Taiwan Trip Day 8 - Chiayi Alishan

Day 7 started with a gorgeous sunrise on the mountains. That was the first time I saw the big, yellow sun peeking out from behind mountains. It was beautiful.

Sunrise was around 530am that day. We had to speed for around 2 hours to reach the place to watch the sunrise. 2 hours when we were already on the mountains! Me, who has spent 24 years staying in tiny Singapore, has finally comprehended how big the world is.

After breakfast, we went to the 阿里山森林游乐区. It is a nature reserve in Alishan. Along the way, we saw the oldest tree in Alishan.




This tree is 2000 years old! When I think of the year we are in, I began to start thinking backwards, running through the pages of history, trying to visualise what the tree has seen in its time. A human's life on earth is just so short.

We saw plenty of interesting trees and wildlife in the 阿里山森林游乐区 but I'm going to just list a few of the ones I found interesting.




A tree disguised as a pig!




I look like a hobbit next to the trees.



This is a super poisonous plant! According to our guide, we cannot even touch the flowers. The poison will attack our body within hours, causing the heart to stop beating.




Trees, trees and more trees!





I have never seen so many tadpoles in my life before.






I love this picture.





Next, we went to the Alishan train station.












As we got to catch the train to Taipei, we had to give the Aboriginal's dance performance a miss. A pity...


When we reached the Minsu, we hurriedly did some last minute packing and then it was off to the train station. This time round, 吴大姐 sent us to the train station. As she is a Hakka, we had a jolly time trading Hakka recipes and comparing our traditions.

For lunch, she treated us Chiayi's famous dish, "Gong Ah Gei" - chicken roasted in a pot.





These are the pots. Wood from Longan trees are used for the fire. According to 吴大姐, the chicken would not taste as good if wood from other trees was used.



Yummy!


We had the long and tiring journey to Hualien next. When we reached Taipei station, we had to buy the train tickets to Hualien. But the earliest two slots were sold out! In the end, we had to buy the 5.10pm one. Wasted our time waiting...



自强号 is the newest and fastest train currently. The other trains may take up to 5 hours to reach Hualien. Phew...



I used to hear people complain about the cramped seats found in budget aeroplanes. Well, at least they don't have to stuff their luggage in between the seats.


Imagine sitting like this for 3 hours! I looked like I was giving birth..



Camwhoring to pass the time. =P


A minor episode happened on the train ride. I was taking pictures of my train ticket when I accidentally dropped it and it went missing! I panicked. I even took the luggage out and scrambled onto the floor to check. But it was gone!

Luckily, with the help of some Taiwanese aunties sitting beside us and a determined train conductor, who pried up the seat to search for my ticket, I managed to get back my ticket. This episode showed me the warmth and friendliness of the Taiwanese. The old grandma beside me even patted my backside to comfort me when we found the ticket. Haha!





Hualien at last! "You were just behind the mountains we saw in Alishan and yet we took a total of 6 hours to reach you!"


We met up with our Minsu owner, 刘阿姨. She is a very friendly and chatty person and we enjoyed her company very much. She is also very generous because she never charged us for the rides she given us throughout the trip.


She brought us to a place for dinner as she knew we were famished by that time. We had 排骨面.







Our Minsu, 石头的家 (Stone House).




This building plus the plot of land it is built on belongs to 刘阿姨! And she turns it into a resort-like place with its private "zoo" where a peacock, two dogs and some chickens and geese live in.



This is 妞妞, the friendlier of the two dogs.





Our gorgeous and spacious bedroom. 刘阿姨 let us use this room -or-4 for the night. In the end, she allowed us to stay there throughout our stay and charged us the room-for-2 rates! She was super generous! So, we had a double bed each for our stay in Hualien. We needed the rest and comfort badly. Shiok!!!


End of day 7. =)


********************************

Taiwan Day 7 - Chiayi Alishan

We woke up late again. In the end, we had to takeaway our breakfasts and had them on the High Speed train. Zhang大哥, being very nice, drove us to the train station free of charge. (Well, we paid for all his meals during the few days he was with us.)


