Sun Moon Lake, and Taipei again. Briefly.

We love cities. Love visiting them, love exploring and speculating. Adore watching the citizens go about their days and testing out the public transit, biking, and walking. And the food choices! So many choices in the Taiwanese cities we visited. But sometimes you just burn out.

We’d gone back and forth about visiting Sun Moon Lake, and while in Tainan we decided on yes. It would be nice, we thought, to have a break from cities before returning to Taipei, and hopefully the air quality would be better in the mountains. Yes, we’ve lived through much worse air quality for longer in San Francisco during California wildfires, maybe that’s why we’re a bit sensitive to it. It was interesting to hear locals blame bad air quality on pollution blowing over from China, but from what we read a lot is home grown, due to industry, diesel trucks, cars and motorcycles (which I assume includes scooters), and other usual suspects. So, off to the mountains it was. And, our first trip on Taiwan’s very impressive High Speed Rail.

That photo of Rich in front of the HSR train reminds me to tell you the story of his shirt. Probably only we remember his first version of that shirt, it was purchased last January 2023. He bought it in Taipei at the clothing market, a warren of small streets and clothing stalls, wore it in Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka, and finally threw it out our last day in Sri Lanka. Sunblock and sweat had done it in. He missed it. One year later, he found the same stall in the clothing market (more amazing than you can imagine), and bought the exact same shirt!

Honestly, you just have time to eat your lunch on this trip. The train leaves Tainan at 11:48 and arrives Taichung at 12:30. our only complaint with Taiwan High Speed Rail is it’s too quick a ride! Oh what a problem to have, huh California? So, bus to train, the HSR station is a bit out of town, reachable by rail but the bus was easier for us, and train to Taichung, and then a hour and 15 minute bus ride to Sun Moon Lake.

Our hotel, The Laurel Villa, offered a sunrise bike ride, led by one of the family members who owned and operated the hotel. You go pick up a bike from one of the many rental places after 4:00 pm, park it in front of the hotel, and at 6:05 am the next day you ride with Wei, who was born and raised in town, left for university, and came back. He knows his lake.

For anyone who does go to Sun Moon Lake, the number one recommendation we have is to get up early and go for a bike ride. Later in the day there are many many many people out on bikes. Many of those many bikes are e-bikes, throttle bikes actually, which don’t require pedaling. Folks are calm and patient, and all the scooter riding gives them good bike skills, but we always prefer no crowds.

Sun Moon Lake’s present size was created with a hydroelectric project built by the Japanese in the 1930s, which joined two smaller lakes together, making the lakes resemble a sun, and a crescent moon. Or, two dragons fighting over a pearl – an island in the lake. The path around most of the lake (joins the road for a few stretches) is beautifully constructed, and the sun and moon motifs along the way show a dedication to the theme.

Our choice to go up to the mountains was rewarded with clear air and nice weather. After our dawn bike ride we returned the bikes, had breakfast in the hotel, a rest, and headed out to hike up to the weather station for a view of the lake from above.

I’m so impressed with the care put into pathways and seating areas around the lake. There are tea growing fields around the lake and the tea leaf motif is picked up in some of the seating areas. It’s a steep climb so the benches are very welcome.

High Speed Rail back to Taipei – only 50 minutes long, eat your lunch quickly – Rich booked a hotel close to the main station so our airport trip two days later would be easy, and we had a short little Taipei stay of two nights. We hit some of our favorites (it thrills me to have Taipei favorites!), black pepper buns at Rahoe Night Market, boba tea, a drink at The Tipsy Dragon Bar, and a new find from Rich – Beercat. Just what it sounds like.