Sun Moon Lake

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Sun Moon Lake is so named because half the lake resembles the sun and half resembles the moon. It's big, beautiful, and ringed by huge mountains. It's a popular tourist destination and there were many visitors even though it was off season in mid week. It's a popular destination for Chinese tourists, and they are abundant.  

There is an aboriginal population on Taiwan and they have a prominent presence on the east coast, but also, here at Sun Moon Lake. Here is a group of local musicians playing at the pier. The tourists are really funny. They jump into the band to pose for photos while the band is playing! They even expect the musicians to sign autographs during the songs! And the amazing thing is that the band just keeps on going. It must be like this everyday... 

Autographing while singing!

Posing

Our hotel was right on the lake and we had fun using the bikes they provided to ride the beautiful bike paths they built around the lake.

Back in the saddle

Bike path near the hotel

Bike path bridge

Scenic overlook

Great location for wedding photos

We took a boat trip...

...went on a gondola...

..and visited beautiful Wunwu temple!

A great time was had by all!

Taichung, On the Way To Sun Moon Lake

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People wait on the floor at Taipei train station. A beautiful
food court surrounds the waiting area.

We traveled by train from Taipei south about 250 miles along the west coast to the city of Taichung. Along the way I saw what seemed like endless urbanization and industry. Taiwan's population is crowded along the coast since it gets quite mountainous as soon as one turns inland. There is great evidence of farming, though plots are generally much smaller than we're used to seeing and rice paddies are right there in the cities and towns. 

At any rate, I think that Taichung is what Taipei was just a few years back. It's a crowded city dominated by scooters travelling everywhere and no sidewalks to speak of. Every family seems to have a small business attached to the front of their house so there are endless storefronts selling a multitude of products, with food being a dominant business. There are plenty of places to eat, especially if you enjoy dining al fresco since outdoor carts are plentiful. Taichung is a lively and exciting place.

Dinner awaits!

Busy Taichung

Taichung night market

The streets can be narrow

Another great meal!

Here is the hot sauce. They put a small bowl of this on the table in case diners like spicy. This is the bowl in the back that serves as the source for all the tables. There is enough heat in this bowl to paralyze a small American city.

We had a nice overnight stay in Taichung and boarded a bus the next day to take us to Sun Moon Lake in the mountains to the east. This is where we got to experience the comfort and cleanliness of the tour buses. Really, the tour buses have to be seen to be believed. Impeccably clean and comfortable beyond any bus I've been on (and I've been on a lot!)

Next time: the beautiful Sun Moon Lake.

The Wedding Reception

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Peter is our friend's (Ted and Nancy) son and he married Tracy in September in New York. Tracy is Taiwanese so the purpose of our trip was to attend the wedding celebration for Tracy's family and friends back home.

The celebration was held in our hotel, the beautiful San Want Hotel in Taipei. Needless to say, the room was elegant and the celebration was fantastic. We were privileged to meet and enjoy the company of Tracy and Peter's friends and family. Peter had spent 3 years in Japan so he and Tracy had friends flying in from all over the far east. It was a memorable evening and a great time was had by all.

The table settings

The whole famn damily

Toasting ensued

Here is Ted with his friend, Ru. Ted and Ru met at UAlbany as they persued their respective PhD programs. Ru teaches and lives in Taiwan. She's a really funny lady and she must be a dynamic teacher. Late during the dinner, I was chatting with Ru and mentioned that I wished that I could remember all the wonderful dishes that were served. The food was plentiful and really delicious. She suggested that I take a photo of the menu so I would have a way to always remember what was served. I thought that was a good idea so I did! 

The menu. Thanks for the great idea, Ru!

Thanks for coming!

Getting Around

I'm a big fan of public transportation and when we travel, I like to take the local trains, subways and buses. We've done all that here and more. Here are some observations:

Subway and city bus
The Taepai subway system is not as big as New York City, but it's big enough and there are many lines. Most of what we saw was new, effecient, clean, and timely. Biggest adjustment? Learning to queue in the space probided as we wait for the train. Nice touch? Every station is gated to enter the train. Result; it feels very safe.

There is no separation between cars so one can see from one
end of the train to the other. Neat!

Get in line, Ted!

The upper level is a mall travelling underground for a few miles with the subway running beneath. Notice the queueing as people wait for the train doors to open.

