Kenzie and I took the train out of Taipei to Taichung, about 2 1/2 hours South of Taipei. From there we were going to catch a bus to take us the rest of the way to the lake, but when we emerged from the train station, we happened upon a traditional festival/performance/parade! There was a musical performance, then the 'dragon' costumes came out and danced with people who were watching. Next came people in colorful costumes who were on stilts about 3-4 feet high. The main character in this group did some amazing stunts that looked like kung-fu, but 3 feet in the air on these painted stilts! There was also a dance with people who had their faces painted very intricately. The end came when the whole ensemble marched off through a busy intersection with delivery trucks, buses, scooters to continue the festivities in parade form throughout the city!
We eventually found the right bus station a few blocks away, which was more confusing than it sounds because there are apparently numerous bus companies in the city and most of the 'stations' do not resemble what we were picturing - they were little hole-in-the-wall spots with a few chairs inside. Once we found the right one however, we bought tickets and headed the 2 1/2 hours more on to the lake. When we arrived in the early evening it was extremely humid and overcast so we made it to our hostel (actually called a Youth Activity Center even though we were the youngest people there by far...) and settled in for the night. Part of what was interesting about this experience was that we had heard the lake is so famous and popular that there are crowds everywhere and everything is always busy. When we went to dinner at the restaurant in our complex that evening, there were only 3 other tables with people in a huge room with at least 40 tables. We finished eating our Taiwanese style meal (lots of different dishes of vegetables, meats, and soup) at 7 and were the last ones - the lady promptly turned the lights off before we were even all the way out of the door...a huge contrast to Taipei where 7 is considered extremely early for dinner! I think perhaps why it was less busy is because of the economy and it is the end of the summer season. In Taipei it is hard to tell that the economy is down at all, but in Taichung and Sun Moon Lake things definitely seemed slower with more people waiting about for customers.
We got some snacks and decided to take advantage of the quiet and relaxing atmosphere (we could hear crickets, which I haven't heard since I arrived in Taipei!) and just read. Kenzie bought some dried wasabi peas (which sounds pretty strange, but are a common snack and surprisingly good.) She opened up the bag and found that instead of seeing lots of peas, there were about 20 individually wrapped packets, each containing about 15 peas! We both were laughing uncontrollably because this epitomizes packaging in Taiwan so well! Everything here is wrapped in (it seems) as much packaging as possible. Postcards, books, magazines, shoes for sale, toiletry bottles, bananas, and milk are just a few of the things that are always wrapped in celophane. Usually packages of crackers or cookies that look like the ones back home are not loose inside; packets of 3 or 4 items are individually wrapped. I guess it is to keep things from spoiling because of the humidity and heat or getting dirty, but it seems extremely excessive, although quite funny.
Anyhow, we got up the next morning early and rented bicycles to ride partway around the lake road (the total length of the road is about 30km) to a temple, complete with a pagoda that Chiang Kai-Shek built for his mother, and saw amazing views since it was nice and sunny! Growing up with such clean air, I never really noticed it and took it for granted but after having been in Taipei where I can feel the grime on my skin at the end of the day, I immediately noticed the fresh, clean air. The water in the lake is almost aquamarine colored which makes it look more like a tropical ocean. As tempting as it looks, people are forbidden from swimming in the lake except one day a year (on that day over 10,000 people show up for the annual swim across the lake event.) No one seems to have any idea why they limit swimming! An interesting note about Taiwanese though; apparently most of them do not know how to swim! I wasn't sure I believed this when someone first told me, but I have since read that there are numerous drownings each year when people are tempted by rivers and lakes on the first few hot days of each summer season. The government is trying to fix this problem though by mandating that kids take some form of swim lessons by a certain age.
We also took a boat tour across the lake which stopped at a few different places, including a tiny, tiny island in the middle that is made about 8 times as large by the surrounding floating bamboo squares. Originally (as well as currently) an aboriginal tribe named the Thao lived on one side of the lake, so for lunch we ate a traditional meal on the waterfront. It was amazing and presented so nicely! However, I was unable to eat the little fish because it was no different from when it had been in the water except that it had been fried with seasoning - all the scales, fins, tail, etc were still on. I have tried a fish like it before and the crunch of the head and tail are just a little too much...
It was a great weekend and nice to leave the city behind for a few days (even though I do love the hustle and bustle of Taipei and all that it has to offer!)
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