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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
Our 4-day trip to Taiwan was one of the most packed holidays that we have had, starting each day early and ending our activities late into the night. This included getting up around 4am one morning to see the sunrise on Alishan, and watching the stars till after 11pm on one night. Possibly because everyone was in holiday-mood, without the pressure of work, the long hours didn't seem too tiring. However, if we had kept this pattern on for a longer period, we certainly would have needed another holiday to recover!
So we had an early start on Day 1, taking a 9am flight from Hong Kong to the Taoyuan International Airport of Taipei. It was convenient to take the Tapei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) from the airport to the Taipei High Speed Rail station. We just had enough time for a quick lunch at the station before taking the HSR to Chiayi.
We had booked a hotel fairly near Chiayi Train Station (not the High-Speed Rail station), with the intention that it would be a more convenient location for taking the Alishan Forest Railway on the following day. The booking was made before we found that we were unable to book tickets for the Forest Railway (nor the bus) to go up the mountain. In the end we booked a cab to take us up to Alishan instead, which at least could be done by internet and several follow-up emails.
Anyway after settling in our hotel, we made a final attempt to book bus tickets for the return journey from Alishan back down to Chiayi. It appeared that even the locals were not sure how to do this. We finally decided that it was easier (and in fact the only option to meet our schedules) to take a cab back down.
As it was already well into the afternoon, we had time only to see one or two places in Chiayi. We took a cab (without attempting to figure out whether we could take a bus) to
Hinoki Village 檜意森活村, a collection of twenty-odd small revitalized Japanese-styled houses now used as various types of shops or cafes. The namesake of this cultural village, hinoki cypress (檜 in Japanese, or 扁柏) is a type of cypress native to central Japan. The Chinese name
檜意森活村 translates as "The Spirit of Cypress Forest Life Village". The village keeps in memory a piece of Taiwanese history --- the occupation by Japan. In our travels, we mostly delight in seeing nature and taking a taste of local cultures. It was great that we managed to include both of these aspects in this trip.
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| Map of the Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Light-decorated tree in Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
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| Light-decorated tree in Hinoki Village 檜意森活村 |
With the sun setting, we headed towards a popular tourist attraction close-by, the Wenhua Road Night Market
文化路夜市. The night market is made up of a couple of streets lined with restaurants and food stalls selling local Chiayi snacks and delicacies.
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| A local delicacy -- fish head 沙鍋魚頭 |
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| A local delicacy -- fish head 沙鍋魚頭 |
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| Colourful sign marking the Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Colourful sign marking the Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Colourful sign marking the Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Local snacks in the Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Wenhua Road Night Market |
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| Shop selling the famous local delicacy fish head in the Wenhua Road Night Market |
After dinner in one of the restaurants in the neighbourhood of the Night Market, we took a cab to another tourist attraction, the Lantan Musical Fountain
蘭潭音樂噴泉. Next to the Musical Fountain by the lake is an artistic metal structure called Heart of the Lake (月影潭心), which is particularly beautiful when lit up in multiple changing colours at night. The Musical Fountain show was superb, with well choreographed spouts of water in constantly changing bright colours twisting and swaying to a background of several pieces of classical music.
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| A lighted Heart of the Lake 月影潭心 near the Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
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| Colourful Lantan Musical Fountain |
After a long day, we were happy that the driver of the cab who took us to the Lake had agreed to wait for us to take us back to the hotel.
Overview: 4 Days in Taiwan
Next: Day 2
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