Finally, we were alone again! It felt like the start of adventures. I felt that we were too well-protected by Zhang大哥. =P


Waited for quite a while at Chiayi High Speed Rail Station for our Minsu driver to pick us up. The first stop was lunch at 喷水, a restaurant.



We had turkey meat with rice. Turkey actually tasted much like chicken and I really could not differentiate between the two.


The car ride from Chiayi will take around 1-2hours to reach Alishan.


Next, we went to 阿里山风景区 where we heard a lot of legends and myths from our driver, 陈先生. He is a Taiwanese aboriginal and thus, has plenty of interesting stories to share.







That's him, showing us how the aboriginal people carried goods in the past. He said that in the past, they could carry up to 100kg per person using the method above! Power!







Next, we went to the famous 天长地久桥 in Chiayi. The 天长桥 was cordoned off because of damages due to the 88水灾 so we didn't get a chance to cross the bridge. It looked so exciting! *Sigh*






The after effects from the 88水灾.


While crossing the 地久桥, we were attracted by loud bangings from gongs and the crackling of fireworks. We were lucky to stumble upon 济公游行. A man was possessed by the deity, 济公, and he was making rounds around a temple situated there. It was a real eye-opener!


The man in the patched black rope was the 济公.










Our guide drove us to 奋起湖 next. If the mountain railway is working, this is the place to take the train to watch the sunrise at the Alishan train station.









We grabbed our chance to take pictures on the railway. =P


Alishan is famous for the production of a fig called 爱玉. The smooth jelly 爱玉冰 was thus borned.


It looks like the ice jelly we have in Singapore but tasted much much better! It had a sweet, natural taste to it unlike our ice jelly which tastes bland. I bought a packet of 爱玉 back and will attempt to make the jelly one day!

These are TOMATOES!

On the left - mutated 耳朵饼.


After some shopping at the 阿里山老街, we went for dinner. We had the famous 阿里山火车便当 (Alishan Railway Boxes) for dinner! I could see why it is a hit with the tourists.



Served in a nostalgic metal lunchbox.



Tada! One chicken thigh and pork cutlet with plenty of rice and vegetables. A very satisfying and hearty dinner.




On the way to the Minsu, we managed to capture this breathtaking sight. It looks like we were on the top of the clouds.



Finally reached our Minsu around nightfall.
Here's our Minsu, 县云居.

Besides being home to us, the mountain is home to a vast ocean of insects. The insects, attracted by the light and warmth of the house, began suicide missions into the house. Their stupidity made me ran up and down this flight of stairs, screaming for a shelter without insects buzzing near my ears.




Our simple homely room which we didn't get to sleep much in. We had to wake up at 3.30am to catch the sunrise.


Our Minsu's homeowners have another sideline - they dry and pack tea leaves for sale. As it turned out, a batch of tea leaves they packed had won the first prize in the tea leaves competition held in Alishan! And we were so lucky to have a taste of the champion tea leaves.



The Minsu's homeowner, 吴大姐, taught us the art of tea-drinking. First, we had to pour the tea from the tall cup into the round cup. Before drinking, we had to sniff the tall cup and let the aroma filled our lungs. Then, we drank from the round cup. But hold on! We got to let it stay in our mouth while we soaked in the taste of the tea. Then, we swallowed. Hmmm.....

I must say, the tea from Alishan really tasted different from the ones in Singapore. It had a flowery scent and was bitter without the astringent taste that some teas have. I bought some back too!


A chat with 吴大姐 during the tea drinking made a startling realisation. We realised that the High Speed Railway does not reach Hualien, our next stop! Although, on the map, Hualien is just next to Chiayi (where Alishan is situated), it is seperated by the mountains and there is no direct route there! We were so shocked then!

We had to replan our itinerary. We then decided to take the High Speed train to Taipei and then take the normal train to Hualien. Total time for taking this route costed us 4 and a half precious hours.

