John Harvey Photo

Taiwan 2

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Sun Moon Lake

Hotel Room
We have family on Hong Kong that we like to visit every year.  It's a long flight from Vancouver so a stop over on the way there or back is a welcome break from the monotony of transpacific flights.  We have stopped in Japan a few times and this is our second trip to Taiwan.  Last visit, we visited the south of Taiwan.  This time we picked Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan as a holiday within a holiday.

We visited Hong Kong first this trip and reserved Taiwan for the final week of trip.  This has the advantage of getting rid of the Jet lag in a big city where you can easily get food at 4am.  We arrived in Taiwan around lunch time and met Katie who had a bus rented that drove us right to our hotel at Sun Moon Lake.



Formosan Rock Macaque In TreesFormosan Rock Macaque With Baby
Sun Moon Lake is a big vacation destination in Taiwan.  It's a large lake for Taiwan (8 square km) and the perimeter of the lake has been reserved for forests and tourist facilities, unlike the farming and industrial usage you see in much of the west coast of Taiwan.  The lake has a circle road around it and much of the lake also has a near shore walkway. 

Today the plan was to go for a bike ride around some of the lake.  The kids were up so we walked the hotel grounds a bit and were surprised to see a troup of Macaque climbing through the trees.  Unlike the Macaque I have seen in other tourist areas, these animals weren't looking for handouts and they didn't see us a source of food.  The large males watched us while the Moms and babies slipped past behind.  The kids and I felt fortunate to see these animals.



Ready For Bike Ride
We hopped on a bus and went to the next town (maybe 5 minutes drive from our hotel) to rent bicycles.Biking is often a distant afterthought in Asia.  Sun moon lake has an outstanding bike route around much of like which has caused a thriving industry in short term bicycle rentals.   At least 3 times different young men came out to encourage us into their shops.  The shops had enough bikes to outfit a tour bus and there was no shortage of tour buses.  We were a small party and went to small shop.


Lake Side Biking

Nara Biking Around LakeArching Bridge Over LakeBiking Red Lined Path

Rest Point On Bike Ride

Worn Peacock Pansy

Fishing Boats At Sunrise

The next morning Nara and I got up for a walk just after sunrise.  Being a low latitude, the sun rises and sets quickly here so there isn't much golden light.  We had some luck spotting birds and insects.



Lemyra ImparilisTaiwan Scimitar BabblerRufous Capped Babbler


Boarding Our Boat Trip

Dragon On Incense BurnerSun Moon Lake RockTaiwan Japalure

Lazy Dog In Tourist TownFruit By The Bag

Pulling Away From Ita Thao 



Yangmingshan National Park

Yangmingshan is a beautiful park North of Taipei.  It's a classic day trip from Taipei for tourists.  With a bit of help from Katy, we got a car and a driver and went to make a day out of it.  What we couldn't control was the weather - in the spring the weather is often wet and foggy so we knew we would miss some things.

Our first stop was the Floriculture Experiment Center - something like a University botanical garden.  This isn't actually in the park, but it's an easy stop on the way up.  The  Experiment Center is split into large plots, each specializing in a broad class of plant like maple trees or Indigenous Rhododendron.  We were in the wrong season for the  highlights (Cherry Blossoms and Fall Colours) but we did have fun walking the roads looking at plants.

Kids Joking Around With CameraLarge Air PlantsRose Myrtle Lappet Moth

Common Mapwing
When we then drove higher up the mountain in the park proper.  It was a rainy day so the crowds were almost non-existent - just huge parking lots.  We walked to the local falls.



Kids With Hidden Pool WaterfallHot Spring Stained WaterfallSmall Plants Growing In Stairs


I was hoping to go to the higher destinations where you can see lilies and views and steam vents but the fog was so thick you couldn't see much more than a car length ahead on the road.  we decided to visit Lengshuikeng - a foot bath on the mountain.  Even crossing the road was dangerous because you could barely see across it.

