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Now THIS, this one, this part of this trip, I liked very much. I'm the very chill person type and this tour is the very me in a nutshell.
I copped this at a 7-11 at the one stop we did on the way to Sun Moon Lake on September 18. I got somewhat addicted to it, still kind of am, I wish I bought 2-3 more packs of this thing to bring home even if it meant I have to like, suffer bringing this around while exploring the lake.
So basically, I booked me and my aunt the:
....and set the pick-up from or around the hotel we were in because I knew we might not make the pick up point mentioned on the tour. I also booked this one a day or two before the flight to Kaohsiung, Taiwan so we were all set for a day out of Taipei and into a more relaxed Sun Moon Lake area in the Yuchi Township of Nantou County. It's a totally different but nearby region of Taiwan from Taipei or it's even closer to Taichung. It's about 3-hours ish from Taipei by drive/van.
If you want to book the tour as is, with the hostel/hotel pick up option unchecked, the meeting place would be somewhere around the Taipei Main Station and you would have to be early there.
Anyway, so I'm quite addicted to this one I can't help but feel...I should've gotten 2 to 3 packs of this one to bring home just because...it's just THAT good for a Taiwanese snack I wish they sold it somewhere out of Taiwan too. I'm sadt now and missing snacking on/eating this one.
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We made it to Shuishe Pier maybe around 8 or 9 in the morning and started the day tour from there.
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The first place we visited was a Christian Church...more like a chapel because it wasn't as big as a church by the said pier. I don't remember who had this one made there but he was or is a prominent figure of Taiwan History. He had that church made for his wife or so, if I recall correctly. Based on what our guide told us of it.
I would say the view of the lake from the chapel is beautiful because it is but I didn't take any photos of the chapel itself for some reason. Well, someone there did make us try tea with mint and it was sooo goods so that was nice. I'll leave it at that.
The views of the lake, like, every part of it are beautiful so I had to take pictures. I took as much of it as I can during this trip. A good number of those photos were taken on our way down to the Sun Moon Lake Shuishe Wharf where our ferry waited to take us to Xuanguang Wharf to see the Xuanguang Temple across it.
Before we went down to the wharf, however, we first visited a Christian church by the pier for a quick second. The tea they offered there for us to taste was immaculate. It was refreshingly minty.
The views here on the way to the Buddhist temple is also really nice but the smell of the ocean, as my aunt said/commented, isn't exactly the best.
By the way, no one swims in the lake every year. People are not allowed to swim there except 1 day in the year as our tourist guide told us. I forgot what day of the year that was he said to be or I think it could be the leap year which is every four years... Hmn... I don't think the water's that clean for swimming anyway. It's color is beautiful but yeah...nope, it's not it for swimming.
I like going on trips to do stuff like hiking, walking, maybe bicycling and well, mostly those. It's the activity around nature that gets me going on trips like this. So going to Xuanguang Temple from the wharf there was just that, lots of going up flights of stairs towards the temple and what waited for us was a treat of black tea boiled eggs from the tour guide, our group's tour guide.
Anyway, there were more pretty views of the lake on the way up to the temple and going back down from it so more pictures and a photo of the entrance to the temple as well. The entryway part to the temple had some benches with trees as shade so it's a good place to eat, have a picnic and rest from the hike up before going down and we did just that.
Other than this temple, further along this area is a pagoda I'm curious about, the Cien Pagoda. I heard it's really pretty and like this temple, is also quite the hike especially inside the pagoda and to the top of it to get the prettiest views of the lake but yeah, we were pressed for time so we didn't really go to that one anymore.
I plan to make the Cien Pagoda again on a trip solely just in and around Sun Moon Lake. I'd actually not mind staying there, within that area for around 5 days or so to just relax, chill, and explore it. I plan to see more sights then than I did during this day tour and maybe do some cycling around here. This place, I have been reading and heard or watched from others' vlogs on youtube, has a very good scenic cycling trail. Of course, I'd like to do cycling here, too!
After the Xuanguang Temple, it was back to the wharf, into the ferry and into the, what is to me the highlight of this trip, the ferry ride to the Yidashao Wharf close to it where the Ita Thao Visitors' Center that has a cute and very quaint souvenir store I got some cat magnets from for white boards or refrigerator doors and the Ita Thao Market I'd been looking forward to checking out the whole of this day trip are in.