Luckily, 吴大姐 pointed out our mistake and helped us rectify by planning the time with us.


After putting our luggage down, 陈先生 passed us a torch and we went to the backyard to look for fireflies. We were so dumb. We kept mistaking stars for fireflies. Haha! There was another funny episode with a moth. A huge white moth was attracted to the light from the torch and sped towards us. Our screams could match those in horror flicks. Haha!


陈先生 keeps a Laborador named 阿发. And this dog tried to hump Pei Xuan while we were playing with it! It grabbed onto PX's leg and got into its doggy position. PX was trying her best to pull away her leg but that dog was strong and in heat. Meanwhile, I was at the side, yelling my head off, "PX! Pull your leg away! It is trying to hump you!" Haha!!

This is the horny beast.



After some fooling around in the backyard, 陈先生 drove us to another place to watch fireflies. When we reached there, we saw a group of Singaporeans too. I didn't realise it at that time, but they were capturing fireflies and putting them into glass bottles! Disgusting behaviour! They have totally no respect for nature and the creatures' lives! Should have walk up to them to scold them. Grrr...


Putting that aside, I really enjoyed the time spent there. That place is just a little rest area beside the main mountain road. As it was really dark, we could see lights twinkling from other villages in the opposite mountains. 陈先生 started telling us stories about his tribe and other tribes. There were so many interesting myths and legends! As the stories rolled out, I could feel the cold wind and hear the strange melodies made by the crickets. Although 陈先生 was just next to me, I couldn't see his face as it was so dark. All these factors made the stories more real and tangible. I was totally absorbed into the tales of old and magical. I was hooked.


Day 7 ended on the mountains.


***********************************************

A Petty Woman

I have been blogging about my Taiwan trip for days and it seems that I am nowhere near finishing it. In the meantime, things do happen to me and my days were not stagnant.

On Monday, I nearly had my downfall. I boarded bus 185 with a full bladder and my bus was stuck in a jam in PIE. The bus was absolutely crawling along the expressway. My whole mind was occupied with willing the bus to move faster and to stop myself from squirting out my urine. It was really horrible. I was stuck in the jam alone for 30 mins. Try holding urine for 45 minutes to understand how I felt. I kept thinking, "Is this going to be my downfall? To urine in the public?" Luckily it never happened. *Huge sigh* I have learnt my lesson. Never board a bus with a full bladder; you never know what will happen.

*****************************


These days, I kept haunted by nasty thoughts. I felt that I was taken advantage of and was looked down on and yet I could do nothing. I wanted to bitch to my girlfriends but I felt that it would be mean to do so. Little little details of how selfish that person was kept coming to me in times when I was alone in my quiet room. Seriously, I feel that my esteem had taken a blow and is now slowly patching up, thanks to my Enemies.

It was through my Enemies that I found out that real friends will never put you down. Even if you are not that capable, not that strong, not that clever, they will never use words or actions to highlight your flaws. True friends even try to help you hide your flaw or turn it into something the two of you can joke about. In other cases, real friends learn to stick by you and learn new things together at the same pace, not trying to outdo each other. I have found such qualities in the six of them. And I am really glad to have them with me. Really.


Sometimes, I could see a bit of that person in me. Through that person, I can see how some of my actions are deterimental to someone's esteem and to our relationship and I don't like it. I don't want to treat my friends like this, just like I do not want to be treated like that. So, these days, I tend to be more careful in what I say and how I say. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, turning me into a better person.


I just need some time to get over, to forget, maybe forgive, and move on.




Or I just need to bitch about it. =P Girlfriends, you there?


*****************************

Taiwan Trip Day 6 Kaohsiung

This was our last day with Zhang大哥. The highlight of the trip was Meinong, where there it is densely poplulated with the Hakkas. Being a Hakka myself, this was one place that I wanted to visit very much.

First, we went to a Hakka museum in Kaohsiung. Nothing much there except some old artifacts.



I dubbed Taiwan the Scooter Nation. Scooters were seen everywhere ridden by the young and old. And when I say young, they are really young.



