Day 9: 200508 Taichung

We joined another tour itinerary as arranged by Taiwan Tour Bus to Sun Moon Lake, Paper Making, Wenwu Temple.This tour package is inclusive of a fabulous lunch meal and also the cost for DIY activity.. I must say it is really worthwhile and more comfortable to take the cute tour bus to the destinations..

We met with Vivian, our lovely tour guide at 8am for this journey..Along the way, we also have companions from HK to join us in this tour.. so together we explored Sun Moon Lake.. it was a 2h ride from Taichung city..along the way, Vivian described the sights we see etc.. and if you know about 槟榔西施,they are found widespread esp along roads in Nantou county where the betel nuts are rich in production.. hear from Vivian the pay is very attractive but now cuz more and more 西施 coming out, competition is stiff!.. we also saw many 槟榔stalls in Kaohsiung and Taipei.. but the people who sell in these stalls usually are aunties, uncles, or young ladies worn in T-shirts.. in Nantou..we see very 辣妹 clad only in underwears.. be it those bright red colors that can make people nose bleed...and they are veyr very thin!..hear say at night, more will come out and drivers who usually addicted to eating 槟榔 will comeby to buy 槟榔 and see 辣妹!

we reached Sun Moon Lake in about 2h time.. and the scenery is breathtaking!along the bus ride, we saw scenery like below:

there are many Minsu and hotels in the vicnity of the lake which I believe offer excellent views of the lake.. it was recommended to stay a night near Sun Moon Lake so you can wake up early to view the sunrise!I will do so in my next visit to SML..Very scenic --> Mountains+Clouds+Sea+Sky

We took a boat ride to tour around SML, which is also inclusive in the package to understand more on SML..it has a very deep history to explain why is the lake named as Sun Moon Lake..邵族has a part to play in this history..very interesting!a must-see attraction in Taichung!

Tour Guide Vivian and Me @ Sun Moon Lake

After knowing so much on SML( you have to be here to witness the beauty and appreciate the history of it haha.. there's too much to talk about!)..Vivian brought us to this 邵族performance place.. think most of this tribe people stay in the SML.. we participated in their dance since there were not many people in this tour group.. it was quite fun and I think i will have hard time to learn driving cuz it seemed difficult to coordinate my hands and legs in the right way!

We also tried some of the food sold by the folks of 邵族.. they were very yummy.. like the 小米麻署and the huge 菜包!

we had lunch after that.. the delicacies are famous dishes from the邵族.. ut cooked in interesting ways..it was a feast!

after lunch, we made our way to the famous Wenwu Temple whcih overlooks the Sun Moon Lake.. statues of Guan-Gong, Kong-Zi are located there.. very magnificient.. a temple that boasts of intricate designs and beautiful history..

Being a tour guide, Vivian seem also a very experienced photographer as she suggested taking interesting pics in any chance like the following one:
the last stop is the paper-making factory where we can do DIY activity like making a paper fan.. it was interesting to know the difference between手工纸and 机器纸..and fun to make the fan since it was our 1st time~fortunately everything turn out to be fine... i didnt screw up doing the paper fan whcih I thought I would since is like so fragile and prone to tearing...

The art of making paper

Our paper fan and the instructor!

快乐的时光总是匆匆而去。。。it was near to 6pm when the whole tour ended..we were brought back to hotel and along the way bought some 太阳饼 from 九个太阳shop which was highly recommended by Vivian.. We thought the 太阳饼was yummy too!...must-try!feeling very full after the heavy lunch so we didnt reallie have dinner except for the 饼s and tried the Taiwan Beer..not bad!

Information Outlet:
1.SML Recommended Minsu
2.Sun Moon Lake Guide