Random 'fit check at a store along Ita Thao Market that had locally made stuff!
Shacket: old, it's thrifted from a favorite thrift store in Dumaguete City and I'm still the most obsessed with this thing I am never without it when I travel now
Top and skorts set: the boat neck top and midrise skorts in sepia brown from Stitch It by J and C on Shopee PH.
Bag: kipling defea in blush/rose
Tote bag: anik-anik on instagram
Shoes/sneakers: found in Marshalls in NorCal and gifted to me by an aunt there Asics from maybe 2 years ago or so (2023 ish...so, just almost 2 years ago)
The only decent lunch we could find in and/or around the market. Hehe.
I didn't really buy a lot of things to bring home but I anticipated that there'd be tea, loose tea leaves to buy there since I've read the area around or before the lake is into farming tea, so I brought just enough money to get those. I got a couple of different loose tea leaves across the beef noodle place we ate lunch at, at the Ita Thao Market.
I've just opened the red bag and I drink this one lately with a squeeze of calamansi (a squeeze of lemon will also do) and some sugar or with milk and some sugar. I normally drink these iced so they're even more refreshing and they keep me from having to go to my favorite boba place here, Chingkeetea, to get my regular dose of milk tea/boba and others.
I didn't take much photos of the market but it's a good one. Just one whole street of it. Most you can find there are souvenir stores and the one I was most curious about were the ones selling flavored vinegar. They also have their own brewed wines if you're into that. Their vinegars are very fruity, they're very different from the ones we're used to here for cooking, making food, etc.
I don't drink alcohol anymore so maybe I'll skip on the wine they make/brew there should I be able to come back to Sun Moon lake again on my own and have more leisure time or so to spend there.
Another random 'fit check at the bathroom/toilet at the Ita Thao Visitors' Center. Their bathroom/toilet is pretty nice.
I bought this milk tea to try before going back to the Yidashao Wharf for our ferry trip back to the Sun Moon Lake Shuishe Wharf and Shuishe Pier. This was only milk tea number one of this trip for me because the other I had in Ximending was a cocktail of fruits tea kind so I'm slow on the boba/milk tea intake during this trip. I know other tourists that's not me and my aunt would've bought milk tea number 5 or 6 by now at this point of the 5-day trip in Taiwan if they are there for this one. I wasn't. I wanted to really immerse myself in sight seeing and getting lost in Taipei for this trip instead as it was something I didn't get to do last time I was here back in 2018, for the Pentagon Prism Concert Tour stop. Heh.
This staircase apparently has 365, 366 steps representing every day of the year (including the leap year). There're also famous people's names inscribed per step coinciding with their birthdays. If you're birthday is in September 17 like mine, then you might like to look for that step here to see which famous person you're celebrating your birthday with. Ah, and these people's names inscribed per step here aren't just Taiwanese, some are also celebrities, maybe some heroes, too, from all over the world!
I do wonder who has the same birthday as I do...hmn...
I like that this temple has a lot of room. It's one massive temple made up of smaller temples or shrines to different kinds of deities Taoism has. The last photo is of a room where you pray to find love or something like that.
Something about Taoist temples get me. It's probably because there is one that's just a few steps away from here at home in Cagayan de Oro City. I used to play in their lawn as a kid with my then teenaged and/or early 20s aunts. Toaist temples are also something you'd see in Filipino-Chinese movies. I see them there anyways and how people worship and pray to the deities there. Taoism and Taoist temples are likely the most familiar to me of all East Asian religions or belief systems.
This one is where you make wishes and throw coins into the mouth of the dragons so your wishes can come true/get answers. I didn't have any luck with this one compared to the claw machines in Taipei. Haha.
....and this was our last stop for this sight seeing tour in Sun Moon Lake in the Yuchi Township of Nantou County in Taiwan. It was a pretty relaxing and chill day trip there. We went to a souvenir and treats shop for pineapple cakes etc. before we drove back to Taipei, Taipei Main Station specifically.
*****
You can DIY your Sun Moon Lake stay and tour via Taichung if you wish...this something I'd do in my next trip there. Or you can also book a day tour there from Taipei and from Taichung. Buses going to Sun Moon Lake are in Taichung hence this is more accessible from there. There are also those from the bus station in Taipei but it'll take you longer to get to Sun Moon Lake if you took that one instead of those in Taichung.
