy it, you write your wish, you hang it in the temple, and your wish comes true. simple as that.



the roofs of wenwu temple...



a view for the gods..



a little tip if you're visiting less touristy, rural areas in taiwan (not sun moon lake). if you need to go to the bathroom head to the nearest temple. they are practically everywhere, they almost always have a (usually) clean one and the best thing is that they're free! you can also refill your water bottle with clean cold or hot water from a water dispenser.