This will never happen in Singapore.



Then, we went to 澄清湖.





The famous hotel 圆山大饭店. It looked really grand.



The second stop: 九曲桥






This is why it got its name.






Along the way, we stopped by a lily pond.









Saw some ducks and managed to terrify them.




3rd stop: 富国岛 (Fu Guo Island)






Zhang kept telling us that the place is called 复活岛 (Fu Huo Island). I was thinking, "Easter Island?" When I saw the sign, I burst out laughing. Really, the older generations in Taiwan kept substituting "g" with "h", confusing us sometimes.









Saw a hanging bridge again.



中兴塔.


Next stop was lunch. Along the way, we spotted this grandma selling lychees. The Taiwanese called the lychees at the start of the lychees season 玉合包.


Actually, we should not have bought the lychees. Due to all the late night snackings, by the time we reached our lodgings, we were too full to eat them. In the end, we lugged the bag of lychees all the way to Hualien only to discover they had turned mouldy. Bleagh....



We had wantons for lunch. The Taiwanese called such a meal 扁食.





There were about 10 wantons in the bowl of soup. The wantons, unlike the ones in Singapore, were stuffed to the brim with the stuffings. Really worth the money! The soup was a bit oily though.


After lunch, we went to 佛光山.






It is a very touristy place. As a result, it becomes very commercialised.

We visited an exhibition area to escape from the heat. The whole area was so creepy. It was filled with statues, plastic humans, animals and plants. These exhibits were lit with green, yellow and red neon lights, making the place very gaudy and outdated. That place brought back my childhood fears of finding statues that will wink at me.

We got out of that place pretty quickly.



This is a Bodhi tree. It was under this type of tree that Buddha gained enlightment on the order of life, 生老病死.




The Taiwanese are really fortunate to have huge land area to build huge temples. Sometimes, we had to go through several courtyards to reach the main hall.



A word of warning if you want to visit the temples in Taiwan. There are many steep slopes and long flight of stairs. I think that this explains why I lost 1kg in Taiwan despite the heavy food and late night snackings.




This was where we saw the Mynah which knew how to talk in Hokkien.




佛光山 is famous for housing over 1000 Buddhas in the temple.




I think I got a crink in my neck looking at the Buddhas and deities in Taiwan.


Next, we made our way to Meinong, the Hakka village. On the way, we stopped for Ice-creams at a famous Ice-cream wholesaler.








Strawberry Ice-cream for me! Hmm... Actually, I would still prefer Udders or Daily Scoop. =P



Finally, we reached Meinong.

Meinong is famous for its paper umbrellas. They are all handmade and beautifully designed.







Taking a rest. Actually, Meinong was very disappointing. There was nothing much and is very commercialised. I did not gain a better understanding of how the Hakkas live their lives in Taiwan. I didn't even get to taste any Hakka dishes. Disappointed.


We left shortly. We went to 旗山老街 (Qi Shan street) after that.




As I have said before, everything in Taiwan is huge! Even the watermelons!



Along the way, we spotted this weird structure.


According to the sign beside it, this structure was used to burn papers. As the language of man was considered sacred in the past, the words written on paper have to be disposed properly to give them the proper respect. Hmmm... Interesting piece of history. =)



At night, we went to Ping Tung nightmarket where we had our dinner.

And this was our dinner, shared by the two of us. It was very different from the rice dumplings in Singapore. Firstly, it was drenched in dark gravy mixed with lots of garlic. Secondly, crushed peanuts were dumped on it. Although it was very different, it tasted yummy!




Zhang大哥 also drove us to a famous beancurd place.

It was good! But comparable to Selegie's beancurd. =P



Actually, Zhang大哥 wanted to bring us somewhere else. But we were sooooo tired. In the end, we had to reject him. It was so unexpected to see a tour guide being more enthusiastic than the visitors. =P



We changed room for the night because our previous room was taken before we called to book. However, this room was big, comfortable and well-designed too. =)









And then, it was goodnight world! Alishan trip tomorrow!


*******************************