I opted to book a tour with the Klook site, app for me and my aunt because it was easy and convenient and were going to be in Taipei for like, 2 days and about 2 nights anyway. This is a join in tour so we had two other Filipino men with us and about 3 white people---a couple and 1 other girl---with us for this tour.
Here are some of the Sun Moon Lake tours you can book if you choose to go for this one on your trip to Taiwan:
I've forgotten if this was the one we took but yep, you can take this one.
I think this is much more expensive as it is a private tour but this is ideal for families and those who do not like join in tours and prefer privacy in their tours/travels.
I don't mind join in tours (and even staying in hostels now) so I wouldn't really go for this tour package unless I want the day tour or so to be more intimate.
Here are some Sun Moon Lake day tours that depart from Taichung:
You can also do a combined tours with Sun Moon Lake and other interesting places in Taiwan:
This one departs from Taipei.
Or if you just want to hang around Sun Moon Lake and explore the place, you can always take the buses from the high speed rail station in Taichung or the shared transport to Sun Moon Lake here:
Should you plan to stay around Sun Moon Lake to explore the place for like, 3-5 days for example, as I wish to the next time I'm there, here are some activities there you can partake in:
I've read from blogs, tourist reading materials, and watched from vloggers who went to Taiwan solely just to go to Sun Moon Lake and chill and explore the outdoors that this place has a good cycling trail. Renting a bicycle and going around the lake and explore the areas of it I've never been to like the Cien Pagoda is in my bucket list for the next time I find myself there. I can ride the bicycle, yes, I don't do, like, stunts in them like other cyclists do however.
There are some places of interest for tourists in Sun Moon Lake that are easier access with the yachts or boats/ferries. The two wharfs we went to here in this post are examples of these. If you want to access these places by ferry or boat, you can get a private tour like this on the Klook app and/or site so you can have the guide, the driver of the yacht, too, to yourself.
If you prefer to DIY your trip to these other wharfs in Sun Moon Lake and see what they offer there like the souvenirs, locally brewed wines, fruity flavored vinegars, tea and more from Ita Thao Market, you can always get this boat ticket to get there via Klook app and/or site.
I went there in a join in tour group so I didn't really need to get the boat ticket through the app and/or site. The tour guide got it for us and it's included in the amount we paid for to book the tour.
There are other rides like the cable car in Sun Moon Lake. This is, I think, like, a few steps from the Ita Thao Market? It's around that area anyway. If you have the time for this one, you can book this to see Sun Moon Lake from above.
You can choose from any combo of their offering on the app and/or site for this one. I would personally go for the bicycle rental, boat ticket, and cable car combo if I had more time to spend at Sun Moon Lake back then. I'd definitely go for this one when in Sun Moon Lake again one day and that would be when I have more time to explore the place!
Yes, they allow people to board with their bicycles in the ferry or the boat so you can definitely do any of the bicycle rental and boat ticket combo here.
I like tea---it doesn't matter if it's black, green, flower teas, strong, mild, moderate although I'm currently very much into Hongkong style milk tea again lately all thanks to both Gongcha (their house blend black tea is sooo good. It's totally my thing. Yep.) and Macao Imperial Tea House so...---so I think I'd be the type to enjoy this activity. I like doing stuff with my hands as much as I like to do stuff with my legs and body while running, jogging, hiking, and bicycling.
If you're into tea like I am, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too!
There are many other activities to do in and around Sun Moon Lake though I like that I can just chill and relax in there for days because it's just really pretty there and there's just nature everywhere...plus Ita Thao Market is my vibe because it's not that big and everything Taiwanese you might like is there (like it was or is in that one market I went to in Cijin Island or...two markets...I think?) including milk tea so yep, it's a great place to be in when in Taiwan.
This place is good for solo travelers like yours truly who just wants a place to chill and relax in and also do some nature-related activities for physical fitness and more. But you can also come here with a plus one and just chill. Yep. Any of the two will do. Yes, please.
*****
3 down, I still have 2 more to go for this Taiwan travel series' photo diary of sorts (with some chatter at the beginning, between some photos, and at the end, of course).
See you in the next one!
-K