Claira In Foot BathFoot BathFoggy Mountain Top

Clairas Craft

Sulfur Mining Site


Walking Around Taipei



Convey Belt SushiClaira Taking Direct Service

Bulk Incense BinsIncense Burners

 Classic Taipei BuildingsSpinner Over Dry Goods StoreSide Of The Road Duck Truck

Incense BurnerStreet Front Temple

 
Soup Stall DistractedSaying Goodby At Street MarketRoasting Mushrooms DistractedIce Delivery Bike
 
 
 
 
 



 
 


Large Air Plants
Altitude: 385m (1263 feet)
Location: Go To...
Ice Delivery Bike
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: ice, street photography, Taiwan, working bike
Convey Belt Sushi
Person: Claira, Nara
Tags: sushi, Taiwan
Clairas Craft
Altitude: 155m (508 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira In Foot Bath
Person: Claira
Tags: foot bath, hot spring, Taiwan
Soup Stall Distracted
Dragon On Incense Burner
Altitude: 767m (2516 feet)
Location: Go To...
Pulling Away From Ita Thao
Altitude: 750m (2460 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Biking Around Lake
Altitude: 729m (2391 feet)
Location: Go To...
Lazy Dog In Tourist Town
Altitude: 753m (2470 feet)
Location: Go To...
Foot Bath
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 752m (2467 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: foot bath, hot spring, Taiwan
Saying Goodby At Street Market
Person: Claira, Helen, Katy, Nara
Altitude: 26m (85 feet)
Location: Go To...
Formosan Rock Macaque In Trees
Species: Macaca cyclopis (Formosan Rock Macaque)
Rose Myrtle Lappet Moth
Altitude: 392m (1286 feet)
Location: Go To...
Common Mapwing
Species: Cyrestis thyodamas (Common Mapwing)
Tags: butterfly, Taiwan
Foggy Mountain Top
Altitude: 752m (2467 feet)
Location: Go To...
Hotel Room
Tags: hotel, place to stay, Taiwan
Kids With Hidden Pool Waterfall
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 439m (1440 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Taiwan, waterfall
Kids Joking Around With Camera
Altitude: 387m (1269 feet)
Location: Go To...
Arching Bridge Over Lake
Altitude: 737m (2417 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, bridge, Taiwan
Sulfur Mining Site
Altitude: 147m (482 feet)
Location: Go To...
Sun Moon Lake Rock
Altitude: 771m (2529 feet)
Location: Go To...
Spinner Over Dry Goods Store
Altitude: 20m (65 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira Taking Direct Service
Incense Burner
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Fruit By The Bag
Altitude: 764m (2506 feet)
Location: Go To...
Taiwan Scimitar Babbler
Species: Pomatorhinus musicus (Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler)
Tags: bird, Taiwan
Rufous Capped Babbler
Species: Cyanoderma ruficeps (Rufous-capped Babbler)
Altitude: 775m (2542 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Taiwan
Worn Peacock Pansy
Species: Junonia almana (Peacock Pansy)
Altitude: 747m (2450 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: insect, Taiwan
Lemyra Imparilis
Altitude: 812m (2664 feet)
Location: Go To...
Ready For Bike Ride
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara, Angela, Katy
Altitude: 748m (2454 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Taiwan
Taiwan Japalure
Altitude: 763m (2503 feet)
Location: Go To...
Hot Spring Stained Waterfall
Altitude: 437m (1433 feet)
Location: Go To...
Roasting Mushrooms Distracted
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Side Of The Road Duck Truck
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: food truck, Taiwan, truck
Rest Point On Bike Ride
Person: Angela, Helen, Katy
Altitude: 755m (2477 feet)
Location: Go To...
Small Plants Growing In Stairs
Altitude: 437m (1433 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: stairs, Taiwan
Formosan Rock Macaque With Baby
Species: Macaca cyclopis (Formosan Rock Macaque)
Altitude: 813m (2667 feet)
Location: Go To...
Classic Taipei Buildings
Altitude: 7m (22 feet)
Location: Go To...
Bulk Incense Bins
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: incense, Taiwan
Lake Side Biking
Altitude: 744m (2440 feet)
Location: Go To...
Fishing Boats At Sunrise
Altitude: 761m (2496 feet)
Location: Go To...
Street Front Temple
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: city, Taiwan, temple
Boarding Our Boat Trip
Altitude: 759m (2490 feet)
Location: Go To...
Incense Burners
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Biking Red Lined Path
Altitude: 717m (2352 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Taiwan(16), bird(2), biking(2), foot bath(2), hot spring(2), sushi(1)
People: Claira(6), Nara(5), Helen(3), Katy(3), Angela(2)
From: John Harvey Photo > Trips out of the Country > Taiwan 2

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Last Modified Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 00:04:10 Edit
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