To start, we didn’t have better luck today, no internet again. It hasn’t been a big problem – we’ve been kept quite busy, but that’ll explain the post drought followed by multiple entries when these posts are uploaded.
Heading out this morning, we were greeted with a beautiful sight: blue sky. The past few days have had several activities cancelled due to rain, but today seemed like it would finally go smoothly – and it did. After breakfast, we headed back south from Puli to the north side of Sun Moon Lake, to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village – which turned out to be more like a theme park.
Park Entrance.
On arrival, we watched the park’s opening time rituals, involving music and fire. Soon, we entered the “village”, and took a shuttle bus to the top of the hill, allowing us to explore the area from the top down. The first part was a showcase of aboriginal culture, with a section dedicated to each of the recognized tribes of Taiwan.
The opening ceremonies.
At the top of the hill.
Exhibits throughout the hill showcased each of Taiwan's recognized aboriginal tribes.
Left: Fish pond. Right: Inside a home.
Further downhill, the “aboriginal village” turned into a theme park, with water rides and roller coasters. The “Carribean Splash” ride left us fairly wet, and we spent the rest of our time wandering around, eating lunch, exploring a few more rides, and taking the gondola up and down the hill for a better view.
The gondola ride. Left: view towards the bottom of the hill; Right: the top!
We left the Aboriginal village at 2 pm, heading towards Taichung, Taiwan’s third largest city. Our next destination was the 921 Earthquake Museum, located in Wufeng, just south of Taichung. The museum commemorates those who passed away due to the 7.3 magnitude earthquake on September 21, 1999, built among the remains of a school that was built right on the related fault line. The building also provides information on earthquakes, fault lines, and the engineering behind earthquake-proof structures, making the visit an educational experience in addition to remembering the near-3000 who died in the 921 Earthquake and its aftershocks.
Next, we headed into Taichung and we were dropped off at its busiest night market: the Fongjia Night Market. We arrived at five, with the sun still up, but as time progressed, we could see the streets becoming increasingly busier. We’ve become quite familiar with night markets, and I didn’t really buy much today, with the exception of some preserved fruits that make good bus snacks =).
The Fongjia night market. Second largest in Taiwan, only smaller than Shilin.
We were given a snack / light dinner on the bus, so we weren’t too hungry, but right before our 9 p.m. boarding time, a bought a duck wrap thing – a bit of a cross between a gua bau (that I had yesterday), and Peking Duck. It looked good, and tasted good too. I accompanied the food with a papaya milk!
Left: Fongjia night market food alley. Right: Duck wrap thing.
I haven't said much about them yet, but I really have to commend our bus drivers. From driving up those winding mountain roads to intense back-in parking in Taiwanese parking lots. And now trying to pick us up in the middle of a busy night market! Wait, they didn't try. They succeeded =P.
Our hotel for the night was the Crown Hotel in Taichung, though it’s quite a distance from its downtown. It’s name is quite misleading though, as there was nothing really special or noteworthy about its rooms. Oh well, I’m assuming there’s internet tomorrow… hopefully!
your fish (on this site) have an acute resemblance to the ones we fed at the aboriginal village
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