The city buses are nice. They are spotlessly clean and not crowded. We have to get used to boarding in the middle and getting off in front. We pay as we leave. Maybe it's backwards because we're on the other side of the world?

By the way, public transportation costs about $1.50 per ride.

Line up for the bus. Looks like home, right?

We also took a lot of taxis. They were easy to find queued up at every busy tourist stop. Again, clean, no tipping. What's not to like. Oh, no matter where we went it would cost between $4& $6. Not bad for a group of 4.


Scooters 
They're everywhere. Based on what I saw, there are millions of them on the island. The funny thing is that people ride with their dogs and kids on the scooters, standing up and holding onto the handle bars. Quite the sight.

Trains
We travelled for hours on 3 trains. They run on time and are comfortable. We didn't ride a bullet train but we saw miles of bullet train track going up. In fact, infrastructure - bridges, roads, and rail are being constructed like there's no tomorrow. The country will look quite different in a few years.

Waiting for trains in Taipei Station

All Aboard!

Tour buses

The paint job on every bus looks brand new

We took a tour bus to get from the city of Taichung to Sun Moon Lake; about a 90 minute drive into the mountains. Now, these buses are an experience. Every one, without exception looks brand new; inside and out. They can't be, but they are cared for metiullously, otherwise they wouldn't look that way. A very comfortable way to travel.

That's right - 3 plush seats across (2+1)!

So where'd we go? Keep watching!

The Meals Part III

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I'm going to pick this story up from my previous post. Following our gondola trip, we returned to the hotel to rest a bit and to get ready for our big night on the town. Tracy's parents, Paul and Pearl. have a big night before wedding reception soiree at a first class restaurant that prepares.....Peking Duck! This has to be experienced to be believed. Suffice it to say that it is a lifetime memorable meal. 

The Dragon Restaurant, Taepei

The restaurant is called The Dragon Restaurant and the food, the service, the atmosphere, is out of this world! It was amazing and all too much! Paul insists that there is no better Peking Duck, including in Beijing, and I found this review to back him up.

I have to mention here that all the men are expected to drink scotch with the meal. And the custom is that there is a fairly consistent raising of the glass for any particular reason. When a toast is made (frequently) everything stops and glasses are clinked (and emptied). This happens over and over, through course after course of food to the point that I'm feeling pretty silly after a while.

Paul would look at me, raise his glass and say"John"? Merriment ensued

And the food does keep coming. In the US our habit is to eat what is on the table and then move on to dessert. In Taiwan, every meal is a serious of deliveries of the greatest dishes you could ask for. One is stuffed early on but all the remaining courses must be tried. You are having a good time, after all; right? Finally, the soup arrives signaling that this is indeed, the final course.

The duck (ducks in our case; we had 2 tables) arrives early and is presented all around. It is then cut up and served. The skin is removed in small pieces and the outer meat is sliced thin and all this is placed on a serving platter.

Our "Christmas Story" moment

Serving the duck

We actually make what I can only describe as burritos next by placing the duck, skin, and sauces on a flat steamed tortilla (it's not a tortilla; but it really is). Then the rice, the pork, the vegatables come out followed by the rest of the duck, now cut up in chunks, sweet potatoes, and finally, the duck soup. What a feast! And what a great memory!

The Meals Part II

Peter's lovely bride, Tracy has a sibling, her brother, Victor, who happens to live in Boston. Victor is back in Taipei for Peter and Tracy's celebration, but also because he'll be getting married next week! His fiance is Joyce and she lives in Taipei (not for long). She and Victor met at a class in New York, of all places. Now that's the thing; everyone here seems to travel and live all over the world, with the US being a major player. As we were to discover, many of Tracy's relatives and friends flew in from all over the globe. 

Now, Joyce and Victor are a lovely couple. It happens that Joyce lives on the other side of Taipei, so she invited us to visit her neighborhood. Close to her home is the Maokong Gondola. So, we took a gondola ride to

Zhinan Temple,  on our way to the summit MaoKong station. This is not your average gondola ride. The trip is probably 3-4 miles long and the entire journey takes a half day. The summit has beautiful views and lots of great places to eat. We had a great lunch outside overlooking the city center in the distance with Joyce and Tracy each sharing the job of preparing the tea, which is quite interesting (and good).

Zhinan Temple

View from the temple

Joyce prepares the tea

The Tea!

...and it was good! Not much left of the soup, the chicken, the rice...

The Crew

Next up: yes, we had Peking Duck at Dragon Restaurant