Day 20 (July 28): In the mountains

We awoke to the sound of heavy rain hitting the roof, not a sound that we were hoping to hear on the day of a hike. Our fears were confirmed at breakfast, when the counsellors announced that our hike in the Sitou area was cancelled, as hiking trails were slippery and unsafe. Plus, many people weren’t interested in getting soaked.

Nevertheless, the youth centre in Sitou is well integrated with the forest; the area had a very clean and pleasant atmosphere, especially with rain. We spent the morning resting, taking short walks around the area, and I pulled out my flute and played music with the surrounding nature.

We had our scheduled lunch at eleven, and soon enough we were headed to Sun Moon Lake, one of Taiwan’s most famous sights. The body of water is Taiwan’s largest freshwater lake, its shape like a sun and a crescent moon side by side. The area, previously marshland, was flooded for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes during Japanese rule, driving many of the Thao aboriginal peoples from their previous homes to settlements by the shore of the newly formed lake. Our first stop was the Ita Thao village, on the southeast edge of the lake.

Ita Thao Village, Sun Moon Lake
Left: Facing the lake; Right: The area's main street. Umbrella town!

We had light rain, but it was the heavy fog that prevented us from taking many nice pictures. We had an hour of free time, where we browsed shops in the streets by the shore. There were also several vendors, and we bought some “gua bao”. The area also has a lot of tourist appeal, reflected in westernized “gua bao”, with cheese, pork, and some fried egg, but we opted for the traditional style: man tou bread, with a slice of fatty pork meat marinated in soy sauce, crushed peanut powder, pickled vegetables, coriander, and hot sauce.

Left: Gua Bao; Right: Ma La Sun! We didn't buy any, but after watching Cape No. 7 we always keep an eye out for bottles, though we didn't see any enthusiastic salesmen. 

Our next stop was Wenhu temple, at the other side of the lake. The temple, built along the slopes of the surrounding mountain overlooks the lake, houses tablets reflecting words of Confucius, and is a popular stop for students to pray when they have upcoming exams. The view from the observatory at the top level has very foggy, but the area cleared up a bit as we headed back down, giving us a beautiful view of the lake.

Wenhu Temple Pictures (10)

The panorama didn't work out =(. Regardless, here's Sun Moon Lake, from the Northern side.

With lots of slippery steps and tiles after frequent rain, one of our students slipped and had to be sent to the hospital, shortening our visit to the Wenhu temple. We then headed to our hotel in the town of Pilu, just under an hour north of Sun Moon Lake. We arrived at five, giving us an opportunity to explore the “best hotel in town”, as described by the counsellors and by my now-slightly-water-damaged travel guide. There’s a decent pool, though its hours from 6 pm to 10 pm didn’t give us much time.

We had a good dinner, and the evening was dedicated to group time. First we met up with our bus group to prepare for Friday’s talent show, followed by a meeting with our culture group (for me, the dizi) to remind us of our performance at the closing ceremonies. With about an hour and a half before bed check, we headed outside to walk around the streets. The rain had stopped, and the weather was great. Unfortunately, there’s not much around Puli.

The view from the sixth floor of our hotel, in Puli.

The streets were relatively quiet, with a few vendors selling “a la carte soup / hotpot”. We stopped by a tea shop specializing in oolong tea. I ordered the oolong green tea. It was quite good – the taste of green tea with the after-taste of oolong tea. Soon we were back in our rooms, hanging around late without internet. Oh well, hopefully tomorrow will have some better luck.

Teashop. Location: Anywhere, Taiwan. (though this one was in Puli =P)