7.11.19 - 9.11.19 Sun Moon Lake

From Taipei, we took a bus to the so-called Sun Moon Lake, which owes its name to its shape, which with a lot of imagination represents the shape of the moon and the sun. Already on the way there, we were excited by the beautiful landscape of Taiwan. The arrival was a bit sobering... an uncharming tourist town awaited us, a shoebox as a room without windows, in which our bed just fit and the bathroom just wide enough to stand in sideways. But everything was fine anyway.

The first views of the lake and the beautiful surroundings confirmed to us that it was a good idea to come here. We spent the day leisurely and were glad that we found something halfway affordable and also quite delicious to eat.

The next day we set off to the harbor in the morning, as we received a boat ticket with our room that would take us to two other stations on the lake. So the plan.

After waiting for about an hour, or at least that's what we interpreted, our boat company didn't run today. Fortunately, we found someone who exchanged our seemingly useless ticket for one that actually got us on a boat. We didn't quite understand it, but it didn't matter, we were on our way across the lake.

When we arrived at the first stop, there was a tea egg stand right away, where a woman has been selling her famous tea eggs for over 50 years. Mathias couldn't resist trying them.

Afterwards, we set off up the hill to a temple. As the boats already suggested, it was quite crowded. For us, it was clear that we wanted to move on. A 'pilgrimage trail' leads one kilometer further up the hill to another temple that also promised a great view of the lake. Quite sweaty, it was super hot that day, we arrived at the top and were already very impressed by the view.

We also saw that there was a pagoda further up that we could visit.

After a moment of hesitation, we started walking.

A beautiful path with a beautiful view led us up. But it wasn't over yet with the arrival at the pagoda, because the pagoda itself could also be climbed. Lea was slowly reaching her limits, but she persevered.

After this little hike, where we successfully avoided contact with other German-speaking tourists, we made our way back to the boat to get to the next harbor and satisfy our growling stomachs there. There, we were greeted by a crowd of people and a corresponding offering. A market full of food, drinks, and souvenirs. We found a delicious lunch and a few snacks :) After a short walk through this place and a break by the water, we made our way back to our side of the lake.

Where we took a walk along the shore before we took a break in our little room. A beautiful day that gave both of us a pretty red nose. We haven't had this much sun for a long time.