Sun Moon Lake

It took about two hours to get to Sun Moon Lake from Taipei. We took the HSR (High Speed Rail) for about an hour (THIS THING IS FAST!) then caught a cab for another hour, as getting there by bus seemed a little complicated.

We arrived in the evening just before the sun went down. Not as crowded as we had expected.

We took a walk around the town and found a spot for dinner, then got coerced into buying some mountain tea, because we totally didn't get enough of it as wedding presents. Oh well, there's nothing wrong with an endless supply of tea!

Lake fish

The next morning, we borrowed basic bicycles from our hotel which we were told wwere free for an hour; we certainly didn't want to take these bikes into the mountains.

So, we kept on peddling.

Saw some monkeys!

The trail followed the lake for some time before heading up into the mountains. In a few places, we had to walk the bikes up it was so steep. Eventually, we made it to the half way point around the lake- the pagoda. Already pretty tired, it took the remaining life out of us to climb the steps from the parking lot to the top of the hill where the pagoda was built. No energy to climb to the top of the pagoda, so we enjoyed our view with our feet on the ground. 

And off we went, grabbing some tea eggs and red bean popsicles on the second half of our journey. The air here smells like flowers, so fresh and fragrant! 

Who can resist a fresh papaya? 

 Eventually, it was decided to make no more stops and finish off the trail. The pain was too great. However, there were so many enticing signs like "orchid farm" and "peacock park" that we had to make a few exceptions. The orchids were never found, however.

Sometime in the afternoon, we and our bikes made it back from a 22+ mile adventure. Walking never felt the same again.